“I would love to live on a farm someday” echoes every city-dweller fatigued by their urban lifestyle’s lackluster routine and dizzying pace. And while most step out of the city from weekend to weekend, some make their ‘life on a farm’ dream come true. Just like Noopur Chaughule did with Ayra Farms, a family home in the Guhagar, Konkan region of Maharashtra. A home that is open to guests for a wholesome staycation that is proudly slow-paced.

Noopur and her family moved into their ancestral home to distance themselves from the deliberate mindless ways of city life. They decided to do a conscious fix-up for this home using an energy-efficient design, without unearthing trees, and using materials and resources immediately available in their vicinity. All of this was done with the help of locals. They now breed cattle for manure and grow their own veggies. As time passes, the humble family home becomes more circular and more mindful. An alternative lifestyle created by defunct urbanites for existing urbanites. Read on to learn more about the Chaughules’ humble abode.

Accessible Sustainability

Interestingly, the farm was meant for the family to isolate during the lockdown and later transformed into a wholesome ‘alternative life’ farm stay. The family’s main motivation was to make sustainability accessible and they reckoned a rural setup made it much easier. 

Sustainability is a challenging practice in an urban setup despite having the best intentions. This is where The Ayra Farm comes in. They are trying to create a conscious living experience for city-dwellers by demonstrating what an alternative lifestyle could look, feel and be like. Through the farmstay the Chaughules love meeting guests who are particularly curious about why they made this choice. Most guests are city-dwellers too who are intrigued about the family’s plan of sustaining a humble business. Noopur believes, guests seldom realize that they are part of the answer. 

An eco-village in the making

Noopur is looking at the bigger picture. Her family plans to build an eco-village community in the near future. The current farm stay is only a small part of what they have in mind. The plan is to build eco-friendly homes using materials and labor from the neighborhood using energy-efficient design. They also plan on building a waste management center, a plastic waste management unit, a workshop space for upcycling projects, a community kitchen, and a school. An eco-village that is hyper-local, self-sufficient, regenerative, and thoroughly circular. 

How it all began

Noopur’s parents Rajan and Sadhana lived the typical city life with full-time jobs that kept them too busy for their liking. Rajan was the Director of Bharati Vidyapeeth School of Photography, Sadhana was a school art teacher—both decided to retire early after Noopur married and moved overseas. They headed to their ancestral home in Guhagar to lead a simpler, more fulfilling life. Little did the Chaughules know that a sudden lockdown would turn this dream of two into a humble business for the family. 

Noopur worked as a Chef in Canada and came down to visit her parents when she was five months pregnant. The lockdown kept Noopur from traveling back home in time and her daughter Ayra was born at her ancestral home on the farm. The grandparents watched Ayra grow up on the farm while the little one explored every corner of their home with angelic curiosity and excitement. The Chaughules felt this was destiny, and decided to name their home The Ayra Farms – because as Ayra grew so did the farm.

To slow down and unlearn

The challenges were many. Building a sustainable home in a hamlet while balancing a full-time job in the city, was a tightrope to walk. The management of labor, maintenance and eventually prioritizing, truly made a difference. The biggest challenge was to slow down and unlearn. In the city, everyone is compelled to be on time and compete. But this was completely different and refreshing for the family. On a farm, everything functions at its own pace, because nature can’t be fast-tracked. Right from the seeds sown into the soil to the people who work as a community to achieve mutual goals. This was an alternate universe of good for the Chaughules. 

The initial years at Ayra Farms came with one too many turbulences. Timelines weren’t met because the yield from the farm was not as predicted. But when one hits rock bottom there’s no way other than going up. So that’s what the Chaughules did. One day at a time, one challenge at a time; albeit slowly, they learned. It drew the family closer and they dealt with these drawbacks head on. There was no room for frustration because there was always lots to figure out. And there still is. 

A few fun facts for Ayra Farm guests:

1. They are a pet-friendly farm! Your paw-some family will be welcomed and accompanied by Lucy – the Chaughule’s pet canine.
2. Get your little ones will love it here too and they will be in the company of little Ayra, together they can explore the myriad elements of the farm.
3. All the food at the farm is locally sourced, home-cooked and made with delicious seasonal ingredients. Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options are available.
4. There’s a lake with a dam nearby where you can spot wildlife and birds with a truck that can be borrowed from the farm. Do carry your binoculars for this experience.
5. Get your hands dirty. You can go for a farm walk and help with rice farming. This is exactly how you can get the most authentic farm-life experience.

To sum it all up, merely a few hours away from the city of dreams and the occasional dread is an ‘alternate lifestyle’ farm stay, an alternate universe of the real, raw, and rare.