The Grass root people…

Small growers are responsible in providing most of the vegetables we consume locally in Mauritius.  Some contribution is also made by large sugar estates.  We currently are self-sufficient in fresh vegetables, but for how long will this trend continue?

Times of Change...

Times of change might be the answer

Times of change might be today's prayer;

Look out at the sky, at the infinite blueness

Summer is again calling out, birds are building new nests...

The world is new, unlike the grey yesterday

And Today is also a new day;

Days and weeks and months have gone by

The tree has bloomed, the pond is dry,

Life has revolved again

The wind of change should be blowing by again...

Sky...

  Sky: by courtesy of Samiirah

                            

                                                   

                               

                                The dawn of Life starts with a pink innocent sky

                                        

                                         The world is gently waking up…

                The sun brings in golden shade and the sea brings in its blueness;

                                  This morning, the happy birds swing up;

                                      The sky’s limit is beyond their nests…

                 The plane cruises over unknown destination, through a blue sky;

                             Skies of blue shining in dreamy blue eyes;

                     Dreams of Life shining through endless colourful skies…

                                                               *  *  *

Chayote trellises...

I often come across cropping patterns or certain agricultural practices that strike me.  We are all familiar with crops being sown on the ground.  What happens when space is a limiting factor or the farmer is a dreamy fellow?

Something like the picture here stands out from the crowd...

This is a man-made "treliss" made out of old pvc pipes and wooden poles to support a chayote vine.

Pretty isn't it?  Lost in the middle of nowhere, it is set against a bamboo hedging and a row of plants that look like vetiver.

Chayote (Sechium edule) is conventionally grown on the ground where it is allowed to extend its vines and heart shaped leaves.  It can also be tamed to grow upright along trelisses, as shown above.  In Mauritius, the Sechium edule plant is treasured for:

• Its fruit; the chayote locally known as chouchou, 
• the leaves which serve to make the traditional brede-chouchou and finally
•  its root which are lesser known but once popular in ancestral times; cambarre chouchou

WEB 2.0 LEARNING OPPORTUNITY: MY EXPERIENCE

The Web 2.0 Learning Opportunity, an initiative offered by the CTA (Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Competition) was run at the Faculty of Agriculture from the 9th-27th of July, in Mauritius. This was possible with close collaboration between FoA, CTA and the Food and Agricultural Research Council (FARC).

   I was lucky to be part of the trainees selected for this training session.  Classes usually combined interactive activities like meta cards which were stuck on the walls (see picture above), hands on practicals after theory lessons, democracy walls where we could express our feelings openly after the day, nice short videos and delightfully jovial and patient trainers.

My personal experiences after following this session are a mix of professional tips that I have acquired but also nice moments that boosted my spirit up.  Basically the training helped:

• To learn about the use of Web 2.0. Tools (Google Docs, RSS Feeds, Google Maps, Skype, LinkedIn,  Wikis, Blogging, Twitter, Facebook,...)
• To use Web 2.0 tool for educational/work purposes related to Agriculture.Here for example, we learnt how we could subscribe to feeds related to our field of specializations such as latest crop/animal research, pest or disease outbreaks in Agriculture, etc, and thus get updates.  We also learnt how to collaborate on wikis and share our ideas.
• Learn about the Informal Learning Process and take a break from work routines!

A big word of thanks for CTA, FoA and the trainers who helped to disseminate Web 2.0. Tools amidst agricultural specialists.

My first post in Agriculture

Sustainable Agriculture has to do with the efficient use of our natural resources, ecological friendly means of farming or cultivating.  It can often integrate the use of practices such IPM, efficient fertilizer management or inputs management, composting, etc...

Angel of Love...

"Tool Angel, tool eye"2007 © by xxhaqxx Candi,USA used under a Creative Commons Attribution, 3.0 License

Sly lady who calls herself the Angel of Love

Lured me to her fine silky web

Woven with sweet tempting words and misty promises;

Promises of a better day, of meeting up with Love...

My feelings reached a Crescendo, but then slowly ebbed..

She scorns, she mocks, she whispers, she entices

And I was left midway like a stupid Dove;

Innocence still reflecting upon Love...

And he came, and he went;

A lover that was only lent

For one cloudy, rainy day;

Angel of Love, the sly lady's play...

Let me write...

"A Natural History of the Senses" © 2010 Darren Kirby , used under a 2.0 Creative commons License

Let me write,

Poems and stories and careless words

In a last attempt to love you

In a last attempt to ask for my right;

To be part of your world

To have my heart linked to you

Like a bird cruising a lonely beach 

Choosing the Sea and the Sky as its home;

Far from the tall skyscrapers roof, where it was born...

