Road-tripping and green-tripping

Another post along the green trail. This talks about something my kids and I enjoyed while on the road - mainly highways in Kerala.

And that is, stopping to look at various kinds of cash crops. Understanding what is the process from plant produce to bank balance.We stopped at two plantations: a rubber plantation and a tea plantation. And the kids got a good lesson from their grandfather on how rubber is tapped...

Seeing how rubber cutting is done

and how tea is grown, plucked, dried, packed, sold and consumed...

Tea Gardens at Kumily, Kerala

So this is what I would suggest to all of you who go on road trips with your children. Stop. Smell the roses. And show your children that rubber is not factory made, neither does tea come from a box.

P.S. As you can see, my photoshop skills are not good. Where I wanted to blur the kids' faces, I have instead given them some brown masks :) 

Make your child green/brown

And here I am, writing after many months. Today's post is along the green trail. It's about children and gardening.

Kids seem to have this natural affinity towards mud, whether on their hands or on their faces, and definitely on their clothes. But instead of fighting this affinity, why not encourage it? Why not let the little ones help you while you are repotting, or pruning, or even watering your plants?

Little ones in the garden - Thanks Tadan for the pic

Lots of opportunity there - for you to breathe in fresh air with your kids, improve their plant vocabulary, teach them science in a practical way, show them how effort can be rewarded with tangible returns...

So lets do our part in bringing up little human beings who want to give back to this earth, and not just take-take-take all the time. Do make sure you plant at least one plant with your child in your lifetime... the green lesson.

P.S. The brown smudge on the children's faces is not thematical mud - it is my sad Photoshop attempt at smudging. :)