Chiguru Farm is a 15 acre active Natural farm that is situated on the fringes of the Bilikal Forest on the south of Bannerghatta National Park. It is an hour and a half drive from the south of Bangalore, located at a distance of 40km from the NICE Road and Kanakapura Road Junction. The farm perimeter is protected by a solar fence to keep the occasional wild animals out. It is primarily a Horticulture Farm with a wide variety of fruit trees. Seasonal veggies and field crops (grains, pulses and some spices) are also cultivated here during monsoon. Chiguru Farm is a wildlife friendly, cow-based Natural Farm, following a mix-and-match of SPNF, Permaculture and Agro-Forestry, all of which can be broadly categorized under Organic Farming.
All pathways are lined with teak trees, that lends a romantic feel to the experience. The farm has been going completely chemical-free since 2015. Just outside the farm is a small public pond that holds water throughout the year. Within the farm, intensive water harvesting and storage options have been created, by digging 3 bodies that can store water during the rainy season. The rain water drains have been designed in a way to carry water to either one of the 3 water bodies. Since these storage ponds have been built the small ponds in the nearby villages have water throughout the year.
Chemical-free inputs like farm-yard-manure, compost and neem cake are used when required. Also natural pest control companion planting (like chillies and marigold) in between the crops and using pheromone fly traps and solar traps instead of pesticides to prevent crop damage are employed.
The general rule of thumb is that we need 1 cow per 2-3 acres of farm that you want to make organic, we currently have 10 cows. The cows are kept ethically, without any artificial insemination and outside feed. They are mainly kept for farming purposes, whereas occasional milk is just a bonus for us! The cow manure is directly employed in vermicomposting all of the organic by-products. The vermicompost that is produced using earthworms to break down the organic by-products is sufficient for the farm. The farm also plays host to some chicks and hens.
#SustainableLiving is the keyword at Chiguru Farm.
- Our domestic power is completely on solar.
- Hot water is also supplied through solar water heaters.
- Lot of rain water harvesting and ground water recharging techniques have been employed.
- All the grey water (kitchen, bath, handwash, etc) is filtered and fed to the trees through drip irrigation system.
- All the wet waste is composted.
- Most of the manures/fertilizers/pesticides/insecticides are sourced from and/or prepared at the farm itself.
- Most of the food cooked at Chiguru Farm is with the items grown at the farm.
- We employ only local villagers – both for farm work as well as cooking, housekeeping, etc.
- We educate people about sustainable living.
Things to do
- Farm & Nature: Fruit/Vegetable picking, tree climbing, rain dance, trekking, village tour, petting/feeding farm animals, tractor ride, pottery, cooking participation, yoga, star gazing, bird watching, visiting nearby dams/lakes.
- Indoor Games: Buguri, Alaguli Mane, Chowkabara, Pagade, Search for Sita, Backgammon, Chess, Tower of Brahma, Navakangari, Sheep & Tiger, Chinese Checkers, Carrom, card games, Pictionary, Connect 4, Dumb Charades, Puranic Tambola, Antakshari.
- Outdoor Sports: Lagori/Seven Stones, Treasure Hunt, Dodge Ball, Tennicoit, Badminton, Volleyball, Rama-Ravana, Sheep & Tiger, Identify the Leader, Musical Chair, Vikings Chess, Khoko, Tyre game, Gilli-Danda, Tug of War, Hop Scotch, Hide & Seek, marble games, Pillar to Post, Langdi, Kabaddi, cycling, Number Group.
Accommodation
We offer two spacious rooms each of which are split into a ground and mezzanine floors and can sleep 4-6 adults comfortably. We take maximum two families at a time for stay.
Chiguru Farm offers a peaceful getaway for those who love nature and want to experience rural life. The house is thoughtfully designed using reused doors, windows, and Mangalore tiles, along with mud bricks made from the farm’s soil. This gives the place a rustic charm while offering simple modern comforts. The farm is powered mostly by solar energy, with occasional grid backup on cloudy or rainy days. Meals are a highlight here, with fresh vegetarian food cooked by local village women in an open kitchen. You can even request Jain meals or dishes without onion and garlic. The cuisine reflects the flavors of rural Karnataka, and guests are welcome to participate in cooking sessions to learn traditional recipes.
