Sadhana Forest

While I came to Sadhana Forest to volunteer in reforestation, I learned and experienced so much more. You can expect to learn information across a wide variety of topics, including zero-waste, composting, water conservation, and vegan cooking. The different types of volunteering range from low to high physical work, but all of it was a welcome change from desk work. With the volunteering I had the opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge, such as different methods of planting new trees or how to make coconut milk from scratch. I loved being part of the Sadhana Forest community and spending quality time with the people here. Everyone is ready to listen and lend a helping hand. If you’re looking for a well-rounded experience that includes volunteering, skill-building, sustainability and community look no further and stay at Sadhana Forest!

One of the things I like most about Sadhana is that it’s not only the forest that is growing, it’s also the people. You learn so much here, and you can really bring your full self to the community. No one judges you and everyone is so welcoming. The work itself is so meaningful - helping to regrow the natural forest here, cooking for the community, cleaning, preparing water irrigation devices. In that way, you also learn a lot about conservation, sustainability and plant-based diets. These are all things you can bring back and integrate into your life at home. If you’re already thinking about coming here, think no further - do it!!

Sadhana Forest is not just an experience, it's a way of life. I have grown up in India, so community living has always been a part of my childhood, but I never imagined living so closely with nature. Apart from indulging in seva, I learnt a lot of things about myself and it has given my life a direction, an alternative perspective. I realised that all the other species apart from humans have different personalities, moods, tantrums, emotions, experience pain, and trauma, just like humans and acknowledging all of this is very important. I also learnt to use compost toilets and to manage the compost after, which was one of my nightmares. But after I did it, I realised it's not at all how i imagined it to be. I relished some very delicious cuisine from all over the world each day I spent here. I worked and met with different people from around the world and learnt about different cultures. I have made friends for life in a very short span of time. In the process, I learnt to be compassionate, even when it's very difficult. And most importantly, I learnt to break my own mentality barriers and now I can take on life with a different perspective.

I came to Sadhana Forest expecting to learn more about reforestation and water conservation techniques, with the aim of understanding how my ecological footprint impacts the Earth. Although this expectation was met, I was also warmly welcomed into an accepting and unconditionally loving community of people from different backgrounds. In Sadhana Forest I got to know more about myself through meaningful interactions with others. The individuals I have met here were able to hold space for me and showed no judgement. If there is one thing I could take home with me from this experience it is the capacity we have to impact others through selfless acts, even a simple smile can change the trajectory of ones day.

It is the perfect vacation and volunteering project for me. I get to put my believes in action again and reconnect to parts of myself I hadn’t accessed in a long time. The community is really a safe space and really takes all the social anxiety off you. Also constantly living in the forest helps regulate the nervous system well with all the forest bathing that happens. Doing hands on physical work also helped me learn and start taking care of my body again. And considering the resource footprint minimisation while staying here is an added advantage. And you do all this while helping sustain an evergreen dry forest which has been grown in a dry arid land supporting the local biodiversity and recharging ground water table. I wouldn’t ask for more from a place.