mango
That’s All Folks!
‘Nother fabulous season – thank you all! 7 weeks and nearly 6000 kgs of mango fed to the city! Close to another 1000 kg shared locally in our village, including the birds, critters, and bacteria claiming their share. Highlights of our season…
– The land fed us more mango and variety than ever before (oh the secrets the trees hold).
– We met some amazing people. You shared our mangoes with your friends (and gave us so much Insta love), that brought more mango to more people.
– We reached nearly every corner of the city (and several others), with the mango, despite our uber small team.
– Kitchens, Cafes, Restaurants served up some super fun mango dishes (often leaving us jonsing for a taste).
– A farm visit saw folks gather and feast on the mango at source.
– Hands continue to come out of nowhere to help us.
– Spreading the sweetness at the betterfoods farmers’ market.
– At distribution, one of the most fulfilling parts of the season, while his friends were asking for raincoats, one bright lad with a mango grin said, “Didi tution dilva do” (so a side shout out – anyone educating street kids in south Bombay?)
– And finally, while buying mango, you’ll even contributed to our fund raiser to kick start an organic farm for an Adivasi farmer in our village.
Thanks for making this so much more than just a mango season.
While that’s a wrap for our fresh mango, we’ve got mango thins, aamrass, herbal teas, preserves, and other awesome produce we grow year-round.
#mangodiaries #vrindavanfarm
They’re here!
The Mango Chronicles
This Spring left many growers wondering about their mango crop. Rains from the year prior hadn’t given the trees their fill. As we commenced harvests though, nature showed, yet again, she had plenty to offer.
For us, the season carries a short, intense, and sweet high. This year we brought nearly 3000 kilos of the sweet one to the city. Over the span of 3 weeks, you shared it with friends, family, loved ones. The stories, as always, kept us going… The lady who checked-in on mangoes in March, refusing to buy any for her mum until ours were ready 2 months later. The friend whose baby weaned with mango, gleaming eyes and mango-stained grinning face. Sundays that the boys joined us to unload crates, ending up more busy feeding crows baby mango. The even younger, whom, overwhelmed, gathered more mangoes than their arms could hold, dropping one each time they added another to their bounty, to leave only after putting the mangoes to sleep in their bed of hay. The principal who continues to share the fruit with all that cross her path, her job she says, is to spread the sweetness – we think she adds in her own. The flower seller on the street who shared the year before story, “didi, gaye saal mein itna aam tha, humne gaon leke sabh baccho ko khilaya” (sister, last year there was so much mango, we took it to our village and fed all the kids). The lady who, out of the ICU, is healing herself with mango. The gentleman, who starts his family’s morning with a mango smoothie preparation… he peels each mango with his hands. You all echoed the simple bottom line.. We’ve had much mango this season, but these… They’re something else.

May the Sweet Force be with You
the mango

Organically grown, naturally ripened
mango
warming up…
Diwali Gift Hampering…
Create individualized hampers of tisanes, brines, jams, chutneys…
To good health for you and your family!
Handcrafted Jute gift bags (by artisan Abhijit of Kolkata) hold 3 jars of Vrindavan Farm tisanes, jams, brines
Handcrafted and hand painted Warli Tea Boxes (by artisan Sunil of Vaknupada) hold 2 or 4 of Vrindavan Farm loose leaf tisanes
Cane gift hampers hold 6-7 of Vrindavan Farm tisanes, brines, jams, chutney
That’s All Folks…
The Mango Chronicles
And that’s a wrap for our season! Thanks ALL for sharing in the sweetness.
Ending notes…
Monsieur king fruit sure has a way to whiplash its workers. Did you know, once mango is ripe, the entire tree ripens at once? That’s over 500 fruit from a single tree. So if you’re with more than 1 tree…
This year, while the Jan showers left many agriculturalists wondering about their mango crop, we were showered with almost double the crop from the year before. My guess is, our slow and sustainable natural farming methods are beginning to show.
We brought tons of fruit to Bombay, and you shared it not only with your family and friends locally, but sent it across seas – the UK, Hong Kong, Dubai, China, the US. Chefs explored with mangoes in their kitchens.
The stories you’ve shared kept us going… The school principal who planted herself on the floor, placed a neatly ironed napkin on herself, and proceeded to eat, dripping juice all over, fisherwoman-style. The young lady who remembered only one thing from the night before party, a dude talking about farm mangoes. The Chef that exclaimed, my entire kitchen smells of mango. The lady who shared that her kids chomped through the fruit, for the first time in their lives. The bent over old lady on the street who upon seeing mangoes come into her lap, slowly lifted her head, pulled my face toward her with her street-toughened and thick hands, and kissed my forehead. The guy that said, I don’t really eat mangoes, took one bite, and the statement reversed itself. The BMC street cleaners that stared incredulously at first at the hand from the mango van, followed moments later waving mango to each other, over brooms and across streets. The many who would order a box, and a day later, call, with a sheepish smile in their voice, for another box.
Bombay, thanks for being receptive to naturally nurtured fruit. This year, less folk cared about irregular shape, colour, size, and more folk cared for quality fruit, one that delivers wholesome flavours, but more importantly, one that filled their homes again, of the scents of amba, a memory they had held since childhood.
All this in the span of 5 weeks…