There’s no shortage of activities to keep you engaged. Spend your time playing traditional games like chowkabara or lagori, relaxing on a hammock with a book, or interacting with friendly farm animals. You can climb trees, pick fresh fruits, or take part in farming activities like planting vegetables. Evenings are magical, with guided farm tours, stargazing under clear skies, and cozy campfires (weather permitting). Mornings can begin with a yoga session, birdwatching, a short hike, or a visit to a nearby village to experience rural life up close.
Chiguru Farm is perfect for those who want to disconnect from city life and enjoy nature. With no TVs in the rooms and limited Wi-Fi use encouraged, it’s an opportunity to relax and unwind. Whether you’re looking for a learning experience, an adventurous day out, or simply some quiet time surrounded by birds and trees, Chiguru Farm provides a truly unique and refreshing escape.
Tenpy Rusty and Timothy
Rusty, derived from Ruskin Bond’s book, Rusty Runs Away, deep dives into the nostalgic feeling of life being simple and melancholic. We’re sure there is a “Rusty” hidden inside all of us, who wants to break free from daily monotony and the entrapment of fake desires. Come and take a lesson with Rusty, a container home in the middle of Chiguru Farm. Cozy accommodation for upto 3 people in Rusty.
Timothy (Rusty’s grandfather’s tiger!) also stands in toto. She is a gorgeous A-Frame structure surrounded by banana plants and facing our “food forest”. You can stay independently in Timothy OR stay in a group of more than 3 people along with Rusty.
Workations
Now you can work from Chiguru Farm surrounded by greenery amidst the chirping of birds and soothing breeze while you are pampered with healthy and nutritious food. You can break from the routine as and when required to take a stroll in the farm and return energized to work/discuss more efficiently. Great way to have fruitful brainstorming sessions/meetings which could even be around the camp fire. Ideal for small teams and startups. We offer JioFi access, which has become quite reliable of late. However, if you still have to use your mobile for voice calls and if you have Airtel connection you won’t be able to do it. We get only Jio and BSNL signal properly in the farm.
You can also come with your family. While you are busy with work, your family can enjoy a relaxed vacation walking, jogging, cycling, playing with the farm animals, etc. or even learn a thing or two about local cuisine!
ALSO AVAILABLE: Long-term stay packages suitable for creative work in solitude, like writing a book, completing an art project, etc.
Facilities
We have only 2 rooms in the farm house apart from the “Tiny Homes” from Tenpy. One additional room in the farm hosue can be managed only under specific request.
One of the rooms has an attached bathroom with direct entry from inside the room. The other room also has a separate dedicated bathroom, but you have to exit the room to enter the bathroom, in a true village style (attached-but-detached bathroom).
Both the rooms have a mezzanine floor with one double-bed and one single-bed on the ground floor and mattresses on the mezzanine. Both the rooms are large enough to accommodate a few extra mattresses on the ground, thus capable of taking upto 6 people each.
- One double-bed and one single-bed on the ground floor and mattresses on the mezzanine. Extra mattresses available if required.
- Bathroom attached to one room. Other room has bathroom access from outside, but dedicated to this room.
- All the bathrooms have western commode.
- Shower and bucket-bath facility with 24-hours hot water (through solar geyser or boiler)
- Shower gel, shampoo and liquid handwash in the bathroom
- 24-hours power supply through Solar electricity and UPS
- Emergency rechargeable and portable lights in the roomsBed linen, blankets and bath towels are provided.
- Bedside chests with reading light
- Mosquito repellant
- One storage chest, Two chairs and one round table in each room
- Coat/clothes hanger
- Filtered drinking water
- Compimentary tea/coffee whenever requested.
- Rooms are cleaned and sanitized before giving to any guest.
- For those who are staying for more than one night, the bathrooms are cleaned every alternate day (or any time on request). Bed linen, blankets, towels are replaced twice a week (or any time on request).
- WiFi access available on prior request only.
Additional Instructions for Farm Stay
In order to make the best use of your time at Chiguru Farm, please read the following information carefully.
- Chiguru Farm is a 15-acres organic farm offering experiential farm outing/stay, with farm-fresh food. All our food is Vegetarian only and most of the ingredients (like ragi, different dals, greens etc) are grown/prepared in the farm and we serve local specialties. If you want any specific things to avoid in the food you can inform us at least a few hours in advance.
