July of this year, Khajoornama with dhoop magazine travelled to Jaisalmer with a bunch of writers, artists, storytellers and researchers for a two-day residency to study the date harvest. Curious about Thar and its treasures, we experienced its ecology and its relationship with the date palm – a tree that was not uncommon to the region but consciously only farmed in 21^st century, reviving its purpose and presence in the desert.

The first day we traversed the raw, rugged terrain of Thar to learn about the history and folklore of the ancient Paliwal Brahmins. Awe-inspiring, these settlers were also master planners of a sustainable and communal way of life that adapted to its local topography and geology. They were pioneers of a water harvesting system called khadins that enabled them to transform the arid sand to arable land – a feat now being undertaken by date palm farming to combat desertification and generate steady income for local farmers.

The second day entailed a closer look at the process of tissue culture planting subsidized and aided by the government of Rajasthan to uplift the region socio-economically as well as agriculturally. Apart from learning about the fruit’s several varieties and different stages of ripening, we gained a window into the prosperity and food security that its trade has brought the region. Increased rainfall, rural employment, farmer empowerment, higher return on investment are only some of the achieved aspects to organized date farming.

While embracing the new, it was encouraging to see farmers still treasure the ancestral wisdom of the region’s native flora and fauna, passed down through generations. During the end of our residency, we were invited to their homes for a simple yet nourishing breakfast and educated on traditional and native medicinal plants and fungi – revealing to us that the locals have found their sustenance even in the harshest of life.