Gujarat cultural holiday, India

Planet

Village Sustainable & Eco Accommodation
To ensure that our holiday experiences endear to a transformative model, we’ve teamed up with the village community in Hodka, Gujarat to offer our travellers an experience where there isn’t just mutual understanding of cultures but a truly authentic and immersive experience into the local tribal community, their cultures and local crafts.

Apart from being socially responsible, this exercise is highly environmentally and ecologically friendly. Traveller accommodation consists of ‘Bhungas’ pure mud huts with thatch roofing, built purely in rural fashion and using materials sourced from the surrounding region, by the tribals themselves, thereby making this one of the most authentic all natural construct accommodations that can be found anywhere in the state of Gujarat outside of local tribal and rural communities.

People

The Mir Tribals of Dasada
Originally from Rajasthan, the Mirs migrated over 60-years ago with another nomadic tribal community called the Rabaris. Largely forced to remain nomadic as a community, our commitment in the local area and our partnerships with local outfits in the Dasada region have ensured that fifteen (15)-families that today reside in their village settlement outside of Dasada beside the Little Rann of Kutch are able to engage in the traditional Mir forte – Beadwork. Employing opaque beads, old and out-of-circulation coins, bells, buttons and mirrors, the Mir create and craft braids, tassels and necklaces for women and girls.

Our support for these families have ensured that a part of them uphold and carry on their craft traditions as they now have commercial and financially viable avenues along which to channel this ancient and traditional craft form.


Family Havelis & Local Tribal communities
With our continued and sustained support of family owned and managed Havelis and homestays in the State of Gujarat, we uphold local the traditions of authentic family homes, cuisine styles and a mutual exchange of cultures and practices.

One such example is in the village of Poshina and the family of Harendrapal Singh. Harendrapal’s involvement and dedication to his local area ensures that he upholds and encourages local tribal bazaars and traditional artisans not only through his active patronage but also with the help of travellers who end up experiencing his family home through our support and commitment.

All in all, this essentially preserves traditional craftsmen who forge local swords, potters who craft terra cotta horse figurines and clay utensils as well as jewellers who fashion chunky tribal ornaments.


Village Tourism & Local Employment
Our Village Tourism initiatives in the regions of Poshina, Dasada and Hodka ensure that we promote a more sustainable, transformative model of tourism to the region but in turn this also enables and encourages all forms of local employment. This employment ranges from the utilization of local skill-sets in the fields of local craft and art work, to the preservation of local styles of architecture and the sustained belief in all things local and natural in the local communities.

This endogenous form of tourism essentially helps improve the quality of rural life while at the same time preserving traditional livelihoods while allowing the communities to sustain their distinct cultures and communal identities.