At Gaia’s Garden we keep asking ourselves this question as we observe plants and creatures big and small living together. Of course, it is about what we can do in our daily lives. It is also about the environment and living conditions which we create. Nature is not something separate from us. It is in our experience every day. In our ponds, for example, we have beautiful lotus and water lily. We also have a growing family of tortoises who love to bask in the sun. But more than that, they love eating the lotus flowers. This also is nature, seeking its balance and us humans considering our position in nature’s play.
We hope that guests and visitors to Gaia’s Garden may find here impressions for admiration and contemplation. These open up hidden doorways to stroll in the garden of life, where nature shows us in a myriad of ways how to get along with one another. And when we walk out of the gate, we re-enter life, inspired to nurture and love.
On the practical side, we are making efforts in energy sustainability. We have solar power to support general energy use in the guesthouse and a solar hot water system during daylight.
In our work garden, we have fruit trees bearing gifts from nature in most seasons. Recently we have been planting veggies and edible roots. While we are still newbies in bee-keeping, we experiment with innovative design in bee boxes to help protect one of the most resourceful hive intelligences in nature.
Also in the pipeline is a salon for culture and sharing, an R&D effort in vertical farming, and a laboratory of free play for children.
We hope that by taking these practical little steps, new possibilities and connections may open up for guests and visitors. Guests from different corners of India and the world are already sharing and co-learning through offering their expertise in music, tai-chi, education, film-making and other passions. We welcome inputs and ideas to help us move towards a shared future.