People question themselves at the strangest of times. Venkatesh Dharmraj was no different. At the height of his success as a legal professional, he took a step back and wondered how he could contribute to a better India. Like many others, he tried going the NGO route but didn’t find much satisfaction due to various reasons. So he travelled the world searching for different ways to fulfil his mission to better India.
He came across a community in Australia’s Sunshine Coast that led him to the Australian Permaculture Institute and the Crystal Waters Eco-Village. At the time, he had no idea what permaculture was but what he found out fascinated him. Improving soil conditions, growing organic vegetables, using cheaper natural materials, conserving energy, creating water catchments and converting waste into useful produce – all of these contributed to permaculture, which was essentially permanent agriculture or permanent sustained living.
Armed with this knowledge, he continued on to Panya in Thailand where training was conducted in self-sustaining and stable permaculture, creating food forests and designing cheaper homes with natural materials. He realized that all of this and more was possible in India and so he began his life’s mission.
He began his journey in a 5-acre orphanage with 54 children. He started growing vegetables in this barren land. 
To demonstrate this success, he is now planning a permaculture site in Bangalore with the help of experts. This site, which will likely start by the end of June 2013, will also serve as a training centre to spread the awareness of permaculture to other parts of India.
Permaculture has the potential to change the face of rural India by promoting sustainable living. If you would like to partner, volunteer or donate to help form a team to start this venture, please contact Mr. Venkatesh Dharmaraj at vdharmraj@ramaavenkatesh.com
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