Hands-on Exchange on

Ecological Farming: How to Set up a Sustainable Farm

5th to 12th March 2016 November, 2014

The course fees, inclusive of training material, food and lodge: INR 15,000

The course fee does not include travel to the training venue.

Training venue: Smell of the Earth farm, Ruppur, Birbhum. Train station is Bolpur. It is possible to arrive at the farm by car/auto/toto from Bolpur station. Fares are INR 150-300 depending on mode of conveyance. Buses to Ruppur are also available from Jambuni bus stand 4/5 times a day.

Smell of the Earth is a small-scale family farm designed according to Permaculture principles to meet the food needs of a family of three. It is a two-acre, one-year-old farm, currently growing rice, vegetables, mustard, potatoes and other diverse crops. The participants will stay at the farm with our family.

Trainers: Aparajita Sengupta and Debal Mazumder

For further details contact:

Medium of instruction is primarily English, but Bengali and Hindi support are available on request.

Note: Academic or farming credentials are not necessary criteria to attend the course, but sensitivity towards nature and community are desired. We reserve the right to admit candidates to the course. Candidates will be notified of their participation on receipt of the completely filled application form and deposit.

Please fill in the following section and email it to us by 10th February 2016. Applications will not be considered until the deposit is paid (See below).

Please fill in BLOCK

1. Name of Candidate:

2. Permanent Postal Address/Telephone/Email:

3. Date of Birth:

4. Sex (To Facilitate Accommodation):

5. First Language:

6. Present Occupation and Roles and Responsibilities:

7. Have you attended any other natural farming/Permaculture/sustainability course(s)?

8. What do you want to gain from attending this course?

9. What expectations do you have about this course?

10. Please list any experiences or knowledge you have relating natural farming or sustainability (food production, design, community work, etc.) You might be asked to share your experiences with the class.

11. Do you want any specific areas to be covered in the Exchange?

12. Do you have any physical limitations we should know about (including inability to squat/sit on the floor)? We will be doing a lot of hands-on. We need to know this about you to best accommodate all the needs of the participants. This will in no way exclude you from acceptance into the course.

13: I wish to pay INR 15,000 to Smell of the Earth, out of which INR 7,500 (non-refundable) is payable by bank transfer by 10th February 2016, and the remaining INR 7500 is payable in cash upon arrival on 5th March.

Please email us the filled out form to receive bank details and complete the procedure. Your application will not considered until the deposit is paid.