Peace and harmony radiated from all corners of Makaibari, so much so that even at the height of the separatist movement for Gorkhaland, when the entire district was in chaos and all the gardens were closed, Makaibari was tranquil. In spite of the fact that military forces were deployed to suppress the legitimate rights of people, resulting in much violence and bloodshed, neither the militants nor the military troubled us at Makaibari. Such are the miraculous powers of biodynamics.

When the district finally won autonomy and normalcy returned in its wake, I was pleasantly surprised to be invited by other state governments to buy land, and to practise and teach the nuances of biodynamic sustainability. They all had one desire, ‘Please make our region prosper with peace and harmony’. Though flattered, I declined all overtures, saying, ‘We are not interested in acquiring land. We would much rather show you how we do it.’ That is how the idea for the first project was born. The project site was at Sang-Martam, a community of villages in Sikkim, bordering Tibet. Here, within the forests, tea would become a part of its agricultural diversity that included herbs, cereals, vegetables, fruits and flowers. We worked with a cluster of villages in the valley to commence sustainable agricultural practices there. Cradled amidst virgin forest, the terraced fields of paddy offered some of the best views on Earth.