Some of what we will do
on the farm and beyond

Days on the farm move at an easy pace. Between meals and celebrations there is time to bike through the village, take the boat out on the pond, or sit in a gazebo with a cup of tea, and a few outings take us further, to the cow market and to Chittagong.

Two guests laughing as they row a boat across the pond

Boating on the pond

The farm’s large pond has a rowboat that guests can take out at any time of day. On an earlier visit, everyone helped paint a boat in turquoise and yellow, and we hope to paint another together this year.

A boat freshly painted in turquoise and yellow zigzags, drying upside down beside paint buckets

Three puppies peeking over a wooden ledge

Bundles of rice straw carried along a tree-lined lane

A cyclist on a paved village lane beside a bamboo fence

Biking through the village

The lanes around the farm are paved and quiet, lined with bamboo fences, banana trees and rice paddies. Bicycles are kept at the farm, and Mahfuz will lead rides through the village and out to the lake nearby.

Looking up into the patterned canopy of the feast tent

Three people walking across a harvested rice field

Sparks rising from a wood fire under a large pot

The sun setting over the sea with people silhouetted on the shore

A day in Chittagong

Chittagong, the port city about two hours from the farm, sits where the Karnaphuli River meets the Bay of Bengal. A day there can include the city’s markets, a rooftop café by the river where planes pass low overhead, and the sunset over the sea.

A man sitting on the rocks against the setting sun

The sun through a palm, reflected in the pond

A painted rickshaw beside a decorated horse carriage

A dirt path between a golden rice field and palm trees

Walks through the paddies

On the first afternoon, Mahfuz will lead a walk through the property and the rice paddies and share the history of the farm and the village.

An elderly man in a plaid shawl in the village

Rows of large black cooking pots set out in the sun

A guest stirring a giant pot with a long paddle

Mezban

The mezban is cooked outdoors in rows of large pots over wood fires, starting the night before. Guests are welcome to help stir the pots and to greet neighbors as they arrive for the feast. More about the mezban on the Food page.

A man cycling down a misty village street

A ring of men closing a net full of fish in the pond

Fishing in the ponds

The farm’s ponds hold rui, catla and tilapia. Guests can cast a net from the bank or join the crew when they draw the big net across the pond, and some of the catch ends up on the table.

A golden rice field seen past a tree trunk

A black bull looking through the bamboo fence at the cow market

A figure standing beside a roaring bonfire at night

A bonfire on Eid

On the night of Eid, we will finish the day around a bonfire on the property.

Three women walking across the harvested rice field

The cow market

Before the mezban, we will go to the local cow market to choose the cow for the feast. Farmers and traders come in from the surrounding villages, and it is one of the liveliest places in the area.