Friday 18th: This is long overdue. I have continued working in the garden which I enjoy so much and also enjoy the company of the gardeners here: Ratna, Mukesh (below), Lalita (left) and Mohan (home page). We continued and finished off peeling the asparagus root, which had been boiled first. It was then laid out to dry which takes time. In the drying process it shrinks and is then ready for grinding down to a powder before going through the tablet-making machines that were bought thanks to Glastonbury litterpickers. Asparagus is used medicinally to promote fertility and increase milk production in nursing mothers; it is also an anti-inflamatory and aids in the production of new blood cells.
I didn’t realise how much asparagus had to offer. I watched as Lalita prepared the negundi oil which is wonderful for massaging into painful and achy muscles and joints. We have been able to purchase some here, others I will have to source in London and get a volunteer to carry them over. They really need some books on organic composting and pollination, they have to be in Hindi. So much is available in English but that is no good for the gardeners.
Friday 11th: I had a go at lifting the root of the Chitrak herb using a pick axe. Swinging a pick axe and listening to Bob Dylan singing “Workman’s blues” I was useless, I just don’t have the muscle to do this but I enjoyed trying.
Friday afternoon is the staff meeting which is informative and lively, and it certainly gives all of the staff an opportunity to voice their concerns – what is working, what isn’t. The imbalances, support needed, equipment needed, expenses that need to be updated. Developments to be considered.
