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“The primary tiger that I ever noticed was in Corbett Nationwide Park. It was the very best day of my life,” says Sunando Sen. From a really younger age, he discovered himself intrigued by nature and wildlife, notably the massive cats.
However for many of his younger grownup life, he hustled by way of the company world. “Within the preliminary phases of your profession, every part form of takes a backseat. Nonetheless, often, I might have this urge to go stay close to wildlife. So I at all times knew I might find yourself dwelling someplace close to nature,” he remembers.
So when the time got here to decide on a spot, Sunando selected the epicentre of breathtaking panorama and thriving wildlife — Corbett, the place he presently runs a sustainable mud homestay known as ‘Tanhau’, which runs on 95 % of photo voltaic vitality and harvested water.
Whereas setting up his residence and the homestay huts, Sunando thought-about the encircling habitat. “I didn’t need to disturb the character across the place. From the very starting, I knew that I used to be not going so as to add to the carbon footprint. As an alternative, I might attempt to minimise it as a lot as doable,” he says.
Sunando wakes up with the solar to a breathtaking view of the Himalayas. As soon as he’s up, he takes his 5 canine on a stroll to get pleasure from nature and hopefully spot some animals.
“Though Corbett is a valley, we’re on prime of a hill. So we get a hanging view of the mountains, and we additionally get quite a lot of animal spottings. Strolling with my canine and having fun with the silence of the woods is my favorite a part of the day,” he says.
Nonetheless, a decade in the past, his life was the alternative of this. “I used to be caught within the company cycle in an workplace that I didn’t need to be in. I wished to be within the wild and in shut proximity to nature,” he says.
Born and raised in Kolkata, Sunando accomplished his schooling in Delhi and Kolkata earlier than working as a banker. “I labored for over 20 years as a banker and in addition had a profitable startup. I labored exhausting for thus a few years, so I can afford to stay the life I need now. In 2011, I made a decision to promote my startup and buy land in Corbett,” he says.
Packing his life and transferring to the mountains, which is each different metropolis dweller’s dream turned Sunando’s actuality. All he wanted to do was discover the right place.
“I had an inclination in direction of Corbett from the beginning as a result of it was one of many first locations I ever noticed the massive cat. Moreover, Corbett is the very best instance of nature at its finest. I’ve been to many different nationwide parks too, however I at all times discovered Corbett extra lovely than anywhere,” he says.
After just a few visits, he discovered a five-acre land in a small village known as Bhatoli within the Corbett space. Sunando determined to construct an eco-friendly residence. “The place was in dangerous form after we purchased it. The bushes and wildlife close to it have been largely destroyed. So we began with planting bushes and making the place inexperienced once more,” he says including that he planted greater than 500 bushes within the space.
“A lot of the building of the home is finished utilizing regionally sourced stones and mitti (mud) from the world. We wished to help the native communities across the space; therefore, we solely employed individuals from the villages to assist us assemble the homestay,” he says including that each one supplies have been regionally sourced, and the homestay solely hires native workers.
“Moreover, 95 % of the homestay is working on photo voltaic vitality. There are just a few issues that require electrical energy. We additionally do rainwater harvesting and have a storage capability of 1,00,000 litres of water,” he informs.
So far as waste is anxious, moist waste is composted and the dry waste is distributed to an NGO close to the world to be recycled. “We additionally gather dry waste from the villages close by and ship it together with ours to the NGO,” says Sunando.
To maintain the sanctity of the place, throughout the evening, the place makes use of dim lighting. “We don’t need to disturb the animals, and we’re completely satisfied to allow them to roam within the woods freely,” he says.
Sunando has been working with the native communities to sensitise the villagers on plastic waste administration. He shares he has carried out a number of plastic waste assortment drives within the native villages. He collects plastic waste from neighbouring villages at his personal expense and sends it to Ramnagar for correct disposal.
“There’s a college close to our village the place we host a number of drives to sensitise the youngsters about carbon footprint, wildlife, and nature conservation. They’re the way forward for the society; reaching out to them is my manner of creating their future higher,” he says.
Sunando has labored tirelessly to make the place a sustainable one not only for people however for animals too. “We have now cameras arrange throughout the place, and I observe the movies to find any sightings. If there are sightings too near civilisation, we alert the authorities so the animals could be safely relocated,” Sunando informs, including that he sees the place as a house not only for himself however for the animals as nicely.
‘Opening our residence to wildlife lovers’
Sunando shares that originally, he had no plans of changing his residence right into a homestay. “We moved into the place in 2011 and have lived right here ever since. Each time we’d host our associates, they’d insist we share it with others too. There was fairly a little bit of land on our property too, so we thought ‘Why not?’”
In 2016, Sunando opened his residence to wildlife lovers like him who want to keep within the wild. “We have now three huts in addition to our place, and we now have hosted no less than 500 individuals since 2016,” he says.
Ajit Kumar, who has been visiting the place along with his household for greater than 5 years now, shares what it looks like to remain at Tanhau. “The place is surreal and I’m not exaggerating once I say that it’s the finest expertise I’ve ever had. It’s so peaceable and quiet; it teaches you the significance of sluggish dwelling. The perfect half is that it’s a very sustainable setup. It feels good to know that I’m travelling and never leaving a carbon footprint behind.”
“I wished to show my son the significance of preserving nature and this homestay was the right place to take action. We participated within the venture with a college close to the homestay the place we tried to unfold consciousness concerning the dangerous results of plastic and its carbon footprint,” he provides.
In a bid to advertise sluggish and accountable journey, the homestay hosts distinctive actions to have interaction the visitors. “We have now strolling safaris within the buffer forest, which is a tremendous and distinctive expertise in itself. In fact, you’ll be able to take a safari and sit in a jeep, however on a strolling safari, you’ll be able to observe nature and animals carefully, with out emitting any carbon. We additionally organise village walks and encourage our visitors to take part in any ongoing village festivals,” he says.
One other visitor, Avika Sood says, “The silence within the place is rejuvenating. I discovered concerning the homestay by way of a pal and have visited it just a few instances. The place is offbeat and distinctive. There’s a lot to study concerning the wildlife and animal kingdom, and Sunando is a strolling library in that sense. He’s very captivated with his work.”
She continues, “One factor that I discovered very refreshing concerning the hosts is that they’ve ensured that they provide extra to nature than they take from it. Since I’ve been visiting them 12 months after 12 months, I’ve seen the place develop right into a inexperienced oasis. Each time I go to, there’s a new sustainable addition to the place. Like initially once I visited, they didn’t have rainwater harvesting, however now they harvest a number of litres of rainwater.”
Trying again on his journey up to now, Sunando says, “With my expertise, I may have been a CEO, however that life was not for me. I desire dwelling near nature and advocating sustainability. I’m not certain concerning the influence of my work with the villagers and on the homestay, however I nonetheless need to attempt to go away a legacy.”
(Edited by Pranita Bhat)
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