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Are we socially responsible? Let us check…

We are very happy to say that this small institution could make its own contribution towards the development of the region and its society in the following ways.

1. Inception

This home stay is the result of a dream to have a show case of our rich and varied culture for the people around the world, supported by all the (almost all) amenities of the modern world and that too in the pristine ambience of a village atmosphere where one can experience the nature and culture in its original format. We are performing our duty to show the beauty of our land to the world.

2. Helping people around us

We were facing a shortage of trained guides. We have trained 10 unemployed youngsters in this field and they are able to generate a reasonable income to support their families.

We taught the people in a colony to assimilate modern thought by reducing the use of plastic. They have reduced the usage of plastic to a great extent and also keep their surroundings in a clean mode. They supply us organically cultivated vegetables from their vegetable garden using the manure made from household waste. We sponsor their children by providing educational support.

3. Waste Management

We use recyclable materials only for our needs to the extent possible. We are a no plastic organization. All our kitchen waste is used for making compost and biogas. Compost is used in our herbal garden and farm. Biogas is used for cooking in our kitchen. We provide the guests shampoo and soap in containers only to reduce the wastage.

4. Energy and Water conservation

We have an extensive network of solar energy panels to produce solar power used for heating the water and also for power backup. Power switches are provided in front of each room to prevent the wastage of power when the guests are outside their room. Signboards are placed at proper places to direct the guests to prevent energy wastage. We encourage the guests through request to reuse the linen to reduce the usage of water. We use only CFL to reduce power consumption. Our architectural design is made in such a way that the centre courtyard provides enough air and light for the dining area and living room, thereby reducing power usage. We have numerous open verandas for the guests to sit and read in front of the room, which helps to reduce power consumption.

We have a lot of rain harvest pits to collect rainwater, which is used to recharge the water wells in our premises. Roof top rainwater collection mechanism is also made to augment the water collection.

5. A support for other entities.

We take our guests to the 2000 year-old metal mirror making units where they purchase the metal mirrors as souvenirs and recommend the same to their friends and relatives. This in turn has boosted the sales of these handicrafts units.

We have a tribal colony nearby our premises. We have made an interactive session for the guests to visit and study their life. The people here were reluctant to meet the guests at first as they were unable to communicate with them in English. Our regular involvement in this matter has changed them and now these people welcome the guests very warmly as they have learnt English to communicate with the guests. It is a joy to see the children welcoming the guests with flowers. They keep their surroundings in a pristine manner. They have reduced the usage of plastic to a great extent and have started making vegetable garden using the compost made from their household waste and supply the organic vegetable products for our use on a regular basis. We are currently setting up a drinking water supply system for them.

Konni is the first eco tourism project in Kerala. We arrange trips to this place for our guests. When we started the program, the mahouts were getting a meager income. They were not able to communicate with the guests, as they didn't know English. We have arranged training sessions for the mahouts in English and hospitality methods and as a result, they communicate with the guests in an easy manner and get good tips from them. Their lives have transformed and they are very positive towards tourism. We have set up a, one-day Elephant feeding program for the guests and it became a shot in the arm towards the well being of the animals, which were on a rationing of food item. Everybody is happy in this centre now and the guests are very delighted by this atmosphere.

Guests can learn traditional cooking with us. Once they learn the art of kerala cooking, they start purchasing spices from local shops to carry with them and visit the Indian restaurants in their countries quite frequently. They also make their friends and relatives fans of Indian dishes.

6. Charity

We have sponsored our village school and provided them the required amount of fans and a safe water drinking system for the students. We provide medical supplies for cancer patients recommended as needy by our priest or community.

Our home stay itself is made to perform as an ambassador of our rich and varied ancient culture where the guests truly experience the greatness of this country. Beyond that we take our guests to the local temples and churches where they can enjoy the festivities first hand. We also make the guest involved in our family gatherings so that they can learn more about us.