THE OWNERS

Like many city dwellers this couple has dreamt of a home away from the hustle bustle, pollution and congestion of the big city for long. Three years ago, much to the surprise of their family & friends, Kirti & Anand bought a piece of land with the intention of building their own retirement home here.

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The idea to retire from the corporate lifestyle and do something much more rewarding, gave birth to the concept of developing an Eco Resort & Petting Farm. Unfortunately, even farm lands nowadays come barren and devoid of trees; so the first step was to restore the fertility and green to the land. They hired Afforest from Bengaluru to create a native forest for them using the Japanese technique of ‘Miya waki’; 8000+ saplings were planted in a dense configuration covering less than an acre of land.

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The success of this exercise is evident not only in the trees, some of which are over 20 feet tall within just two years, but also by the increase in the bio-diversity of the land. Over 45 species of  native & migratory birds have been spotted on the land, the forest floor is alive with all sorts of insects, bugs, butterflies and even some snakes.

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The next step was to construct green buildings. After attending a short course in “Making and building with Mud Blocks” at Gramvidya, Bangalore, they acquired the press, hired and trained the local villagers and have produced about 100,000 compressed stabilized earth blocks since October 2015. All the building on the estate are being built with these blocks made on site with soil excavated from the land itself.

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With several more sustainable initiatives like composting, rain water harvesting, grey water recycling and solar power on the anvil, Kirti & Anand’s farm is on its way to becoming a popular destination that campers, bikers, birders, nature enthusiasts and animal lovers will seek out as soon as they open it to visitors.