Profile information
Host rating
85 %
Last replied
16 Dec 2021
Feedback
2
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Details
Description
Namashkar,
We are a social organization focused on helping the marginalized through creating various income generating opportunities for them.
We run a beautiful village centre at Labpur, West Bengal. Which has several eco housing facilities and where we have been incorporating and promoting organic & sustainable agriculture practices, aroma cultivation, medicinal plant farming, compost farming, life skill training centre for women, pre-primary school for the children of the daily wage earners for more than four decades now.
The inception of our centre is quite inspiring. As we turned an area deprived of vegetation due to the presence of lateritic reddish soil which doesn’t allow for water retention into an area which now flaunts several acres of flora like cashew, mango, neem plantations and medical plants grow and many more. Only possible due to the sustainable agricultural efforts and strong determination of our dedicated team.
Are you a forward thinker? Does the idea of developing on the current infrastructure and making it more suitable as an eco tourism spot excite you? As we are looking to initiate and streamline our sustainable agricultural work, re imagining the existing eco-housing structure and the whole landscape to make it more suitable as an eco tourism spot.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help with Eco Projects
Art Projects
Teaching
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
• Exposure and enriching knowledge through sharing and learning
• Local good practices (traditional and eco friendly)
• Knowing newer communities and their lifestyle , culture and history.
• The travelers can learn how rural India survives with limited resources and hardwork among challenging conditions.
• We preach what we practice and hence our travelers will get to experience a very simple way of living- from getting up early in the morning, taking a bath and coming and praying or meditating or doing yoga under the oldest Banyan Tree of our campus to start the day with lots of positive vibes and motivation .
• They can get the taste of very simple cuisines of West Bengal all cooked in clay pots over clay ovens. This particular method and technique of cooking is very indigenous to rural India.
Help
We have all the infrastructure required by our fellow travelers to work in. Our campus is quite large and we need help in beautifying it or adding value to it in terms of an eco tourism project. The campus has mud houses which exhibit indigenous architecture from distant times . These things and more need to be preserved .
The travelers can help us by :
• Helping us in newer and more sustainable as well as cost effective techniques of organic farming
• Beautifying the landscape
• We have opportunities for architects , carpenters , art enthusiasts , philanthropists , permaculture enthusiasts and artists to give their creative mind wings and put their imagination into reality without harming the environment.
• Preserving the mud huts in a more sustainable way
• Spending time with our students at our pre-primary school and teach them fun ways of learning or making craft projects.
• The soil here is very infertile and it is a challenge to grow a large variety of plants . Moreover since our campus has a large number of big trees which cast their shadow throughout the landscape , it is another challenge. We also have monkeys visiting us every now and then . We need help to overcome these challenges without disrupting the ecosystem .
• We encourage any and all kinds of help. The travelers can feel at home at our campuses and take care of it as their own.
Languages spoken
Bengali (Bangla): Fluent
English: Fluent
Hindi: Fluent
Accommodation
We will provide a decent accommodation to our travelers. They can choose from
• Staying at our two –storied mud houses which is very comfortable during the harsh summers as the mud walls provide far better insulation than concrete walls. There is an attached bathroom. And two single beds.
• Staying at our guest house which is made with conventional brick and cement , there is an attached bathroom too. And two single beds.
• There is a common dining area which is again a mud house. We encourage community dining as it is a great way to interact with the others in the campus and make a long lasting bonding.
• The workawayers are free to buy food from wherever they wish to.
What else ...
• There is a very beautiful Village inhabited by the Santhal Community very near to our campus. It is a visual treat to see and experience their ways of living. These people have a lot of stories to share and their customs and rituals are really interesting . It is important to learn from them how to put to use the natural resources in the daily life in a very self sustaining manner.
• There are several places of religious and historical importance nearby our campus.
• One can visit the Visva Bharati Campus at Shantiniketan which is a tourist hotspot and is a barely 40mins drive from our campus.
• The climate is Sub-Tropical here.The region has reddish lateritic soil and hence popularly known as"Laalmati".It is Hot in summer. In Bolpur Min. & Max temperature are 30°C to 45°C. One can see very beautiful landscapes here , the sunset or a moonlight night over the Kopai river is very serene.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
5 hours per day, 5 days a week
Feedback (1)
As well, we had a great time with the village children who came to the campus everyday for English lessons, yoga classes and most importantly to… read more
Feedback
As well, we had a great time with the village children who came to the campus everyday for English lessons, yoga classes and most importantly to… read more
