This might sound like a strange and perhaps self-defeating headline for a homestay to use! The common tendency in the hospitality sector is to prioritize bookings and occupancy. But when we built our mountain home: Fagunia Farmstay and started hosting guests, we wanted to share it with like-minded guests. Guests who believe in:
• Living sustainably with lesser impact
• Traveling responsibly and respectfully
• Supporting homestays (where you share the same living experience as that of the homestay hosts, whether the homestay is a humble hut or an ultra-luxurious bungalow)
• Reconnecting with nature, and
• Making do without certain urban conveniences
A home(stay) experience
We have had the good fortune to host many many wonderful guests. While we would love to share our dream home with everyone, given our remote, rural, off the road location next to forests, and our eco-friendly focus, our place may not be apt for all.
We also understand with limited time available to most travelers, you may want a vacation without worrying about such things so we want to be completely transparent and honest about the stay experience possible at our place. Do scroll down and read through to understand 10 reasons to stay (or not to stay) at Fagunia Farmstay.
1. Uninterrupted power supply and backup
Given our remote, rural location, we have regular power cuts. We use a solar powered inverter which provides basic light/internet backup for about 4-5 hours. We do not use petrol/diesel generators to prevent pollution. In case the power cut is of a longer duration and especially happens in the evening/night then this can mean that our backup can also run out. As a result, there will be no power in the house until mains power is restored by the electricity department.
It’s not that this will happen all the time. For example, the all-night power loss we have probably faced about 3-4 times in the last 6 months. But it depends on luck and weather so you could experience it during your stay.
And if you do, don’t worry or fret. Use that time to have heart to heart talks with your loved ones or friends, or have a candlelight meal or just sit out in our garden in the darkness and experience the grandeur and beauty of a sky full of stars and the Milky Way!
2. 24/7 piping hot running water
We use a centralized solar powered water heater for providing hot water in the bathrooms. When there is no sun, hot water through a backup heating rod is made available for two hours every morning. Therefore, we request our guests to have their baths accordingly.
We cannot heat water during the day/evening due to low voltage in our rural setting. To help save water, we also request our guests to consider taking bucket baths instead of using the shower.
Just in case you face the above problems during your stay, consider skipping a day! You are on a holiday so take a bath the next day or whenever hot water is available next.
3. Constant internet connectivity
We have a dedicated broadband connection with WiFi. But again due to our remote location and/or if there is bad weather, the internet connection at our place can sometimes become slow or even stop working. If you need mission critical access to the net during your stay, please carry Jio 4G dongles for internet backup.
Modern services like broadband internet are only just scaling up their infrastructure in the mountains so they can be erratic. Please don’t expect the same instant connectivity and efficiency that you might be used to in cities.
In case you face an internet blackout during your stay with us, take a deep breath, leave your gadget aside and use that opportunity to do a digital detox. Forget about sharing that perfect Instagram update and instead head for a hike into the beautiful forests next to us for some quality forest bathing time. Or sit in our Kafal Corner and let the magical peace of that place slowly seep into you. Or pick a book from our eclectic collection and lose yourself in alternate worlds.
4. Bug free environment
We are right next to a forest. A majority of the land we are located on is semi-wild. We have intentionally refrained from unnecessary landscaping as that leads to biodiversity loss. So, you will see more bird, plant and insect life at our place than probably other places. We don’t mind co-existing with our animal or insect neighbours as much as possible.
In case you see a spider or some bug or a moth or a cobweb in your room, don’t get scared or be disappointed that we don’t clean our rooms. In fact, we do keep our rooms spick and span. Some of the insects may look scary but they are mostly harmless and if you point them out our staff will remove them. And cobwebs can come up literally minutes after cleaning at our place. We like to think this is maybe because we minimize the use of harmful chemicals and insecticides used for pest control so our spider friends bless us with their beautiful webs.
Next time you see a bug or a spider, observe them. Most of them are so beautiful and rare to see. We especially get to see an amazing variety of spiders, moths and butterflies in all kinds of colors, sizes and shapes at our place! Take photographs and share to educate your children or your loved ones about the sheer diversity of life that our planet is home to.
