On July 31, 2006, the 17 acre main body of the pointReturn site was formally registered. It took until the December 21, 2006 to buy an additional 0.91 cents on which to lay an all weather access road. But that didn’t quite start off the project. I had to wait until April, 2007 for the … Continue reading One year on
Living with a windmill requires adjustments that our electricity-centred lives don’t quite prepare us for. You can’t switch a windmill on or off – the wind does that. Since you can’t predict when that might happen, you need to store the water as you get it. And if you store it at a reasonable elevation, … Continue reading Water on high
A pond once dug, is forever- provided it’s given reasonable care. It will live eternally, filling and emptying, and enriching the neighbourhood. If you are looking for a purpose in life, dig a rainwater catchment hole -small or large – and watch water staying in when it next rains. No surprise then, that a popular … Continue reading Planning a pond
Every expedition requires a basecamp at which to stay close to the target; to plan and begin the climb. pointReturn site has lacked even a basic shed. Every tool and requirement has had to be brought in and taken away at the end of the day. The site is also devoid of human habitation for … Continue reading Long time at base camp
The new windmill has been trying its best to be of service. There were a few anxious days when a part had to be replaced, the piping and pump to be changed and ways of managing it, to be understood. It pumps water now, but with some notable caveats. After digesting the unpleasant messages it … Continue reading Water realities
There is a windmill standing at the pointReturn site right now. It’s pumping water from about 120′ below the surface. It shows all signs of being a reliable source of water. It was erected just over two weeks ago. It didn’t pump steadily right away and so took some tweaking before it would. Even now … Continue reading A windpump arrives at pointReturn
The story so far: in six days spread over nearly a fortnight, tonnes of debris and rubble had been ferried from well-heads nearby, to form a 2200′ long road. It was mostly rocky and lay as piled. The story ended with the intent that it would be compacted and then given a overlay of finer … Continue reading The road runs its course
Sometimes the task undertaken at pointReturn seems too formidable. The fibre of a 64 year old is supposed to be tough but it often weakens. To survive such moments, I was given on April 29, a humbling lesson and a supply of motivation at Aaraasur, a tiny hamlet even farther away and more unheard of … Continue reading Aaraasur: an interlude
A newly formed road is always a precursor of change. Whether that change is beneficial or harmful is a matter worth studying. Often, it’s a trade-off between necessity and disruption. The pointReturn site is about 2200 feet away from a public road and I have just formed a private road on fields through which I … Continue reading Forming a road
Even if you are not an environmentalist, it pays to be attentive to natural resources because they can affect your wallet and well-being. Modern economies depend on growth but they can be stumped when sustainability of natural systems is ignored. I may have waxed a little lyrical when I declared that at pointReturn, I proposed … Continue reading India, browning