About | Sustainability
Origin of Nayalap
Nayalap has been deliberation for over 5 years. We had been working in tourism for over 7 years each and in combination, both of us had traveled around the world. Through our travels, we realized how important it was to create a culture and how fragile this preservation really was. This was mixed in with something in the back of our minds – to work where our home was. We decided to work on rural living and promote the idea of living in a village. We wanted to help people experience that and go back feeling refreshed.
Over the years we looked at various advantages and disadvantages of rural living. We dreamt of buying mountains and creating some sort of co-working space where people could come and stay and work and use it as a retreat. That dream lives on. But we need to build our capacities for that.
We also realized that a village as a unit has immense potential and all forms of the industry could be built with the sustainability of the village being the main goal. There was so much. But where to start? After some light pondering we realized that we should start with what we are good at – tourism. Thus began our journey to Nayalap.
We realized that the opposite had happened when we started exploring various villages. Without opportunities and facilities, people locked up their houses and left for the cities. The money was more in bigger cities like Dehradun, Haldwani, and Delhi, and essential services like healthcare and education were more easily available.
While it would be pompous to presume that we can change the tide, we’d like to try something out. Nayalap’s first plan is to create stays where guests tired of the city life can come and breathe. Guests can feel the luxury of space, of going out anywhere, of not hearing the incessant honking and irritation that cities cause. Now with 4 luxury tents spaced at a distance of >10m away from each other, Nayalap has become a haven for the worldly and the weary. Each tent is a suite with an ensuite bathroom, a large bedroom, and cozy sitting space. Apart from this, Nayalap has 2 beautiful Earth Homes – a tribute to sustainable Kumaoni architecture. The 2 properties are now connected with a beautiful forest hike.
Hopefully, as we move on, we will be providing more local income – and eventually, facilitate the arrival of essential services. We welcome you to this little corner of the world.
Next
We are now working on the concept of a distributed hotel. Built as sustainably as possible, the distributed hotel will be spread across multiple villages and service will be organized by the local community. So watch out for this space!
Along with this, we are working on promoting the craft of Kumaon – culinary, knitted, or woven – to the rest of the country. Kumaoni lifestyle is one of great simplicity and well-being and we are on a mission to promote that to other places. For starters, check out our product lines.