TOH Bunny Review – Our Native Village (Karnataka)

This time I decided to take an off beat destination . Tucked away in a quaint village in Hessarghatta, about 40 kilometres from Bangalore, liesOur Native Village; an Eco-retreat for holistic health.  It is an ideal place for people leading a hectic life in the city to reconnect with nature.

Our Native Village which is situated on a 12-acre organic farm is probably the only 100% eco-resort in the country. About 75% of its power needs are generated in-house through solar power, a wind mill and two bio-gas plants. About 60% of its water (it recycles all its water) is harvested from the rain. Our Native Village also boasts of a fully natural swimming pool (the technology has been imported from Austria) which is chemical free and kept clean using the roots of aquatic plants. It’s no wonder then that Our Native Village has been bagging several accolades for it’s commitment towards the environment. In 2008,Our Native Village was highly commended as the ‘Best Small Hotel/Accommodation’ at the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards held in London.

Architecture inside Our Native World

Designed by award-winning architect Chitra Vishwanath, Our Native Village has been built using sun-baked clay bricks made from mud scooped out from the very place the property stands on . This gives a distinctly earthy look and feel to Our Native Village.All the rooms are adorned with wall murals which have been hand-painted by tribal artisans from different parts of the country. There are a total of 24 naturally cooled rooms at Our Native Village. The rooms are not air-conditioned as it is quite airy. The sun-baked clay bricks out of which the rooms have been built gives it a good insulation- it keeps the rooms warm in the winters and cool in the summers.  The rooms are also quite spacious- the sizes of the rooms are about 216 square feet.

Bedrooms in Our Native Village

The en-suite bathrooms are stocked with handmade natural soaps and shampoos which have been manufactured exclusively for Our Native Village. For bookworms, there is a mini library in each room. The in-house restaurant serves healthy vegetarian and vegan-friendly food, which the folks at Our Native Villagedescribe as ‘compassionate food’. Most of the vegetables they use come from their organic farm. All the four whites, namely, sugar, polished rice, maida and milk are strictly avoided. Coconut milk serves as the base in most of the dishes cooked here.

Panoramic view of Our Native Village

Our Native Village is the right place to detoxify and rejuvenate your body and mind. You can opt for a traditional ayurvedic therapy which helps knead out the stress stored in your body, followed by a bout of steaming in a quaint wooden steam box and an herbal powder bath. A one of a kind experience awaits you on the sound healing bed. The latter which has been specially manufactured at Pondicherry is an elaborately constructed wooden instrument of the size of a massage table with 50 strings attached to the bottom and a proportionally designed resonator. A massage on the sound healing bed surely helped me  to clear the energy blocks in my body leaving me feeling deeply relaxed.

I get invited by the property owner to come stay with them. I explore their world and share my experiences with all of you. To send an invitation, write to me at bunny@theotherhome.com .

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