In May 2008, Indian veterinarian and LIFE member Dr Balaram Sahu spent 10 days in Germany on an LPP-sponsored exposure tour. He stayed in Wembach, a small village in the Odenwald in southwestern Germany, where LPP has its headquarters.

Now Dr Balaram has written a book about his experiences. Written in Oriya, the language of the eastern Indian state of Orissa, it is an ethnography from an Indian viewpoint. The book describes donkeys and horses, sheep salami, organic products, the mayor of Wembach, and other local people.

The book was launched during a field trip in rural Orissa to visit nomadic pig pastoralists. These pastoralists graze their animals on the stubble left after the rice harvest. A sustainable and eco-friendly way to raise livestock. A long way from Germany in terms of distance, maybe, but not so far in terms of a philosophy of life.