[pointReturn site in Jun,2006]
Beginning Apr 2007, 17 acres of wasteland, 100 kM south of Chennai, India are being restored to be productive in water, food, energy and cash
Between 2000 and 06, I published GoodNewsIndia, a site which is still online [click the icon above]. Many of the stories I researched and wrote, nudged me towards the pointReturn project. More on this under the About menu
– dv
aka D V Sridharan
I have come out of retirement and have assumed responsibility for pR’s future. I now work with 4 employees, two of whom are nearly as old as me. The current work is in cleaning up, re-organising and to begin food-growing.It maybe quite sometime before I update this site with all the work being done- but in the meantime, this is to assure you all that the adventure has not ended despite the setback.There has been some new thinking to ensure the land’s future after my time. I shall update you all at a later time.
-dv Jun 2015
Stories
pointReturn – a quick history | Areas earmarked for Agriculture | The story so far and the road ahead | Why do I trust and admire Anna Hazare? | Pongamia: a mid-course check | A cottage for residents | The Grand Spirits of India | Out of ’10 and into ’11 | What moves pointReturn | Siddarth | India’s Mark II Pump | Beginning to grow | Inside pointReturn | The Humanure Handbook | Raised bed vegetable growing | Ecosan toilets | Evolution of sanitation at pointReturn | Karpagam and Sriram | Hosted cows | Falling in love with swales | A primer on swales | A Banana Circle | Visitors from Sadhana Forest | A Pongamia trove | Vegetables and seasons | Water woes, Oct. 09 | The gentle bikie Ringo, aka Paul Kean | Consecration | Yanmar VIO20 , a mini excavator | Google Earth image of pointReturn in 2009 | The new pavilion at pointReturn | Solar driven scooter | Status report: June, 2009 | A rocket stove in terracota | Adventures with the Rocket Stove | Trees at pointReturn | Permaculture : an interlude | Exploring cob | Large water storage – a solution | Off grid power | Vetiver : an interlude | A spell of inaction | Was it the week that oil peaked? | A planting plan | State of the rains, 2007 | Rock harvest | Gandhigram : An interlude | A pond is born | Building with local materials | One year on | Water on high | Planning a pond | Long time at base camp | Water realities | A windpump arrives at pointReturn | The land as it was: 2006 | The road runs its course | Aaraasur: an interlude | Forming a road | India, browning | We made a picnic of it, though | The fence grows a little | Status report: March,2007 | Water ahoy! | A hiatus | A way west | Consulting a traditional builder | Vetiver – how to plant it | Divining for water | Two-pit composting latrines are best for tropics | Status report: Oct. 2006 | Nature as a capitalist | Biofuel concerns | Virtues of vetiver | Using an A-Frame to trace contours | The arcana of buying land | Prayer and worship | Open Source Offices | On first seeing Vellimalai | The hunt for an earth canvas | What is pointReturn? |
dear sir,
this long silence at point return worries me. I hope and pray that you are well. i also visit farm -yeah time to time.
i will be grateful you could let us know about current activities at point return.
kind regards
Rakesh
Thank you for your great post on Swales. After viewing Falling in love with Swales, I too fell in love with them. I had thought they were beyond my capabilities but that slide show made me realise I could have them. I already knew I needed them. I play the slide show over and over, I hope one day my Swales will be beautiful too. Thank you thank you.