One of my colleagues came across this place and proposed the idea. After a week we group of 7 people went off to Beeriland. The concept as I was told and understood was to go to farm, pick the strawberries by yourself, weigh it there, pay the farmer (at lesser price than market) and come home. Which is an amazing concept to me. It give people in city a chance to come back to farm, out of their regular busy schedule, and experience to be in touch with the nature again. priceless experience.
Well, so we all took a tram, then walked for some time, resting time to time in not more than 5 km walk!!!!!! How sophisticated we have become. Finally there we were, right in front of the farm. Got some introduction, picked our bags and enetered the field to pick our collection. I saw a berry farm for the first time. I also saw how they pluck berries with a handy ride. We did pluck 2 box filled, gave some money and finally started back. An amazing experience.
While picking the berries, I got another theory as well. I ws told that idea is to come, pick, eat!!!, and pay whatever you are taking out of the farm. Now this eating part was quite confusing for me. I did not get it, but was confirmed again. I also ate some. But with every felt I felt strange and awkward. I then tried to put up a counter idea. If eating in the field is free, then what the farmer is getting out it!!!!!!!!! people will come, eat a hole bunch of berries and go out. The farmer would have put an idea to call people in the field, this saving on transport/ commision cost. In turn, he is selling at lower price. But if people start eating, then he should better be with selling it to the market. I feel my thought penetrate a bit, but the damage was already done 🙁
How this theory would have spread? To me it is more related to the Indian. Someone came to the farm. As there is no one watching you, so one casn easily eat some. With every passing person, this gets trasformed into a different idea of eating it there. Its easy to loose the original meaning in passing mouths, isn’t it? I also some local their who came along with. Those guys came with their boxes, picked up the berries, payed and left. I did not see them eating there. Why? why did not they eat? They must be foolish right?? After all Indians are the most intelligent people in the world, right?
I do not know what is the right or wrong. As usual this is just my experience and feeling. May be eating is actually the part of deal ;).
Well you eat it there or at you home, but keep laughig every where 🙂
Thanks for reading
Arundeep Singh