Permaculture Pioneers in Nepal: “Taari Baa” and “Taari Aama”
By Jeeban Bastola, Amrit Kunja Organic Permaculture Farm
Surya Mohan Bastola is the name of asuccessful organic permaculture farmer, anactivist. and a social worker. He foundedAmrit Kunja Organic Permaculture Farm (AKOPF) in Majhatha (rural area ofNepal) with the aim to advocate permaculture, sustainable agriculture, and sustainable development in Nepal.The name of my farm is Amrit Kunja Organic Permaculture Farm. Amrit mean holy water, Kunja means collections of plants. We want to extract holy water from the collection of plants and organic soil and spread it all around the world. Love, kind-ness, wisdom, brotherhood, and humanity are all good and positive vibes, which we want to share all round the world.AKOPF is located on the north sideof famous Beganas Lake near PokharaCity. Fighting with landslides, soil ero-sion, drought every year on a very slopingland, he started AKOPF by planting nativefruits, medicinal plants, herbs, shrubcreepers, climbers, and indigenous treeson approximately seven acres. In Nepal,in 1994 to 1995, the permaculture designcourse training was conducted in Pokhara.Among the few attendees, was SuryaMohan Bastola, who had been practicingorganic permaculture farming in Pokharafor more than two decades.The farm boasts extremely rich variet-ies of plants. Overall there are more than400 species that have been deemed usefulto humans and animals. Everything at thefarm is organically grown, without usingany harmful pesticides, fungicides, fertiliz-ers, etc. AKOPF developed as a model farmfor growth, personal development (mental,physical, and spiritual) learning, sharing,and experiencing a new way of life.In Bastola’s farm, he researches, demonstrates, and trains local farmers, empowerswomen and both national and international visitors in permaculture design andregenerative farming.Permanent Culture in AgriculturePermaculture is derived from “perma-nent culture,” a term coined by Bill Mol-lison and David Holmgren in the 1970s.“The development of an organic agricul-tural ecosystem is intended to be sustain-able and self-sufficient, in my experience,”Bastola said. Bastola has good knowledgeand experience of dozens of principles ofpermacultures and has undergone severalrounds of training.AKOPF is also a founding member ofNepal Permaculture Group. AKOPF hasbeen operating on the ethics and principlesof permaculture, food forests, sustainableagriculture, and environmentally-friendlyfarming systems. Central to Permacultureare three ethics: earth care, people care,and fair share. “Permaculture has threeaspects: ethical framework, understandinghow nature works, and a design approach,”he added. Permaculture is based onvarious principles which are meant to be