by Sezgin | May 1, 2015 | SeedsonWheels |
We enter Nepal from Kakarbhitta border by walking, after passing the bridge between India and Nepal. We wouldn’t even go through passport check if he hadn’t enter the single-store building after seeing the small old signboard on it. We get our visa in a couple of minutes after paying 40$ as enrty fee and the one page form to smiling policemen. There are 450 kilometers to reach Kathmandu. Our journey starts after buying a bus ticket from the bus station just next to the border for 1000 Rs. (15 $) with one of the “non-AC” buses. We travel for 17 hours waggling with never ending music. There is no other way of getting used to long and shaking trips, even if you are travelling with the most comfortable bus. We arrive to Kathmandu early in the morning and settle in a hotel, named Blue Diamond, in the touristic center, Thamel. 800 Rs. (10 $) for a room per day is cheap for this location, but it is possible to stay in Basanthapur, the old city center close to Thamel, for a cheaper price. Thamel’s streets, full of souvenir shops selling colorful Nepalese cloths and trekking equipment, usually end in a small square full of temples. We also shop for trekking while exploring Kathmandu. There are both cheap local restaurants and luxurious restaurants serving world cuisine in Thamel. After India, it is also easy in Nepal to find vegetarian food. “Dhal Bhat”, consisted of rice, a dish like lentil soup and another food mostly including potato, is the main dish in Nepal. Most of the Nepalese eat this two times...
by Ebru | Jul 15, 2014 | SeedsonWheels |
We arrive Marmariç after a long climbing, passing near old houses whose walls stands still. We will be there to get Permaculture Design Course and to take place in the kitchen and in the construction of buildings using earth and stone. Different people coming from different places and different lives… All of them have a different story but similar dreams. Those who are trying escape from where civilization trapped. Marmariç is a village in where approximately fifteen people living and with volunteers population is rising. One of the places where seeds of a livable planet spread. We take classes from the process of nature with Mustafa. About everything from a rain drop that didn’t fall on the ground to a leaf that goes in soil, about the patterns of nature and designs of life. The curiosity and uneasiness of the first time passes quickly. Like we were always here and we used to know each other always; since the time when the universe began to expand and stars began shining. Since when the earth has emerged and the life began. Everybody is like learning everything again and for the first time. We examine meanings of words and language, like we live the childhood of our lives again. We understand nature like kids trying to understand it freely. We are like listening to sounds, not words. Every short break after classes is spent by trying to calm the density of our minds. By asking the questions that we haven’t asked for a long time. We walk in gardens in which abundance of forest...
by Sezgin | Jun 24, 2014 | SeedsonWheels |
In the beauty of Ida Mountains, among trees, a dirt road with curves welcomes us with all its hospitality. We accept the invitation and start following it. We reach Muratlar after passing two beautiful villages. We move to the way shown by a small wooden sign placed on a pole among country houses with stone walls: Yeniköy. We are fascinated by the view of the valley lying before us while pebbles rolling under the wheels. We run into a couple of old houses near the road. When we see the garden full of labor and love, we leave the vehicle. There are sorrels, basils, lettuces, sages, mints in the garden surrounded by stone houses. On one side of the fertile garden a wooden table stands under the sunshade. We are invited to the lunch. A pizza prepared by the people living here with the plants gathered from the earth of this place is served and we start talking. Yeniköy Farm is founded on a land by a couple of people collectively. At present, Mustafa is taking care of this place as a permanent resident. His nickname is Balıkçı (The Fisher). He tells us about the fish he caught in the village where he lived when he was a child. He was going to fishing in the morning and going back home in the evening. That’s how he was feeding the whole family. Then he went to the city to become a civil engineer, but his longing for nature is kept in his heart. Finally he came here and settled. He answers all of our questions deeply....
by Sezgin | May 20, 2014 | SeedsonWheels |
Our hands are touching the earth and growing seeds with other hands. We think all together and grow together.Our dreams meet and our hopes grow. Our hearts, minds and hands come together; and we realise! We all meet around the dining table of the earth. Then we open our arms and immediately another hand catches one of our hands. While we are on our way to learn from nature and people who acts with nature, we visit communities interested in ecology and ecologic farms to join their work voluntarily. There are a lot of organizations connecting people who want to work voluntarily with communities who need volunteers. Via these organizations, you can contact with farms and communities to support them using your skills according to their needs in return for food and a place to sleep. Also you get a greal deal experiences about sustainable life and organic farming at the end of this process. Working in farms this way is called Woofing. It is named by one of the most popular platforms in this field, WWOOF. WWOOF, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, was founded by an English woman Sue Coppardand and active in almost every country. You should check the WWOOF web site of the country you want to work. For example, you can get information from wwoofgreece.org for Greece, wwoofindia.org for India. You get the right of access to telephone and e-mail information of farm residents to contact after paying membership fee (15-30 Euros) in each country. Any farming information is not required to join. In Turkey, the project is led under the name of TaTuTa (Eco-Agro Tourism and Voluntary Knowledge and...
