Our motto: Food as Medicine!
Nature Inspires!
MNC – Answering Mother Nature’s Call
After successfully completing my undergraduate degree in Computer Science Engineering, I moved to the United States in 2000 to pursue a Master’s in Management Information Systems. I worked in the IT industry since then, without much focus on health or the quality of food we consumed. However, a friend’s battle with cancer served as a wake-up call. This prompted me to gradually adopt a healthier lifestyle, starting with cultivating our own food. We initiated our kitchen garden with a few pots containing tomatoes, chilies, and eggplants. While the harsh Chicago winters limited our year-round growth, we expanded our backyard garden and utilized community garden plots to ensure a winter produce supply. Engaging in this summer activity brought my family closer and connected us with fellow plant enthusiasts. Any surplus harvest was donated to the Greater Chicago Food Pantry and homeless shelters.
In 2012, I returned to India with a new purpose: to collaborate with small farmers and tribal women. I established a coffee estate in Kodaikanal, known as the “queen of hills”. In 2016, I obtained a bachelor’s degree in Farming Technology from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. Since then, my life has been a meaningful blend of events, stresses, joys, and contentment. Living in a forest taught me invaluable lessons, such as resilience, persistence, forgiveness, and the beauty of the journey over the outcome. I met my mentor, Dr. Nammalvar Ayya, who helped redefine my goal of promoting healthy living and viewing food as medicine. Traveling with him for two years, I faced the challenge of his passing, which led me to follow Shri Subhash Palekar and become a certified trainer for Zero Budget Natural Farming now called SPNF (Subhash Palekar Natural Farming).
I conducted numerous free workshops on sustainable and regenerative agriculture at our farm and others, earning awards and recognition, including the prestigious “Velanmai Chemmal” and “Nammalvar Viruthu” awards. I focused on agro-based tourism to stimulate the rural economy, provide employment in our village, and encourage reverse migration of the younger generation back to rural life.
After the challenges posed by COVID-19, I decided to return to the United States, reuniting with my family and embarking on a new farming venture – Ojhus. My experience with farming in India underscored the importance of educating people about healthy living. While contemplating the move to a farm in Florida, I sought a fresh start to create a healing forest from the ground up. Scouring over 700 farm listings, the land I eventually acquired seemed to choose me. In the midst of a hot market, I purchased the land without visiting, driven by the desire to make a swift decision. This journey fills me with immense joy. Searching for rare medicinal plants, uncovering references in Vedic scriptures, and sharing this knowledge enriches my soul and gives purpose to this fleeting life on Earth. Ojhus will stand as a true healing forest, offering enjoyment, education, and experiences for everyone, transcending us alone.
This journey is quite a transformation, shifting from an MNC (Multinational Company job) to heeding the MNC (Mother Nature’s Call).
The objective is to introduce people to healthy living, living without medicine, traditional home remedies (our grandmother’s traditional home medicine), No Oil No Boil Food etc.
Fort Pierce, Florida property is 144 acres. We’ll be planting a Maha vanam (big forest) there with many small vanams (forest) inside.
Ojhus is poised to become an authentic healing forest, cultivating a nourishing landscape of edible plants while incorporating acupressure walking trails that provide a serene avenue for meditative walks. This environment offers a natural antidote to the demands of modern life and serves as a platform for educating and inspiring individuals to view food as a source of healing. The practice of Shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, further enhances the therapeutic potential of this setting, providing a powerful form of ecotherapy that rejuvenates both body and mind.