Hello Everyone, so it's been a long time since I've published a blog post. This post is to briefly describe what I've been up to in the three years since I posted last. Time is strange in the hills. It feels like it goes by slowly with the breakneck pace of the city absent here, and yet before I knew it three full years had gone by. I've been living in sync with the earth's rotations, going about every day and doing what I can while living the dream. Some of what's been happening in this time is as follows
The beautiful views from the place I call home
Building, Building, Building!
I last posted about how I built myself a basic shelter using thatch and tarps as roofing. While it provided a basic shelter and allowed me to move to the land, it quickly proved that it wasn't able to withstand the heavy monsoons. As I was living inside a tent even within this shack, I was able to stay dry and safe, but it was imperative that I build myself a structurally sound space for which work began in earnest. I'm writing this post now from a beautiful mud house that we built from scratch and I will eventually post about the process. Other than housing, we set to work on building a bathroom, shower space, kitchen and studio space for work.
My shelter slowly unravelling with the weather
Growing
As infrastructure was taking up most of our time, I didnt pay as much attention to planting crops as I could have but nevertheless we grew a few batches of vegetables with mixed levels of success.
Cabbage grown on the land that was later made into kimchi
Discovering The Surroundings
One of my side projects on the land was to learn as much from it as possible. As we had limited resources for planting our own crops, I figured I'd learn about the plants that grow wild in the area. It's easy to discount something as a 'weed' but the more research I did, I discovered how useful the wild plants in the area actually are with multiple medicinal and edible uses.
Beautiful Giant Lobelia that grows wild in the area that is an expectorant and promotes lung health
Cooking
Living off grid means that I have to be solely responsible for everything that happens here including feeding myself. While at times it feels like a chore, it's also allowed for me to upskill my abilities and make food that is a pleasure to eat, creating dishes that are wholesome, tasty and nutritious.
Chickpea cutlets on flat bread garnished with wild herbs
Creating
I've also been creating more, with art and more recently with music. Using creativity as a form of meditation, healing and giving in to the flow.
Handrawn illustration and story telling through art
Living My Best Life
I've been truly lucky to be able to live in the hills and call this place my home. I've been so grateful to be here, especially when the pandemic hit and while it has still affected us in minor ways, I'm lucky that I can use this pandemic time for self growth and healing, instead of having to suffer the horrors of what it's doing to our cities. I've been living consciously and slowly and will eventually post more in detail about everything that's happening here. It's good to be back, and looking forward to this journey continuing to unfold with beauty and grace.
