Babli is a sustainable farm just three hours away from Kolkata with quaint mud cottages in the middle of lush greens.
Babli is a rural-action project in interior Birbhum. Apart from the general work they do (which includes traditional and sustainable farming methods and rejuvenating the depleting forest cover through minimal intervention), they also have a guest house where you can book a stay. The 12.5 acres of farm has ponds, an orchard, vegetable garden, and a barn.
Want to spend a couple of days in absolute peace? Babli’s guest house is just close enough to the highway to calm your city-jitters and far enough away to give you a taste of nature. Clear skies, dazzling, starry nights, birds, butterflies and flowers – you’ll dump all your city woes when you come here. The lush greenery is panacea for eyes dulled by city greys.
Babli offers the basics — water and electricity, quaint cottages. Everything you eat here is sourced from their chemical-free farm, where they grow rice, wheat, seasonal vegetables, fruits, sugarcane, turmeric, ginger et al (they sell excess produce, so ask if you can take away a bag of fragrant and fresh veggies). They also have a huge variety of flowering trees and ayurvedic plants.
Regular rooms start at INR 1,200 in the off season (from April to August); family suite start at INR 4,500. You can also book dorm-like accommodation for INR 150-200 per person. The seasonal rates (from September to March) are marginally higher.