Host since ...
2013
All our guests are invited to join us for an educative walk around the property (we call it ‘Know your spices’ but besides spices we also see a lot of medicinal plants, edible plants etc). We visit our traditional distillery and guests have an opportunity to taste our locally made Cashew Liquor. We have an on site nature trail, and in the rains there’s a trek to a hidden waterfall in the neighborhood. In summers, there’s an 8 km village walk with two river crossings. That apart, we offer trips to Dudhsagar Waterfall (by jeep in summers, a 13 km trek in the rains), Tambdi Surla Mahadev Temple and waterfall (5 km trek), night walks in the forest, visits to Portuguese-era Mansions and prehistoric rock carving sites.
We are an indo-german family with roots in Goa, and have moved to this part of the country in the 80ies. The place was devoid of even basic infrastructure at that point in time (no electricity, no running water). The place as it is today is the result of an evolutionary process involving two generations, rather than having been planned out from the very beginning. We have been hosting family friends at the farm for decades, and it’s been a good ten years that we opened our gates to visitors from all over the world, to share our story and the good vibrations that our place has to offer.
We have been traveling around Europe and have seen agritourism being practiced in Italy and other countries. Also, working with people from urban India, a massive disconnect between the urban population and rural India, and as such with the source of food became apparent. It seemed that there’s a huge need for spaces in which city folks can disconnect from the man made urban environment and reconnect to their rural roots, as also to the source of their food.
5 cottages on a 50 acre property with natural water swimming pool, in house nature trail, spice plantation and on site heritage distillery. We are located in the Eastern parts of Goa, on the fringe of Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary. Our plantation is organic since origin, it has evolved into a vibrant healthy ecosystem teeming with biodiversity. In these hectic times, at our plantation, time still moves a little slower, it’s a great place to relax and reconnect with nature.
2013
German and English
Germany, India, Indonesia
We would like our guests to see that it’s totally feasible to break the mold and lead a very happy life in the country side, in an actual jungle, rather than chasing happiness in the concrete jungle. We are happy to share our experience in transitioning from a consumptive urban to a regenerative rural lifestyle. At the very bare minimum, we hope to instill a basic fascination and respect for the natural environment all around us, which may motivate some to take more conscious decisions in their day to day lives.
Our place is a good example for successful transformation of a barren tract of land, by restoring the biodiversity and ecosystem functions. We are practicing natural/organic farming for the last 40 years. We try to design our material and energy cycles as closed loops as far as possible. For example, we keep cows (free range), who produce milk and dung. The milk is partly consumed (we make ghee and yoghurt and milk based desserts), and partly supplied to the local dairy farmer’s cooperative. The cow dung is partly utilised as manure and for flooring, partly fed into the biogas plant which supplies gas for cooking. The biogas slurry is again utilised as manure. Part of the blackwater generated also feeds into the biogas plant, and gets converted into gas and manure. We are currently also in the process of setting up a rooftop PV plant, and will be net producer of energy soon.
Karmane Village, Molen, Goa 403706, India