why want a farm

Motivations:
• A healthy lifestyle in the not-too-distant future
• A responsible lifestyle (no garbage, no sewage)
• Responsible land use
  • no leaving land fallow
  • compensate for ongoing deforestation (native species)
  • diversity of plants, flowering all year (for the bees)
  • fodder for some gaushala
• Responsible water use
  • ideally, well water use only in dry spells, and for small patches of banana and sugarcane
  • entirely rainfed and using harvested rainwater otherwise
• Self-sufficiency first
  • groundnut and kusube (safflower)
  • ragi, navaNe
  • mango, bel, guava, pomegranate, sitaphal
  • ganesha habba patra puja trees
  • species of ayurvedic interest

Non-motivations:
• not looking to produce for wholesale sales
• no tobacco, no arecanut
• not looking to entirely recoup the cost of travelling to the farm

approaches and implementations to aspire to

Approaches
• the Shripad Dabholkar method, his "Plenty for all" book, the follow-ups like NatuEco and Amrut Krushi, Ganga ma mandal, 10-gunta model
• Dr.G.N.S.Reddy's model and ideas
• Asian Agrihistory Foundation/Dr.Y.L.Nene's meta study of organic farming research (gomutra and ghana jeevamruta showed most impact)
• Nammazhwar's and Pamayan's efforts
• Narayan Reddy avaru's practicality
• Dr. P R Seshagiri Rao's presentations
• Hassan's "schools of forest farming"
• Positive Thammiah avaru near Hunsur
• APCNF
• RRAN Karnataka

Implementations:
• A.P.Chandrashekhar avaru's farm outside Mysuru
• Lakshmi Tatachar's farm in Melukote
• Navadarshanam's forest rejuvenation in TN near Anekal

extent of land, expenditure on setup, maintainence

Extent of land:
Land being actively scouted for 2 of us buying together, aiming for possession before the monsoon.

With funds retained for setup, I can probably spend on atleast 3 acres, maybe 4 (design would be for a few more acres, if my co-buyer also buys into this concept).

We would divide the land, but don't intend to have a fence in between and intend to share "infrastructure" and costs proportionally.

Expenditure on setup:
As much, as and when required, as long as there are probable good outcomes.
• willing to start with zero - no fencing, growing a rainfed green manuring crop followed by fodder for a gaushala
• but wouldn't object to putting up a fence and digging for water right away
• would consider going for a detailed design straightaway, especially something as flexible as alley cropping
• not sure I can justify housing and paying for a farmer family on the farm right away

Maintainence:
• no urea/DAP/Roundup/carbide - zero chemicals
• hoping for rain and rainwater management to be enough to avoid active irrigation
  • for crops, the elephant in the room is El Nino!
  • if irrigating, sprinklers and not drip (aerate the water)
• won't buy manure or vermicompost from outside
  • would manage with limited accessible resources
• ideally no mechanization, but might be forced to