Farm-fresh adventures: Experience a day in the life of a farmer at this event in Yeoor Hills

A parent helps her child interact with a calf at the farm. PICS COURTESY/DHWANI VORA

For all the organic, free-range, straight-from-the-farm, and other buzzwords that sell like hot cakes in this city, we wonder how many of us even know what they mean. Not many, says child educator Dhwani Vora. "We're all confined by four walls - offices, homes, schools. Let alone children, even parents have forgotten what touching soil or planting a seed feels like," she says. At a private farm in Yeoor tomorrow, Mumbaikars will get a refresher with their children.

"Children these days have smartphone games that allow them to run a farm, you know?" Vora shares. The camp's first activity should be a 180-degree pivot, if that's true. The farm is home to nearly 10 cows who prepare for milking as the clock strikes 3 pm. Sure enough, the children will get a front row seat at the cowshed. "Since the cows are used to a routine, it would be unfair to let the children get hands-on, but watching it up close is just as fun," Vora explains.

A child waters a plant during a previous summer camp

Some previous visitors have had mixed initial reactions to such an exercise, Vora admits. "Most Gen Alpha kids have never touched an animal that is not a house pet before. They're a tad hesitant at first, but it doesn't take long before they develop a bond with them," she reveals.

Stepping out from the shed, children will plant saplings in the farming area. Tomatoes, coriander and other herbs are in season, we learn. From ploughing the soil, to sowing seeds and watering them, the farm's helpers will give children the full experience. Things can get messy, the organiser warns. ‘Bring an apron or a change of clothes' the invitation mentions at the outset.

But there's a certain fear, the kind you only see in young parents' eyes when their child gets its hands dirty, we remind the organiser. She knows it too well. "Yesterday, I received a call from a parent who inquired in all sincerity if the farm was air-conditioned, given the soaring temperatures outside. Another asked if the farm would have any animals that could be ‘dangerous' for their child," she laughs.

Dhwani Vora

One of the reasons the farm isn't air conditioned, we'd like to believe, is the traditional wood fired brick and mud stove that sits in the open kitchen. Participants will get hands-on once again, this time to roll perfect bhakris or rotis. They have some familiar diners to impress. "The rotis will be taken back to the shed, where participants will hand-feed the cattle. The goal is to inculcate the value of giving back to nature and living as one," Vora reveals.

For the organiser who grew up trekking with her parents in the Western Ghats, Mumbai's children are only her second target group. "Parents hardly find time to talk to their children these days. When you lay down on wild grass with your child and smell the moist soil around you, it grounds you and makes it easier to open up," she shares, adding that it's the perfect time to have a meaningful conversation with your child. Organic, free-range, and straight from the farm.

ON May 3; 3 pm to 5.30 pm
AT Yeoor Hills, Thane. (full address revealed on registration)
CALL 9867325660 (to register)
ENTRY Rs 2,000 (for one child and one accompanying adult)