magadha vana is a bio diversity farm located approximately 35 kms from Udupi town in the southern state of Karnataka, India. Nestled in the foothills of Western Ghats and adjoining the Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary, it is spread over 6.5 acres of land and surrounded by verdant greenery on every side. The farm and its surrounding brims with a wide range of endemic flora and fauna in a least disturbed natural setting.
This farm is an endeavour of two nature enthusiasts – Siva Sankar (a former geologist) and Major Kavan Shetty (an ex-army officer). The former was fired up with the idea of creating a spice plantation and food forest in conjunction with a farm stay while the later was inspired by the Channel 5 tele series Where The Wild Men Are With Ben Fogle. The two set out in earnest to find a slice of wilderness that could support the concept of creating a spice plantation and food forest in its midst with the least amount of disturbance to the natural tree cover and green canopy as well as to the birds, bees and the beasts that be in the surroundings. The search wasn’t a long one and magadha vana came into existence in May 2018. What led them to choose magadha vana to be the name of the plantation? Magadha in Sanskrit refers to a spice specifically so to long pepper and vana refers to forest.
Guided by a vision to create an environment friendly, self-sustaining food forest / spice forest experience, magadha vana progressed into nurturing coconut, pepper, cashews, cocoa, plantain, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, lime and turmeric as major crops apart from arecanut, the main cash crop of this region. Native and endemic fruit bearing trees like guava, wax apple, rose apple, jackfruit and mangoes of different varieties were already growing plentifully here. To this, the duo added more varieties of tropical fruit bearing tree varieties like rambutan, Mangosteen, Avacados, Breadfruit, Sapota, 5 varieties of bananas , peanut butter fruit, milk fruit, miracle fruit, soursop, star fruit, coorg oranges, sweet lime, varieties of jack fruits etc., Cultivating local vegetables as per seasonal cycles became a necessity for tailoring a farm to table food experience for the guests and visiting friends and relatives. Exotic and rare spices, medicinal tubers and herbs are cultivated here in small quantities to add to the diversity in plant life. An acre of agroforestry with 500+ teak, Mahogany and red Sanders in close spacing was a conscious effort towards avoiding dependency on the limited water resources. Along with this, a few varieties of bamboo are also planted along the boundaries. Creating a timber forest within the environs of the farm in line with the concept of tree-based farming has earned reward and recognition for this farm from the District Administration in the category of Agroforestry.
magadha vana has been collectively and consciously aligned with the ideals of conservation of threatened and rare Western Ghats flora which have effectively disappeared in the surrounding forests due to over exploitation. Natural farming practices and pesticide free produce has been a bench mark of this farm from its inception. With 25+ products sold directly through social media, the products reach patrons of this farm directly without involving middle men thus enriching the customer’s experience of knowing their farmer and the source of their food. All of the produces are farm fresh, naturally grown and nurtured, processed traditionally with no harmful chemical or pesticides used at any stages.
Crop scientists from various governmental organizations have been instrumental in the progress of this farm. Their guidance and support have gone a long way in finding alternate solutions to dealing with pests without polluting the air, water and soil in and around this farm. Both Siva & Kavan were novices at farming practices when they started out on this adventure and in the absence of elders who could guide their hands, it was scientific knowhow and progressive techniques that came to their aid in creating a environment free of harmful and toxic chemicals and pesticides. Siva was recently recognized and felicitated in the Progressive Farmer Program.
The farm employs locally available farm hands both men and women and connects with them in true neighborhood spirit fostering a sense of community with the local villagers, exposing them to progressive farming practices in the hope that they emulate the best practices followed here and understand that what is good for the land is also good for them.
magadha vana has been frequented by many a birding enthusiast in the past five years. So far, the presence of 109 species of birds have been recorded in and around this farm by these spirited birding enthusiasts as a result of which, this place has been earmarked as a hotspot in ebirds.org. This diversity of bird population is formed up by the resident and seasonal migratory birds reflecting a sound ecosystem in and around magadha vana.
magadha vana affords it’s patrons a in-house staying arrangement sufficient to accommodate up to 5 adults for farm / nature / bird / butterfly / herpetology /wildlife / trekking enthusiasts and researchers to stay. A simple down to earth homestay where the guests can connect with nature and wilderness and at the same time connect with their host in a one-to-one way. Eco-tourism is one of the aspects we are looking forward to develop in the near future. Nature friendly lifestyle and connecting with thinking minds is the driving principle of magadha vana.
Tourist attractions around magadha vana make it an ideal base for leisure travelers. Large number of jain monuments dots the countryside. Varanga kere basadi, Moodabidre savira khambha basadi, Karkala gomateshwara betta being a few to name. An hour’s drive away is the International Blue Flag beach at Padubidri. Boating and kayaking in the backwaters and surfing has caught up in a big way due to the district having a extensive coastline.