Indian Responsible Tourism Award 2025 For Fagunia Farmstay
We are happy to share that Fagunia Farmstay won the prestigious Indian Responsible Tourism Award 2025 (IRTA) for Sustainable Leadership in Homestays. Fagunia Farmstay was only one of 3 homestays from across India and the only homestay from Uttarakhand to receive this award this year.
Indian Responsible Tourism Awards
Now in its ninth year, IRTA is the flag bearer of travel that is gentle on the earth and invested in the growth and happiness of the local communities across India. IRTA is an initiative of the Outlook Magazine and its sister brands Outlook Traveller and Outlook Responsible Tourism.
The Indian Responsible Tourism Award 2025 selection was made by an esteemed jury headed by Jury President, Mr. Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa and the former chief executive officer of NITI Aayog. The jury consisted of eminent experts from the responsible tourism space like Mr C. B. Ramkumar, Vice Chair; Global Sustainable Tourism Council; Ms Ritu Dalmia, Chef and Restaurateur; Mr Micheal Dominic, Managing Director, CGH Earth; Ms Malika Virdi, Former Sarpanch, Sarmoli–Jainti Van Panchayat, Munsiari, & Founder-Director, Himalayan Ark, and Mr Raj Basu, Co-founder, Help Tourism, & Advisor, Rural Tourism & Homestays, NE States, Myanmar, Bhutan & Nepal.
The 2025 Indian Responsible Tourism Summit and Awards event was held at the well-known Rann Utsav, Dhordo, Gujarat on 22 February 2025.
IRTA’s Sustainable Leadership in Homestays Award is given to a homestay that continues to be rooted in the local way of life, where the owners live on the property and share a kitchen with their guests; and practice simple, effective, replicable measures of sustainability, relevant to their location and scale.
What Next
This award will motivate us to build on our sustainable initiatives and continue to deliver experiential stays, social support initiatives and progress towards our goal of a sustainable, self-reliant, and self-sufficient future.
About Fagunia
Fagunia is a sustainable, solar powered homestead, founded and run by a Pahadi-Telugu couple, located in a remote hamlet near Nainital in the lower Himalayas of Uttarakhand in India. Fagunia hosts responsible travellers, farms using a permaculture approach, shares organic produce as small batch microlots, develops and implements social support initiatives, and curates bespoke experiences.
