"Work" at Lumiere

“This will sound silly,” I admitted to my friend and Hindi translator, who was relaying my words to Naveen, our new watchman. “Ask him to pretend that this forest is incredibly special, unique, precious. Pretend that this Land is so special he should protect it and its trees with his heart and soul. It may sound ridiculous, but we think it is that special, and we think everyone else who lives here should too.”

The negotiations were to get Naveen to start sleeping on the Land. We were so desperate to have a presence here in the winter that we grabbed him with little training or requests. Now that things are quieting down a bit again, we want to make sure he’s happy with the job. Because this work shouldn’t feel like work; we want him to live here and love it. (Is that so much to ask?) ;)

So what does the work entail anyways? Here’s the gist:

1. Protect the trees (chase cows, build little fences around saplings that are being eaten, prune parasites, prevent cutting, etc etc)


2. Create an environment in which Nature can flourish (fix holes in the fences to keep the cows out, water thirsty saplings throughout the forest, pick up any litter that blows onto the Land, protect and feed the nursery)


3. Guard the Land (greet any and all “visitors” so they know there’s a presence, walk the Land, watch for fires or other situations that indicate external intervention, keep an eye on fallen trees or other opportunities for people to come and take advantage of the Land)

And of course there’s the steward himself who handles all the real situations, manages all the work, knows every plant inside out, and helps each tree grow and live to its maximum potential. The rest of us are the support team, but we all do our part.

Hell, even the dogs take the work seriously—they 1.chase cows (maybe it’s just instincts and training)… they 2.pick up litter (ok, maybe it’s just to play with it)… and they 3. greet every visitor with--enthusiasm?--(even the guests we don't want to scare away)…