Natural building & forest living: a raw, grounded experience in Nandora, Madhya Pradesh, rural India

Infos

• 

  Description

  ABOUT THE PLACE
  
  I'm Harshit, and since 2019 I have been living here, on the banks of the River Dev, surrounded by rich, dense forest, in rural Madhya Pradesh. I came to live on the land here after spending many years travelling around adivasi (tribal) villages of the region, living alongside and learning from the friends I made there. Since then I've been using those skills I learned, experimenting with different ways of natural building, and slowly shaping a life here in the jungle.
  
  Over the years I have welcomed people from all different walks of life here; together we build with mud, stone, and bamboo, grow and cook food, collect stories, and learn from the land and the people around it. One of the special things about this place is the shared effort, collaboration, and diversity, which has created a beautiful and inspiring project with so much potential and possibility.
  
  Currently I live here with my parents and my partner Harriet, we live together in community but we all have our own ways of interacting with the space and our own projects. Often we have visitors from various villages around the region, and people bring with them their skills, songs, and stories.
  
  Our shared vision is to live in an open-ended exploration of how to live more honestly in a reciprocal, syncretic relationship with the land. A lot about this region is rapidly changing, and traditional practices are disappearing left right and centre. We believe that documenting these practices is not enough - if you want to try to save a culture, you have to keep the practice alive, and that is what we try to do here at Adi Johar. Come and join us!
  
  
  ---
  
  WHAT WE’LL DO THIS MONSOON (July-October)
  
  It does rain a lot at this time, and the conditions can become quite challenging. We have basic facilities - we have an outside compost toilet, electricity is unreliable during the rains, and pathways on the land and in the jungle become very muddy and slippery. But, it is an opportunity to experience this place during a unique time - it's intense, but beautiful and full of life.
  
  Monsoon is an especially beautiful time if you're a musician and you want a space to connect with and be inspired by the sounds of nature. The birds, insects, and animals of the jungle come to life after the hot season, to a background of rain and the rushing river. We are exploring the concept of a Music in Monsoon residency - so get in touch if this resonates.
  
  Here’s what we’ll be working on:
  • Planting seeds and saplings - we have a vegetable garden, and we are also working on rewilding the surrounding jungle. We have a lot of heirloom seeds and saplings collected from various places around the country.
  • Clearing space in the jungle for planting and pathways - this is a constant battle!
  • Building natural fencing to enclose the land - we use natural materials so this requires regular maintenance and upkeep.
  • Taking care of our animals - we have 2 lovely dogs, Chickpea & Peanut, a buffalo called Chandramukhi, and lots of chickens who keep us provided with fresh eggs.
  • Preparing food - we love experimenting with different ways of cooking with our guests.
  
  From October onwards we'll be building again and we have a lot of projects planned - a cob roundhouse communal area, treehouses, and we need to renovate our old mud house. We'll need a lot of people from that time, so do get in touch if you're interested.
  
  Some days will be intense, some quiet. There will be mud on your hands, river dips, and simple meals cooked on fire.
  
  ----
  
  WHAT WE OFFER
  
  We offer basic accommodation and facilities; with us you'll get to live simply, close to the forest and the river. It's a raw, grounded experience of rural India. We host volunteers in our cob house, there's a simple compost toilet, and we bathe in the river. You'll have the chance to learn and help out with natural building and land care, whatever the season brings,
  
  Our approach is deeply inspired by our time spent with adivasi cultures of Central India. This filters through in the small ways that we live our lives here and we are always happy to share what we've learned.
  
  We always want to keep this space open - for builders, farmers, artists, musicians, wanderers, anybody seeking to live, learn, and contribute meaningfully.

• 

  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Projets artistiques

  Pratique d’une langue

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Jardinage d'entretien

  Projets DIY créatifs

  S’occuper des animaux

  Aide dans une ferme

  Cuisine/repas pour la famille

  Aide à la maison

  Petits travaux d'entretien
• 

  Centres d’intérêt

  

  Événements/vie sociale

  

  Art et design

  

  Activités en plein air

  

  Dev. durable

  

  Animaux de compagnie

  

  Ferme

  

  Culture

  

  Soin des plantes

  

  Jardinage

  

  Bricolage / artisanat

  

  Cuisine et alimentation

  

  Menuiserie

  

  Architecture

  

  Animaux

  

  Nature

  

  Randonnée

  

  Camping
• 

  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  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.

• 

  Aide

  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.

• 

  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Anglais: Courant
  Hindi: Courant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  We hope to engage with the language that the Gonds, the Baigas, the Bhils, and other tribes that live in our surrounding area speak.
• 

  Hébergement

  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.

• 

  Autres infos...

  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.

• 

  Informations complémentaires

  • 

    Accès Internet

  • 

    Accès Internet limité

  • 

    Nous avons des animaux

  • 

    Nous sommes fumeurs

  • 

    Familles bienvenues

• 

  Espace pour garer des 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.

• 

  Possibilité d'accueillir les animaux

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

• 

  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Plus de 2

• 

  Mes animaux

  

  Chickens

  

  Chickpea (1 an)

  

  Peanut (1 an)

Sécurité du site

Discutez avec des workawayers qui ont séjourné chez cet hôte

+15

Feedback (23)