India on Foot

The broad agreed aim of the owners was to “live close to the land in an ethical and sustainable manner”

 
Van vasis: Guests prepare and savour food grown organically at Van Vadi. 

Surekha Kadapa-Bose

Van Vadi is a vast expanse of near-untouched forestland that allows people from all over the world to touch base with nature. Once the boundary fence is crossed, there are only foot tracks to lead you through the 64 acres of woodland.

“We were initially looking to buy about 10-15 acres for organic farming, mainly fruit and vegetables. This was to be divided among 3-4 of us. But with more ‘likeminded’ people joining, I began dreaming of an ‘alternative community’ of sorts… that would meet its varied needs in harmony with nature and fellow humans,” explains Bharat Mansata, one of the nearly 17-18 co-owners of this forest abode.

 
The pond used for bathing 

The likeminded group of friends includes lawyers, educationists, writers and architects among others.

Located on the foothills of the Sahayadri range of mountains in Maharashtra, Van Vadi is about 1.5 km from Vaara village, Raigad. State buses ply to the village from Neral, about 15 km away on the Mumbai-Pune route, but are not frequent.

Auto-rickshaws charge about Rs 12-50 to take you to the Vaara bus-stand and another Rs 25-30 to drop you at the gates of Van Vadi.

But the ‘road’ from the bus stand to the Vadi gate is not recommended for those with back problems.

On the other hand, it is great fun walking along the narrow lanes lined on both sides by small houses. Women busy with their household chores glance up briefly to catch a glimpse of the city folk heading this way for a slice of their everyday life.

Far, far from the urban 

Entering through the small, creaky gate of Van Vadi, the deafening silence — interspersed by only the sound of chirping birds, fluttering butterflies, rustling leaves — and the sight of an endless expanse of trees can disconcert any urbanite used only to the 24×7 cacophony of city noise.

The broad agreed aim of the owners was to “live close to the land in an ethical and sustainable manner to benefit ourselves, the land and, perhaps, the local people as well”. Progressive self-reliance in basics such as food remains an important goal even today.

The food cooked on site uses completely organic ingredients; white sugar isn’t used at all. Gur(jaggery) is used as sweetener even in the preparation of herbal tea.

Initially about 24 people had pooled money to buy the land from the previous owners about a decade ago. Later, some of them gave up their ownership of the land as they found it difficult to travel all the way from Mumbai and other places.

Tending to the land 

 
Bharat and Vinita Mansata, co-owners of Van Vadi, with their tribal help Bua. 

“We agreed that at least half the land should remain under tree cover; agrochemicals prohibited; water usage conservative; extensive monocultures shunned and biodiversity aided through integration of various edible and locally useful species, particularly indigenous varieties suited to existing conditions,” says Bharat.

With help from local tribals, over 115 endemic and traditionally useful species were identified on the land. Even the animal kingdom is well represented.

Earlier, the place was famous for leopard hunting, but the big cats don’t come here any more. Besides a range of earthworms, ants, snakes and crabs, the woods are alive with several kinds of spiders, colourful butterflies, dragonflies, fireflies, bees, and birds.

The area receives copious rainfall each year but most of the water tended to drain away in the absence of reservoirs. To remedy this, two check dams were built a few years ago.

An open well was dug near the main (seasonal) stream, and today even the adivasis in neighbouring areas draw water from this during summer.

Sharing the bounty 

Within time the land began yielding a bounty and the group decided to share it with others in the form of a ‘Vanutsav’. The first Vanutsav was held in October 2005 with the theme of ‘Sharing Creativity, Celebrating Community’. It attracted over 60 people, including nearly 15 children.

In 2006, the Vanutsav was hosted by Sadhana Forest, Auroville, in Puducherri down south and attracted over a hundred participants. In October 2007, the Vanutsav returned to Van Vadi in the form of a ‘mini Van-Shram-Utsav’, integrating community labour as well.

The recently held Vanutsav attracted nearly 60 participants from places such as Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Goa, Sri Lanka, Australia and, of course, Mumbai.

A day in the forest 

And what was it like for the visitors? To begin with, there are no toilets or bathrooms and nature’s calls have to be answered in the open, under the cover of trees and bushes. For bathing, there are two sweet water pools — one slightly deeper than the other. The soft, dark mud of the pool is used as soap.

As for food, there is a community kitchen built using mud and thatch; firewood is used for cooking in a mud choolah (stove). The vegetables come from the forestland and visitors bring in rice, dal,gur, poha and other condiments. Fruits such as banana and muskmelon make up the dessert.

For entertainment, visitors came equipped with several musical instruments such as sarangi, Australian aboriginal blowpipes and flutes. There is lots of reading sessions and discussions too. And, of course, one can always walk around and discover new trees, insects, streams, pathways and other delights of the forest.

To top it all, the place even has a small waterfall! There is no fee charged but visitors can contribute towards the upkeep of the adivasi family of three that helps take care of the huge place.

Bua, the head of this family, has learnt Hindi and can understand even a bit of English. His teenaged son loves to explore the forest, find new ways to protect it, and spread the word among the other adivasis on the importance of holding on to their land and way of life.

Visitors’ notes 

Sujata Guha, a geneticist who had come to Van Vadi along with her professor husband and three young children, said, “This is one way of sustaining wildlife. And contrary to the belief that present-day kids can’t live without TV, mobile phones etc, my kids enjoy this kind of living with nature.”

Tilu, a 14-year-old boy from Goa, loves to catch snakes. “Last year I had caught a 10-ft long snake. This year there haven’t been any such long snakes,” he said. He catches them only if they come anywhere near the human dwelling and leaves them deeper in the forest.

Vinita Mansata, who looks after her family’s publishing house in Kolkata, told us about an elderly guest from Mumbai who was traumatised by current events like bomb blasts and other violence in the country. “After two days, he told me that he had never slept so peacefully in years without taking any medicines. That is the kind of tranquillity nature gives to people,” she said.

Trouble in paradise 

But even this tiny oasis of peace is facing problems… in the form of builder groups from various cities. “We are struggling against tough odds to protect the local ecosystem, with our own land threatened by ‘modern development’ (on two sides) by city builders… they have caused heart-wrenching ecological destruction in neighbouring land by totally denuding it of all vegetation; uprooting and turning the soil,” says Bharat Mansata agitatedly.

He hopes that more people will join the community and the place will attract more visitors in the days to come. He also hopes to convince the villagers about the need to resist the influence of land sharks.

“Visitors at Van Vadi can, in turn, make a difference by trying to conserve forestland wherever they live. This would be a small way to ensure the survival of our planet,” he signs off.