Mehr Fardoonji: A Life of Organic Farming and Yoga Teaching
Mehr Fardoonji, a pioneering figure in organic agriculture and an early advocate of yoga in Britain, has died at the age of 95. She dedicated six decades to developing and managing the Oakcroft organic market garden in Cheshire, one of the first farms to be registered with the Soil Association.
Early Life and Education
Born in Lahore, then part of British India and now in Pakistan, Mehr faced early adversity with the death of her father when she was five. Her mother, Dinah, subsequently moved the family to Britain for education. Mehr attended Great Moreton Hall boarding school near Congleton, followed by Mary Datchelor girls school in Camberwell, south-east London. She later graduated with an economics degree from the London School of Economics in 1953.
Journey to India and Return to England
After university, Mehr embarked on a solo overland journey back to India, working at a kibbutz in Israel along the way. She trained as a village worker at Gandhi's ashram in Sevagram and spent four years in Shantipur, in the Himalayan foothills, helping settle 63 landless labourer families onto cooperative farmland.
Upon returning to England in 1959, Mehr and her mother settled at Oakcroft, where she cultivated a four-acre market garden. She supported herself by selling the organic fruit and vegetables she grew, while also working as a yoga teacher to supplement her income. Her involvement in the British yoga revolution included collaborating with June Johns on the 1974 book Practical Yoga.
Activism and Personal Life
Mehr was an active member of the Chester branch of Women for Peace, participating in protests against cruise missiles during the 1980s and providing supplies and moral support to the Greenham Common women. She also taught courses, including yoga, for the Workers' Educational Association.
In 1990, she married Nicholas Gillett, a Quaker teacher and peace activist who joined her at Oakcroft. Nicholas predeceased her in 2008. Mehr is survived by his five children from a previous marriage, 11 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
Legacy and Contributions
Mehr will be remembered for her warm smile, humanity, strong opinions, indomitable spirit, vitality, and concern for the planet's future. In accordance with her wishes, her land at Oakcroft has been passed to the Soil Association to ensure it remains farmed organically in perpetuity.
Her life exemplified a commitment to sustainable living, social justice, and holistic wellness, leaving a lasting impact on organic farming and yoga communities in Britain.
