Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
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This is the first Grihasthali project (for the conservation of Heritage properties) in Kerala. It is the only tourism project in the village, and you can relax alongside the welcoming family and the local community. One of the family members, Santhosh T.P., is a trained professional from Green Globe Asia Pacific (GGAP), and Distributor of GGAP's services in India region.
We use local services (e.g. taxis) and buy local products, vegetables and fruits. Our a herb garden around the house accommodates many plants for daily use. The conservation of the old building is done by reusing materials of other demolished buildings (tiles, roof tiles etc). We have natural ventilation to reduce the electricity consumption on lighting and cooling, and a huge nutmeg tree and many areca-nut trees provide enough shade and cooling within the property.
We avoid plastics, synthetic chemicals, petroleum products and other environmentally degrading products as far as possible & use natural products.
We offer economic accommodation for those on a budget and for students/researchers, and are actively involved in conservation projects and consultancy works, such as helping the Government preserve the old houses/buildings. We actively help other heritage homestay with their itineraries & suggest marketing portals such as Responsibletravel.com.
We were living in Cochin (Kochi) city till 1994. we thought of moving to a village when we are retired. Found this beautiful 150+ years old house and land at Thottuva, famous for Lord Dhanwanthary (God of Ayurveda) temple and decided to buy it. In 1999, when Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, introduced Grihasthali project to preserve the heritage buildings in its original place. More than a business, it was a passionate time pass for us - when we retired. So, we always used to say, "the rates mentioned are indicative". Special rates for students, Indology researchers and those who cannot afford.
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
