Elements of a near perfect weekend...

This was supposed to be what I actually wanted to write in my previous post, but that morphed into something else, so finally here's what I actually did at ecogrid.

The destination

• a quiet getaway, bamboo structure camp at the base of a cliff and at the edge of a crystal clear lake
  
• no electricity, place lit by old fashioned lanterns, makeshift tiki torches & a few solar lamps
  

What we did

• lounged about on a swinging machan with a clear view of the lake
• pitched tents, drank away on the top deck with a brilliantly lit night sky and ate endless amounts of food
  
• highlight of the evening - meteor shower! spotted at least 5 shooting stars, saw saturn & its rings in all its glory, great view of the lunar landscape & brushed up on constellation knowledge. Am pretty sure can spot Leo now
• sat at the edge of the late with feet dipped in - instant cooling!
  

The food

• wood-fire oven baked, thin crust mini pizzas on arrival
• potato wedges and eggplant roast, cheese canapes and baked okra, paneer stuffed tomatoes
• steaming hot rasam, garlick and cheese buns, stone grilled chicken, leg of lamb, fish cutlets, fish fry, apple crumble & custard
• fresh fruit, baked potato & salami omelet, freshly baked pav, methi paranthas

Special mention

• adding some colour to the camp - a crotchety old rooster whose body clock was completely out of whack. Began crowing at 3:30 am and didn't stop till sunset

The ecogrid

I got to know about Ecogrid through one of those chance incidences and after my second visit there this year I'm very glad I did.
A summary of what Ecogrid is all about might not do it justice because Andy (who runs the place & conceptualized it) is so full of ideas & constant energy & passion for his work that you're left amazed at all that he's done with the place & even more so all that he plans to do. Nevertheless I intend to try!
The core idea is to develop a sustainable green commune in rural surroundings and build a platform for green enthusiasts & activists to practice their knowledge and ideas, lend a hand and most importantly - have a ball doing it!

Developed on a part of land tucked away near the backwaters of Mulshi, the place is about as close to nature as you can get & the idea is to let it remain so. Andy being something of an expert in building rural, low-cost & ecofriendly structures has built a beautiful cottage, a deck, a machan & a kitchen all in that fashion. For visitors there's space aplenty to pitch tents, and I would advise everyone to pitch their own tents - it's great fun! Of course the best part about all of this is that along with being a lot of things Andy also happens to be a master chef!!

I'd said it would be tough telling what Ecogrid was all about - so instead I'll just give an idea of what all are the ways you can involve yourself in Ecogrid

1. Spend a day there doing some or all of the activities the location affords - a hike, a trek, rappelling down a cliff, jump into the lake for a quick swim, get spoiled by eating freshly made food straight out of the wood burn oven or involve yourself in a bbq

2. stay overnight, star gaze like never before - a clear night sky is one of the perks of Ecogrid, pitch your own tent, eat an open dinner over a bonfire, learn about sustainable development by observing it first hand, hang out at the swinging machin with a beautiful view of the lake

3. contribute your knowledge of green development in rural areas or create a custom program to learn more about rain water harvesting, bamboo building kits, eco-tourism

These are just some of things to enjoy at Ecogrid. The best way is to visit once, see the place for yourself & observe it firsthand. There are always schemes and plans afoot - like currently one of them is building a special rainwater harvesting mechanism, another is workshops conducted at Ecogrid for stress relief & relaxation, yet another a night trek & bbq up in the jungle nearby.
I have to mention how the people involved in the daily running are locals who, more than anyone, realize the importance of sustainable development . Ecogrid aims to support the locals, involve them and use their knowledge and ultimately make them self sufficient.

This is just a small part of the vision of Ecogrid. I intended to write on how my weekend was spent there but I think that's another post by itself.

Check out Ecogrid at facebook

comfort food

It's a coincidence that this post is also about food, but I was getting chai from this place and it's menu was a great way to capture all the memories associated with the kind of food that was on it. Here's a photo....

This is survival food, stuff that would save you when you had skipped all your meals because you slept through them or because the food you could get your hands on tasted like cardboard. Some of these are obviously local specialties, but evergreen stuff like bhurji, maggi, omelet, fried rice, sandwich (with chutney obviously), jeera rice, noodles are of course there.
So here's to quick, cheap, probably unhealthy, mostly unhygienic and the best comfort food of college life!