Biodiverse farm following agroecology, permaculture and local practices
India
We are a homestead aiming for self sufficiency. We are married partners (Madhu and Sampada) who have moved away from the hustle bustle of city life to this quite village along the western Ghats of India. We are with the help of friends and family, trying to build a permaculture farm which will be self sustainable.
Though both of us are Engineers by educational qualifications, we moved away from our core field of study and worked in the sector of education for children coming from less privileged background for more than 15 years. We continue to teach and try to create a welcoming and open learning space for the kids in the village. As we explored various aspects of life, living on a farm is something that stayed with both of us and hence we dived all in. We are conscious and thoughtful of background of people around us and try our best to not judge or put you in any brackets. We are not religious but big fan of Kabir songs and bhajans (Bhakthi poetry). We look forward to the music and movie recommendations from anyone who visit us. We also look forward to learn, cook and exchange recipes with all our visitors. Come prepared with a playlist and a unique recipe that represents the place you come from. We are LGBTQ+ friendly, look forward to challenge existing social, ecological and economic power structures through the lives we lead. Food is a very important part of the exchange and we shall happily accommodate your special needs like Vegan or Jain choices.
We started working on our land on 2022 March. In the last 3 years, we are thorough with basic systems like water facility, major tree plantation, drip irrigation, facilities around living space for us and the volunteers and agro tourism setup. We now need help in sustaining these systems, troubleshooting as and when needed, planting and managing vegetable fields, harvesting and processing various fruits, grains, pulses, vegetables and more.
Some activities are yet to start like, making bunds to arrest soil erosion, building check dams to harvest water, planting/building live fence around the farm.
Spending time on our farm can be a great opportunity for people wanting to learn sustainable farming/gardening practices.
We have a mud house built using traditional methods which has attic space for volunteers to stay. We have accommodated more than 10 people at a time. It is a basic dorm style accommodation which will be shared when there are more volunteers. Private rooms can be made available (in the attic space) to couples and long term volunteers (more than 1 month). There are enough spaces around the house to pitch tents.
We provide mattress (hard foam) and beddings (bed sheet, pillow, warm blankets) and mosquito net. There is a provision of hot water kettle, tea powder, coffee and sugar in he volunteers space.
All meals and tea will be provided. We expect you to help us with cooking and cleaning post meals.
We live in small traditional village based in Western Maharashtra, a state of India. It is a coastal belt. Volunteers will be able to interact with the villagers and explore traditional Konkani cuisine, local fish, forage wild seasonal food, experience traditional form of devotional hymns (abhang and bhajans).
You can join us while cooking and learn some local bread making skills.
Festivals are celebrated with great enthusiasm and villagers would love for you to be a part of it. There is always singing and dancing (traditional style) during every festivals.
We regularly have musical/JAM sessions where we exchange songs from various countries and in different languages. We have some instruments like ukulele, flute, harmonica, cymbals and khartals. Feel free to bring your own instruments.
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Grain farming
Forestry
Wild foraging
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Traditional crafts
Green Building
Mechanics / tools / technology
Methods or systems
Biological pest control
Community-supported agriculture (CSA)
Fukuoka farming
Holistic management
Permaculture
Regenerative agriculture
Host type
Production farm
5.2
Hectares
|
12.8
Acres
Sampada
Member since 2025
Languages spoken:
English, Hindi, Marathi, Spanish, Tamil, Telugu
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Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 1 day
India
Mumbai
Reviews
Roo
United Kingdom
•
December 2025
Absolutely fantastic! The farm is beautiful, situated just outside the village in the woods by the river and growing a diverse range of organic produce working towards establishing a permaculture. It was a pleasure getting to know Sampada and Madhu and their two lovely dogs! I learned a great deal for my work on the farm, and thoroughly enjoyed spending most of the rest of my time writing music. Sunita tai made fantastic food every day and I feel nourished from my visit. I hope to come back to Chirak Van someday and see how it has continued to grow.
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