A Wilderness Collective 45 mins from Madikeri
Western ghats are one of the 10 biodiversity hotspots of the world. A significant portion of this biodiversity stays outside of protected areas, amidst intensively cultivated farms and plantations. Preservation of this rapidly declining biodiversity has far reaching consequences, especially for the urban centres downstream.
Asking the planters to abandon their activities and letting the forest take over is not a practical option as the plantation sector is the bedrock of the economy and a major source of employment. Wilderness collectives may very well be the answer - plantations or farms that function like forest systems, encouraging the biodiversity to thrive without compromising the viability of an estate.
The Origins
In 2019, Beforest introduced the idea of a Wilderness Collective. We intended to bring together folks who wanted to invest in wildlife habitat preservation – forest-friendly living, we called it.
We launched Poomaale 1.0 with lots of enthusiasm and an ambitious idea to blend the viability of a coffee plantation with the possibility of a tropical forest. Can coffee be one of the layers of a forest system? We asked ourselves.
Over the last 3 years in Poomaale 1.0, we introduced forest-friendly plantation activities and are building homes that blend seamlessly into the landscape. Each of these homes use Zero Electricity for their heating and pumping needs.
Today every kilogram of coffee harvested in the Poomaale Estate saves 1000 litres of water. Cumulatively, in 3 years, we saved 21 million litres of water, 68 tonnes of NPK and an almost equivalent amount of pesticides.
The wildly grown coffee is now open to the market under our brand of forest-friendly produce ‘Bewild’ and ready for you to enjoy. The estate is also abundant in mammals, birds and reptiles – a benchmark in sustainable landscape management.
However, the thing that constantly made us ponder were the folks who we thought were sold on the idea of a wilderness collective but could not commit to home ownership. We went back to the drawing board to revisit ownership and came up with Co-Forest.
Hammiyala Collective
A different take on the wilderness collective
Hammiyala Estate is a direct result of the intent established by folks who reached out to us and expressed the desire to participate in a wilderness collective and urged us to extend the idea to other regions of Coorg. We took up the challenge and drew up the workings of a new collective with a different take on ownership.
The site chosen is Hammiyala Estate, located close to Madhopura, Coorg. This is a beautiful running coffee estate that spans over100 acres and includes a perennial stream. Located in the vicinity of Pushpagiri ranges, it is a perfect site for a wilderness collective.
While Poomaale 1.0 was a benchmark in landscape management, Hammiyala Estate extends the idea with a new take on home ownership. We aim to further the sweet spot of economic viability and ecological sustainability, measured through the 4Returns framework by Commonland that Poomaale 1.0 pioneered.
This time we are wiser by 3 years and have gathered relevant expertise and experience working with varied geographies. We have also collaborated with the best in the permaculture world to devise what we think will work better.
The Estate
The estate was historically a functioning coffee plantation, completely irrigated and conventionally run. We are reimagining this as a food forest where the existing plantation forms one of the many layers. The estate encompasses two hillocks, a perennial stream, and many natural springs and monsoon nullahs. We plan to revive the land by promoting forest-friendly methods to grow medicinal herbs and spices, along with fruiting trees like oranges, figs, pomelos, avocados and vines like pepper, etc.
We are committed to leaving at least half the estate as a low-intervention forest zone and will restrict our food-growing activities to the other half. This will help preserve habitats for wildlife, including big cats, small-clawed otters, elephants, bat colonies, etc. Along with all this, low footprint hospitality operations are also envisaged to ease the pressure on the food forest.
We will follow our usual methodology of baseline mapping – contour studies, hydrology, biodiversity studies, etc, followed by broad zoning of the entire estate. Post this, we will carry out controlled design interventions to understand the impact of our activities on the environment. Once we are confident, we dive head-first into the execution.
Seed Community
Like any collective, Hammiyala Estate is a crowd-funded initiative. Wilderness collectives are a feather in our cap as they are extreme examples of economic viability while enhancing the ecology.
Embark on a life of opulence and nature at Hammiyala Estate with three enticing options to choose from:
A. Coforestor: Enjoy 0.5 acres of undivided ownership, coupled with 30 person nights per annum at any of the estate bungalows, all at an attractive price of INR 28L*.
B. Home in the Hills: Secure a 500 sqyd plot within the housing zone, allowing you the freedom to construct a biome-designed earth home (up to 1500 sqft) for INR 50.07L*.
C. Planter's Choice: Embrace the luxurious lifestyle with 0.5 acres of estate ownership, including a 1000 sqyd plot earmarked for your bungalow (up to 2100 sqft), meticulously designed by Biome, all at an enticing price of INR 99.65L*.
Inclusions:
- Access to all common amenities built in the larger estate, owned and operated by Beforest.
- Access to the estate bungalows for guest accomodation.
- Complimentary membership of the Planter's Club within the larger estate - owned and operated by Beforest.
- All maintenance charges of the landscape - divided and undivided share - by Beforest until Mar 31, 2034.
Exclusions:
- GST, Regn charges, Stamp duty and any other taxes/charges levied by the state or central govt.
- Cost of construction for the house owned by the incoming member.
Currently, we are in the formation of a Seed Community – the early adopters who buy into the first 25% of the Collective land. They are instrumental in defining the character of the community and the rules that govern it. For all the faith shown and the contribution made by the Seed Community, we offer a discounted introductory pricing for members who come in at this stage.
More the Merrier
Hammiyala Estate – our new Wilderness Collective – comes with a lot of benefits. Our journey through coffee plantations, wildlife corridors and freshwater streams is now moving to its next stop with a horizon full of possibilities.
Economical Ownership
The reduced construction footprint translates to reduced costs and makes it easier on the pocket.
Collective intent
Likeminded people coming together builds a lot of social capital towards a common cause, in this case, preservation of habitat.
Join the Forest Friendly Living
Western Ghats are a world heritage site. They are also called a ‘biodiversity hotspot’ as they house the highest density of endemic species. As a landscape, we have currently lost about 60% of this diversity to a series of intensive farm and plantation activities. Our wilderness collectives are an initiative to keep this biodiversity intact without asking the planter community to compromise their livelihoods. This new paradigm may very well be the future of the Western Ghats.
If you believe in the worth of the cause and want in, or if you missed the chance to be a part of Poomaale 1.0, this is for you. If being in a community of wildlifers, birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts excites you, fill in your details by clicking below and someone from our side will connect with you for a deeper conversation.