Why Farmstays are emerging as favorite picks for a weekend retreat
William Wordsworth in his poem — The World is too much with us, had put into words precisely what our life has become.When life becomes a race and race becomes a routine, our emotions and intuitiveness numb down. Competitive workplace, loud pubs, frustrating commute and homes that have become more of a Motel is all we are left with. Don’t we often, in a light hearted way, reminisce about the good old days when all one had to do was to work in the fields from dawn to dusk; experiencing life growing around you, hearing sounds of nature, feeling the weather on your skin? And then return home, enjoy a cup of tea made in an aluminium vessel over a mud chulha.
While the need of the hour has made us more intelligent and sensitive towards a healthy lifestyle, a well balanced ecosystem and the interdependence of different classes of demography on each other, we lack the flexibility to do something about it. There are examples galore of such people who garner the dream of working as a farmer back in their native land, thousands of kilometers away, while they hustle in their corporate jobs to amass enough capital.
There are increasing number of people not feeling thoroughly satisfied with their stay in a luxury resort serving exotic food. They realise that what they wanted was simplicity, the rawness, and not luxury.
Not to miss out those who can’t afford to travel overnight distances in search of a serene weekend at a touristy place. They want a quick digital detox to rejuvenate themselves and be back with a bang on a Monday morning.
There are 3 driving forces observed here -
1. The urge to connect with the earth, create something which is tangible, worthwhile and not mere digital. To work your body, mind and soul in the process. The sight of the first sprout breaking out of Earth is a pleasure most underrated and most satisfying.
2. The need to go back to basics. The basics long forgotten. The experience of silence broken only by the sounds of nature; the forgotten taste of local food prepared with such simplicity that it becomes a delicacy in todays world of complex cuisines from distant lands. Where impeccable professional courtesy and hospitality gives way to unimposing and a genuine human connection with the hosts.
3.(My personal driving force)After a week of hard-core hustle at work, when our energy and mind have maxed out, sometimes what we need is not a loud pub with inebriated air, but a quite serene room with a window opening out to a view of a hill or a pond or a jungle, a cup of tea and a free mind to introspect where we stand now and where we want to go. But; We want it as quick and as readily as finding a pub in a city.
These are the reasons why there is an increasing trend in city dwelling people seeking out farmstays or homestays which are authentic and at a couple of hours driving distance. These are also the reasons why NRIs and high earning individuals of our country are quiting their corporate jobs to start Organic farming of fruit trees and vegetables.
Read:https://yourstory.com/2016/03/software-engineer-mandya-farmers/
The driving forces enumerated here are born out of personal desires of individuals. There is also an abolutely unconcious and selfless motive behind Farmstays gaining momentum. It not only benefits us who seek out to stay on a farm or start a farmhouse of our own. This trend has and will continue to benefit the locals involved. It increases job opportunities for individuals and business opportunities for local vendors. An increased demand for organic, self-sustained set-up with a motto of Go-Local ultimately helps the eco-system as a whole.
The Mango Tree farmhouse was envisioned as a retirement home for their owners. Now it’s a weekend home for many.