5. Custom food menus
While we can adjust spice levels, as a small home kitchen, we are unable to offer la carte ordering, room service or cater to personal food preferences. To reduce our impact on the environment and not create unnecessary garbage, our use of packaged food is also kept to a minimum and to the essentials. For example, we do not serve or stock carbonated drinks or packaged fruit juices or junk food.
Forget your maggi or butter chicken and chilli paneer and instead open up your palate to underrated but delicious Pahadi cuisine. The food at Fagunia is an eclectic melange of Pahadi, North Indian and Telugu influences. Simple yet nutritious, wholesome yet easy on the stomach. We use seasonal, farm fresh and locally available ingredients as much as possible. Most of the vegetables are sourced from our or neighbouring farms when available so that you can have the freshest farm to table experience and discover the difference that fresh, organic, seasonal, home cooked food can have on your tastebuds.
6. Standardized room layouts
Uniquely built across different levels, our homestay has a spacious suite and two cosy rooms, all with ensuite bathrooms along with a common kitchen, a large garden and a common semi al fresco dining area. Architecturally, our homestay is a blend of traditional Kumaoni stone building practices and minimalist design influences with handpicked antique furniture in all rooms.
The design of the home expands on but largely follows the original layout of the Kumaoni farmer’s house that existed on the site so that we could minimize our construction footprint and also reuse most of the original stone and wood. There is a certain quirkiness in the way we have utilized the available space that we hope you can have fun in experiencing! For example, our Barbet Suite has a beautiful hand crafted pine wood staircase that takes you right from the entrance of the suite to a magical little attic sleeping area that has no door! For our remaining two rooms, Starling and Sparrow, we kept their size similar to the original farmer’s home rooms that existed in the same location, and therefore these two rooms are smaller in size. This compact size helps them remain naturally cosy and warm during the long mountain winters and cool during the summers.
7. Local staff
When we were starting our farmstay, we decided to work with locals to help increase employment opportunities. We trained interested individuals from our village and nearby areas. Our staff may not be trained chefs or have undergone hotel management training but we are proud of how well they have learnt, continue to learn and grow to provide a home like, positive stay experience to our guests. They may make mistakes but are quick to smile, easy to talk to and often go out of their way to cater to guest needs and comfort. Next time you stay with us, do spend some time talking to them, you just may gain some amazing insights into Pahadi culture.
8. Loud music/party
Our place is definitely a no-no if you want to play loud music or have a boisterous party. We request you to not to play music in our outdoor areas during your stay. Even inside rooms, we request for lower volumes. We are located in a super quiet, peaceful location where you do not even get the sounds of traffic. All you hear are mostly bird sounds, the sound of the wind through the forest trees, and people working in the fields. Stay with us and experience that special Himalayan quiet and let it act as a soothing balm to relax your frazzled urban senses.
9. Diffused external lighting
Are you expecting bright or flood lit exteriors in the night? Then, we are not the right place. We use diffused and minimal external lighting in the night to reduce disturbance to local fauna. The added bonus of this being, as mentioned earlier, a chance for you to experience a brilliant night sky full of stars and the shimmering Milky Way!
10. Waste management support
We are very very serious about minimizing our waste and water footprint. We change bed linen and towels every 4 days of a guest’s stay to minimize water and detergent usage for washing. We also do not provide toilet paper or single use toiletries to reduce waste. We compost our wet waste, minimize our plastic use and safely incinerate in an on-site closed incinerator whatever plastic waste we generate.
We request you to take back any single use plastic/waste you may have brought with you. Look at it as a way for you to earn some good karma to benefit the planet. Please help the planet heal by taking back whatever waste you got/generate and dispose it safely in the plains.
Having said all of this, we compensate for the above potential inconveniences by providing a memorable stay experience on a stunning farm with a homely ambiance, amidst pristine natural surroundings with fantastic views. If you would like to stay with us, check availability now and book a stay. We look forward to hosting you.
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