Tea and spices

After we spent an afternoon being canoed around the backwaters of Alleppey we head for the Cardamom Hills. Here is the spice garden of India. In our guest house we get directions to hike to a biological spice farm halfway up on the hill behind the village. It is set in the forest, all the different spice plants grow in between the trees. Harry, the German farmer, doesn't believe in mono-culture, where they clear the land and plant only one kind of crop. He's a very warm host, fixing us a cup of tea with a mixture of his home grown spices. Today he has time to talk with us, as his workers didn't show up this morning. It often happens on mondays, he says. We get a tour around all the different plants and Harry explains how the spices grow, are harvested and prepared for usage. He had to find out about biological spice farming all by himself. In India all the farms use crazy amounts of pesticides and fertilizer. And even after many years working for him, his workers still don't understand why he just doesn't spray. We enjoy listening to this passionate man and walk on to the top of the hill and down passed the tribal village with a bag full of beautiful biological spices. (www.naturalshakti.com)