Vanakkam folks! Sudhakar here. You must have seen us posting about the farm stay on our social media pages. Simple living has been our motto since 2018. And we hope that more people transition to simple minimalistic sustainable lives.
The transition is not as simple as it should be because habits, lifestyles, careers aren’t easy to change. It needs inspiration, conviction, courage and knowledge to lead a life away from the affluence and convenience in the cities. Recognizing that the affluence and conveniences of an urban life comes at a huge cost to societal equality, public health and ecosystem conditions in the first step to leading a life in a small town or rural India away from the maddening crowds, runaway pollution of Indian megapolises.
If you are contemplating all of this or you are just looking for a break to a quieter serene place with clean air and water, then Vaanavil Farm Stay is for you.
Why did we build a farm stay?
Noushadya loves cooking with local ingredients that are fading away into obscurity in local markets and meals. Over the last 7 years, she has been reimagining what our daily meals should look like by including produce purchased from our network of farmers or bartered with our homesteading community. With the farm stay, she wants to introduce people to a variety of ways to cook with local ingredients.
I love hosting people and taking them around the beautiful environs of the farm. Meeting people who appreciate the calm of a farm life and resonate with our ideas of sustainability is one of the reasons we wanted to build a guest house.
Together, we hope to inspire people to lead a simple minimalistic sustainable life. We want to show people that life is not as boring in a farm as it seems. Even though things are quiet most of the time, life is exciting because we are surrounded by it.
Construction techniques
The philosophy which governed our decisions was to maximize use of materials that when added back to the land will become a part of the soil.
Bhoomi, the mud house that Noushadya and I built between 2019 and 2020, was constructed with cob walls. Cob and adobe walls with wooden framework for roofs are more prone to termite damage. Because we live full time here, it is easy to keep a check on termite activity and keep them at bay by regularly inspecting, applying neem oil.
For Vaanavil Farm Stay, because no one will be living full time there, we chose to build with baked bricks. But instead of choosing cement mortar, we chose mud mortar. By having 2 feet long overhangs in all directions, and lime as material for plasters, we are sure that construction will last long with minimal maintenance.
The madras terrace bricks that we used to construct the roof for Bhoomi are no longer easily available. I had heard during a workshop with Thannal, about a roof technique which uses coconut planks over the framework of Beams and Palmyra Rafters. Over the coconut planks, we used kadapa flooring for both the guest rooms. The flooring in the ground floor dining area, kitchen and the roof top are Terracotta tiles, manufactured locally in Pavoorchathram, Tenkasi District.
The longevity of this experimental roof is the only question mark in the entire sustainable construction. But unlike RCC roofs, most of the materials are local and reusable. A big advantage of using modular techniques such as these is that you can reuse a lot of the materials in the next construction after the life of the structure ends.
Almost all the wood including doors & windows in the construction is recycled from older houses that were dismantled in Vikramasingapuram or Ambasamudram.
Housewarming
We made the housewarming coincide with Vanya’s birthday on 31st January 2025 – a moment for double celebration. Most of our guests were folks who had helped us with the concentration – masons, labourers, carpenters, electrician, plumber and more. They were the ones who made the construction happen and I think a housewarming ceremony is a celebration of their efforts more than the owners who merely financed the building.
Farmer folks who work at the farm, neighbouring customers, local patrons, our homesteading community, organic farmers who we partner with for our farm shop and online store are the other guests who attended the simple paal kachal ceremony, as the housewarming ceremony is called here locally in Tirunelveli district. We are very thankful to all those who could make it and share in our happiness.
Bookings Open
Even before the kutti gruhapravesham ceremony of the newly constructed guest house at the farm, we managed to host near & dear ones and some guests since 26th December 2024. February was also a busy period with guests through out the month. We hope to sustain the momentum we have been gifted with by our supporters, family & friends.
There are a few finishing touches like wall art that we are yet to design and execute. If you know of any artists who would like to do work with natural materials like charcoal, mud, lime and likes, please let us know.
Regards
Sudhakar
M : +91 90438 24660
Your guesthouse looks lovely and inviting, Sudhakar, as do all the happy faces! The thoughtful construction is also very interesting to read about. Congrats and good luck!
Thank you so much! 🙂