FAQ

How did you come up with the idea of the Food Forest Workshop?

I’ve been immensely inspired by folks who have built thriving robust food forests in their farms. I started to design and build one at Vaksana Farms, my 13-acre farm, and soon realized that this is a deep ocean in itself. I reached out to a lot of these people, read a lot of books on forest gardening and researched a lot on this topic. I really wish someone could teach me and guide me to fast track my progress. I realized that there are many others who are eager to set up a food forest. This is the inspiration to create this workshop.

How is a Food Forest different from a traditional farm?

A traditional farm focuses on cash crops and follows a monoculture technique of focusing on one or two crops. Food Forest strongly believes in diversity focusing on maximizing the output from the land. Food forests produce high yields of food, with minimal maintenance – humans design with nature to let nature work on her own.

I don’t have a farm yet. Can I still attend?

Yes, you can. However, we have realized that you are best served if you have a place where you can implement all the learnings from the workshop.

Is this a permaculture workshop?

This workshop uses Permaculture principles and specializes in the art of creating Food Forests on a farm. Using permaculture techniques, we learn to copy nature’s patterns in vertical and horizontal space, weaving food-bearing trees into a matrix with native species of trees. Edible Plants, Shrubs, Greens and ground cover crops are incorporated, again mixing human food-producers with a wide spectrum of native species.

Is this an organic farming workshop?

The workshop uses organic farming principles extensively. However, the workshop specializes in the creation of food forests. This is not a generic course on organic farming. It is a highly specialized course on the creation of a diverse, permaculture drives way of creating a farm full of edible produce.

Can I bring my family along?

Yes, you can if they are paid, attendees. We only encourage paid participants in the program in order to focus on the workshop. This is a very intensive two-day training program and its best to have only people deeply interested in the program.

Where is the farm located?

Vaksana Farms, the venue for the workshop, is located 127 km from Chennai. The nearest town is Tindivnam which is 17 km from the farm.

How do I get to the farm?

If you are coming from other cities (like some of the participants did in the first edition), then it is best to fly into Chennai and then carpool with folks from Chennai. All participants are connected with other over email before the workshop and this helps in carpooling.

What is the accommodation like?

The accommodation is a small farmhouse in the middle of the 13-acre farm. The farm is located in the remote village of Rettanai. The accommodation is dormitory style. You are free to bring along your tents in case you want to camp outdoors.

I have more questions. Who do I speak to?

You can speak with me (Kiruba Shankar) and I’m happy to answer your questions. You can write to me at Kiruba@Kiruba.com or call me at 9841597744.

I’m interested in participating. How do I register?

It’s quite simple. Takes just two minutes. Click this link to register.