Tech It Away: Bengaluru’s Zero-Waste Hostel Is Making Us Go Cuckoo

A decrepit Koramangala house was claimed by Rajat Kukreja {a former Airbnb host} along with do-gooder friends who turned the place upside down in their effort to make Cuckoo Hostel a place that’d become a benchmark for eco-friendly living. There’s a terrace garden for organic veggies, refurbished everything, wall murals by friends of friends and cycles to move around.

When Rajat and party laid siege, they only had ideas. Then, someone got a crumbling chair and another person got a spare cupboard, beds were made out of industrial packaging and the neglected kitchen slab was turned into a sink.

Basically, days turned to nights and the gang worked on getting in energy efficient fittings and cracking out a formula to recycle and reuse every small and big article in the house, while local artists dropped by and painted the walls in bright hues.

Rajat’s a big believer in peer-to-peer learning and has made ample room for ideas to flow freely. There’s a library and a jam room where guests can do what their hearts desire – read, converse, sing badly or share life lessons with a willing audience. This common room effortlessly turns into a learning centre where eager guests can pick up new skills, habits and attend workshops.

Creative types can now stop fretting about earning a pittance – Cuckoo Hostel’s rate card will leave you chirping for a long time. You can soak in a lot of sunlight and inspiration at anything between INR 399 and 699 a night if you stay at one of their three dormitories or private rooms.