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Last replied
19 Aug 2025
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Description
ABOUT THE PLACE
Tucked along the Dev River, on the edge of a dense forest that merges into the buffer zone of Kanha National Park, lies the quiet Adivasi village of Nandora. Around 20 families live here, growing paddy, raising animals, and walking gently on the land.
Just outside the village, I’ve found a patch of earth to call home. Since 2019, I’ve been slowly shaping a life here—building with mud, stone, and bamboo, growing food, collecting stories, and learning from the land and the people around it. Every wall, every path, every corner of this place has been built with bare hands and shared effort.
This isn’t just a farm. It’s an open-ended exploration of how to live more honestly with the world—through natural building, regenerative farming, community exchange, and a deep respect for the land and its rhythms.
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WHAT WE'LL DO THIS WINTER (Sept–Dec)
This winter, we’ll be working on building a house and a café space for Rela—a cultural gathering we’re shaping slowly, with the land and the people around us.
Before construction starts, there’s plenty to do:
• Clearing and preparing the land
• Digging foundations
• Shaping mud and laying stones
• Collecting bamboo, timber, and other materials from the forest and river
• Working alongside local friends to bring it all together
The plan isn’t fixed—we’ll adapt to the weather, the land, and the skills each person brings. Some days will be full of movement, others slower, with time to cook on an open fire, cool off in the river, and rest under the trees.
It’s hands-on, sometimes tough, but always real—and hopefully meaningful for everyone involved.
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WHAT WE OFFER
If you're seeking a raw, grounded experience of rural India—this might be the place for you.
You’ll get to live simply, close to the forest and the river. Help out in natural building, land care, and whatever the season brings. Share conversations, food cooked on fire, and stories under the open sky. You’ll also get a chance to connect with the villagers, who are always generous with their time, skills, and laughter.
Our approach is deeply inspired by the Adivasi cultures of Central India—by their way of living with the forest, their songs and crafts, and their quiet resilience. Over time, we’ve built friendships, worked together, and tried to learn without rushing.
We hope to keep this space open—for builders, farmers, artists, wanderers, and anyone seeking to live, learn, and contribute meaningfully.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Interests
Events & social
Art & design
Outdoor activities
Sustainability
Pets
Farming
Culture
Plant care
Gardening
DIY & crafts
Cooking & food
Carpentry
Architecture
Animals
Nature
Hiking
Camping
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
The people in the village are extremely skilled and are also friendly, travelers benefit from the access to conversations with people living simple lives. To live in the tribal belt of India is a chance to gain insight into what it takes to live using only what is available in the natural surrounding. In the past we have learnt from them how to make things such as quilts, beds, brooms, to fermented beverages and there is no end to what one could learn here.
Help
Apart from helping in the garden and in the routine tasks of chopping wood and carrying water, we welcome all effort at experimenting with making things using locally available material, which we are lucky to have an abundance of.
We dream of trying out new techniques to build structures, so anything that anyone may want to try out will be conducive to our general project. We're not out to get it right, we're more keen to explore the process and enjoy making and doing things, making do with what we have.
We are up to ideate and discuss all possibilities.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Hindi: FluentThis host offers a language exchange
We hope to engage with the language that the Gonds, the Baigas, the Bhils, and other tribes that live in our surrounding area speak.
Accommodation
Volunteers may live with Harshit and his parents. They may also pitch tents anywhere, if they like.
Important to note that as of now, we don't have a toilet, we take a little shovel and a mug of water and find a well hidden spot out in nature.
We bathe in the river.
What else ...
With your time off, you can walk to the village and chat with the ammas and the dadas there, or you can wander into the jungle or spend some time by the water, or in the water, you can go fishing, you can roll in the sand, collect stones, climb up trees, watch the birds and the insects, you can explore the space, explore yourself.
If you have a bike, you can go to villages that are further away and find people who are practicing crafts that interestsyou.
Away from the village, Kirnapur is a well-developed major town that is closest to us. Nearby cities are Balaghat and Gondia.
Nandora is a remote village and doesn't have access to public transportation, but we'll help find ways to get to where you want to go.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
You may chose to bring your vehicle but do discuss it with us before you set out as the condition of the road that leads up to our land varies according to the seasons.
Can possibly accept pets
everybody is welcome as long as they don't threaten our furry and feathered friends.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
My animals / pets
Snakes
Not pets, you see them very rarely.
Deers
Not pets but you'll always find them somewhere on the land.
Chickens
Kaju & Donut
Miki
Chickpea (9 months)
Peanut (9 months)
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback (19)
I really enjoyed our conversations—calm, thoughtful, and sometimes hilarious. I’ll miss his rain and sun dances (they definitely worked… read more
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Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback
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(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
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I really enjoyed our conversations—calm, thoughtful, and sometimes hilarious. I’ll miss his rain and sun dances (they definitely worked… read more
His land feels, in many ways, still untouched and pure, so you'll definitely have a chance to unwind and… read more
The journey to get there was pretty long and tiring due to remote location. But I could say that the effort was definitely worth it.
This off the grid experience was very enriching for me.
I was assigned the project of creating a nice space to hang around the fire. I was very happy working on this project… read more
Guys let me tell you ,the place is just beautiful , I mean it , its literally inside a forest . there… read more
It was a truly amazing stay. We did a lot of things mostly aroud the treehouse, from cuting the trees needed to nail bomboo. It was verry fun learning all that and quite fulfilling to see the house growing.
Adi johar is a really peacefull place, where we met amazing people and were surrounded by nature.
Harshit is… read more
Freddy is a great person to have around, he is kind and helpful. We celebrated christmas with my family. I hope he enjoys the rest of his trip to India and… read more
We liked taking part in the building of the new house. So many different techniques were used, such as cob, adobe, stone and mud floor, wattle and daub wall, that taught us various skills. It was a good practice working with clay, testing and experimenting. We did everything with our… read more
The wattle and daub wall and the stone floor that they worked hard at are much appreciated… read more
Both Harshit and Neha are wonderful hosts. Learned a lot from both of them.
The food was very delicious and Gajar ka halwa was super yummy.
Currently they are building a mud house and it was a great experience to know the building… read more
He taught us many games that we played around the fire in the evening that we have continued to play even after he left. We're sure he's having a great time wherever he… read more
Very glad to have met him and hope to see him again, soon :)
Eager to explore and experiment with crafts, he was carving on stones when he was here and also made clay pendents using clay from the river.
He also worked hard with us, helped us in fencing our land, making garden beds and in building a mud hut. He stayed on a maachan by the… read more