Let my hand reach

Close to yours, a feathery touch when you are alone,

Busy streets or quiet ripples and a pink dawns;

Let me write, let me dream

For my world resides in my writings

And my sweetest dream

Ends with those little shared feelings...

My mum remains the best...

"Mum and Daughter 2" © Ava Lowery, 2009. Used under a  Creative Commons 2.0 License

My mum remains my best gift...

In unspoken words, angry sighs

 and situations quoted by: "why do you behave like this"

My mum remains the best, simply because

When the world crashed apart and the skies

Threatened to fall upon my head,

She was the only one who was strong enough

To make me eat a morsel of bread

To wipe my feverish head

And to dress me up like a princess

For the world to see,When the world only saw her like an ordinary lady...

She lost her bindiyaa...

She lost her bindiyaa

Midway in between scented kohl and dew tears;

Trying to wipe off the sadness from her face,

The last gifts of a Heartless Lover...

And then it flied off, her red Dupatta;

Carrying her away, along with her anxiety and fears

Up till a new, foreign place;

Life had to start again without her Lover...

Black curls were hidden

Bangles were removed and sandals replaced by shoes;

Lazy walks became laborious work,

And dreamy eyes became tearful secrets...

Somewhere at night, the dreams that are forbidden

Swirl back, whispered by her care-free Muse...

The intrepid memories lurk

In between Times that were once thought to be perfect...

But then Reality blows in quickly,

Long stretches without rest

Without his smile, without his warmth,

Condemned to face utter Loneliness...

He flew off so swiftly

Taking off her bindiyaa, her smile and the rest;

Leaving behind empty arms

Un-bothered about her sadness...

Heartless Lover...

Heartless lover, you mock me

With your muffled scorn and aquiline features,

Like an abrupt ending cliff over a quiet shore...

Heartless lover, your scrutiny over me

Is trying to intrude in my heart’s apertures

But catches only a glimpse of my dim eyes, nothing more...

Heartless lover, your laughter resonates all night long

In empty arms and dry cracked lips,

In unheard cries and long haunting nightmare,

In trembling spasms haunting my body

And a lone tear- a silk veil over my eyes....

Heartless lover, gone away since long

You are Life in a cold coffee sip,

Life in lonely times, depraved of familiarity and care

Holding on, without ever belonging to anybody...

Heartless lover, I do not long for your arms

But I long to find my freedom again;

Floating as seaweeds over lagoons gone calm;

Flying like free birds across window panes..

A heart grown silent

A heart grown silent

Like a looming, cloudy winter sky

Un-trespassed by curious birds,  left to stand alone...

Eyes; once vibrant

Staring like a empty lake after a bird’s fly

Blue and lifeless, even on a new dawn…

A solitary bird perched high

Staring at the changing sky

Wondering if a pair of swans will cross the lake again

And if ever lone hearts heal from pain…

The last love poem...

Sometimes Love just stays there

In the same street you walk on everyday

Even if not in the company of the special one...

Sometimes Love stays suspended in thin air

When morning wakes up in the same way;

Vivid blue skies like a lake and peaceful clouds like a drifting swan...

Sometimes Love remains in the lyrics of a familliar song

Catching the strings of your heart each and everytime

Just like a faint smile or a faint smell, bringing it all back again...

Sometimes love is long ago gone

And we live only by past memories, by good old times

And we learn that Love is also about accepting the pain...

Sometimes Love is not only about dating and flirting

But a journey of inner discovering

Where the heart learns to give without ever thinking...

Sometimes Love is like a sweet bird chirping

Bringing a little tint of magic in everything;

Keeping the heart safe in sweet feelings....

At times Love goes away

Whispering good bye without any word

Leaving the heart cold and sore...

Love is neither about being proud or showing who gets the 


last word

Because when Love goes away

The proud man becomes humble to the world

And inspite of being rich, has nothing much left anymore...

Love is neither about riches, scorning or human logic

It is only about feelings, you may call it magic

magic that makes two people sacrifice everything

And create joy out of nothing...

Love is to be cherished and respected, to be grateful for 
having it

For life hold essence without it....

Love tale..

There was once a girl

As frail as a young flower

And untainted as the first morning light...

One day she met with a young man;

A brave fellow busy saving the world,

Who had forgotten that he needed a lover...

So they met, it was love at first sight

He taught her to trust and open her heart

She taught him all about living and smiling...

Months flew by; January was tender,

February was a time of sweet discovery;

March and April were the culmination;

Their souls were bound and their hearts were flying

Across limpid skies reserved only for a lover..

But then, it came a time when reality

Left everything in oblivion

And they had to part

Even if she never wanted to

Even if he was caught in between his love and his troubles...

One year is gone by

Yet their love remains suspended in summer skies

No meeting, no phone calls

But they cannot stop their dreams or make their mind falter...