Reconnect with nature, experience forest living and cultural exchange in Nandora, central India

Detalles

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  Descripción

  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 SUMMER (March–June)
  
  Summer here is intense, dry, and deeply alive in its own way. The river shrinks, the forest changes colour, and the work becomes earthy and foundational.
  
  Between March and June, we’ll focus on strengthening the land and preparing for the monsoon.
  
  Here’s what we’ll be working on:
  • Building natural fencing around the land using bamboo, wood, and local materials
  • Constructing a large cob structure next to the open kitchen
  • Making clay roof tiles by hand
  • Preparing and drying adobe bricks under the summer sun
  • Collecting mahua during the season with local families
  • Preparing the soil and beds for the vegetable garden before the rains
  • Repairing, maintaining, and improving existing mud structures
  
  Summer building is different — we start early in the morning, rest during peak heat, and work again in the evenings. The sun helps us dry tiles and bricks faster. It’s a good season for learning traditional earth-building techniques.
  
  Mahua season is special. We wake up early, walk into the forest, collect fallen flowers, and spend slow afternoons sorting and drying them. It’s a time when you’ll experience the rhythm of the local communities closely.
  
  The work is physical and the heat can be strong — but if you enjoy working with earth, shaping materials by hand, and being part of a slow rural rhythm, summer here can be deeply grounding.
  
  Some days will be intense, some quiet. There will be mud on your hands, river dips to cool off, and simple meals cooked on fire.
  
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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.

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  Tipos de ayuda y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  Proyectos artísticos

  Práctica de idiomas

  Ayuda en proyectos ecológicos

  Jardinería

  Construcción y bricolaje

  Cuidado de animales

  Ayuda en una granja

  Cocinar para toda la familia

  Ayuda doméstica

  Mantenimiento general
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  Intereses

  

  Eventos y sociedad

  

  Arte y diseño

  

  Actividades al aire libre

  

  Sostenibilidad

  

  Mascotas

  

  Agricultura

  

  Cultura

  

  Cuidado de plantas

  

  Jardinería

  

  Bricolaje y manualidades

  

  Cocina y alimentación

  

  Carpintería

  

  Arquitectura

  

  Animales

  

  Naturaleza

  

  Senderismo

  

  Acampada
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  Intercambio cultural y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  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.

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  Ayuda

  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.

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  Idiomas

  Idiomas hablados
  Inglés: Fluido
  Hindi: Fluido

  Este anfitrión ofrece intercambio de idiomas
  We hope to engage with the language that the Gonds, the Baigas, the Bhils, and other tribes that live in our surrounding area speak.
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  Alojamiento

  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.

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  Algo más...

  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.

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  Un poco más de información

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    Acceso a Internet

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    Acceso a Internet limitado

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    Tenemos animales

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    Somos fumadores

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    Puede alojar familias

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  Espacio para aparcar autocaravanas

  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.

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  Podría aceptar mascotas

  everybody is welcome as long as they don't threaten our furry and feathered friends.

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  ¿Cuántos voluntarios puedes hospedar?

  Más de dos

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  Mis animales / mascotas

  

  Chickens

  

  Chickpea (1 año)

  

  Peanut (1 año)

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