One day off was good but a second one is better :-) In fact, yesterday we have done nothing (except the dishes ;-). Today we were guided by Kondhin and visited different places like his rice fields and property in general. During late afternoon, we will go to see the bats and the monkeys. That will be in the second coming post.
Let’s start the tour :-)
Kondhin said that Eucalyptus trees are a problem as they grow quickly and suck too much water. This guy on his blog wrote an article about those trees that says the opposite. Scientists made research and found out that the water level did not go down over the years because Eucalyptus trees’ roots do not grow lower than 3 metres (which can create some other problem like landslide).
Kondhin’s dog is guiding us :-)
That’s Kondhin’s rice field.
It needs 104 days for rice to be ready. Today is the 90th. Two more weeks before the harvest!
When the crops start to bend down, that means the rice is going to be ready. For now, the rice envelop are at their early stage. They are empty or filled with rice flour only.
Rice constantly needs water but in that dry season, how is that possible? Kondhin says he follows the King’s advice and built a big pond in his property that collects rainwater. He is using this water now.
From rice to sky.
Nearly ready :-)
These little shells live, in the shade, in this shallow water.
To prevent flood, Kondhin dug a large ditch all around his property. The soil he extracted served to build this natural fence where we are walking now. He planted most of the tree here.
Pita said this tree has some medicinal value but I don’t remember which one… Very useful isn’t it?
These are apparently rare chilly, extremely hot. Effectively, I’ve never seen purple chilly yet.
A cheaper way than building a roof, Kondhin uses the shade of his own trees to grow more plants. He has so many different species. Pita could not translate everything to I will stop here for now. The next part will be the bats and the monkeys that we will visit later this afternoon.