- Chiguru Farm is a No-alcohol place. As this is a functional farm next to the forest area, please avoid loud music.
- Please keep the doors always CLOSED in order to avoid frogs and insects entering your room.
- If you face any inconvenience during your stay at Chiguru Farm, please inform the supervisor upfront and/or call Linger immediately. We will try our best to resolve your issues quickly. (If your phone doesn’t have signal to call, you can request one of our staff to call and you can talk).
- Chiguru Farm is a place to rejuvenate and recreate yourself in the nature. It is NOT as “Adda” for illegal activities/gambling, etc
- Hot water is normally available 24-hours as it is based on solar. However during cloudy/rainy days, we use firewood with boiler and this will be done during the specific timings only (8:00-10AM). Feel free to request for hot water at any other time. Hot water is supplied directly in the shower, but you will have to release water and wait for a few minutes. (All our “grey water” is harvested, filtered and fed to the plants through dripline).
- Important Timings (can be changed on prior request)
- Tea/Coffee/Milk : Between 6:30AM and 8PM
- Breakfast : 9:00-11:00AM
- Guided Farm Tour : 11AM onwards (or 4:30PM onwards)
- Lunch : 1:30-3:00PM
- Evening Snacks/Tea/Coffee : 4:00-6:00PM
- Dinner : 7:30-9:00PM
- Camp Fire : 8:00PM or later (except on hot evenings)
- Our cooks are from the same village and they go back home in the evening after preparing fresh dinner. They return in the morning and prepare fresh breakfast. Therefore early breakfast is not possible.
- You can use the electric kettle in your room for hot water to drink or making a quick tea/coffee using instant mix. You can also use our always-open kitchen in the main building for any specific needs.
- We have a small but interesting library. You can make use of it. You can also use our small games collection (indoor/board/outdoor).
- Please put the books/games back in the place from where you picked them up.
- Feel free to go around the farm on your own at any point of time during the day. It is a safe place with electric fence all around. You are free to pluck and taste fruits/vegetables etc directly from the trees, but do it judiciously and don’t waste them. If you want to take back anything with you, please ask.
- If you want to go out of the farm for short hikes/cycling etc we can take you around or suggest options for you to explore on your own.
- We sell our seasonal farm produce (fruits/vegetables/dals/pickle/etc) and potteryware at the farm store in the main building. Place the order in advance so that we can keep it ready.
- We normally will have farm produce for sale (fruits/vegetables/dals/pickle/etc) the moment and place the order much before your leave.
Camping
Chiguru Farm is now open for camping enthusiasts who want to come and pitch their own tents and carry out different activities in and around the farm. We provide the camping ground, all the basic facilities and food. Activities can vary from trekking/hiking, biking/cycling, farm tour, fun events, star gazing, bird watching, Yoga and meditation, etc.
We also conduct Nature Camps for school children on specific request. Contact us for details with your specific requirements.
Tariff
Note:
- The prices mentioned below are all-inclusive. These are the prices on normal days where there is no scheduled event planned. Pricing is different for scheduled events and will be published along with the event details.
- All visits to Chiguru Farm are with prior booking only.
- We normally allow daytrips for groups of a minimum size of 10 pax. However we conduct scheduled visits and events for which people can book in advance and visit us.
- Peak season (like Christmas/New Year etc) prices will be slightly higher.
- Kids below 4 years go free.
- Booking confirmation is only with 25% advance payment.
Daytrip
(starting from breakfast at around 9:30AM till evening high-tea at around 4PM)
- Adults (11yrs onwards) Rs. 1400/-
- Kids between 4-10 years Rs. 800/-
Note: School trip prices are different and available on request
Half Daytrip
(starting from light refreshments at around 10:00AM till lunch at around 1:30PM)
- Adults (11yrs onwards) Rs. 1100/-
- Kids between 4-10 years Rs. 600/-
Stay
- Overnight stay in the rooms (24-hours from noon to noon – includes two lunch, one dinner, one breakfast and one evening high-tea. However room check-in/check-out is noon to noon)
- Off-season and weekday tariff will be 10% less than what is mentioned below.
- Adults (11yrs onwards) Rs. 7000/- for two pax.
- Extra person in the same room : Rs. 2,613/- per person (upto 3 extra pax)
- Kids between 4-10 years Rs. 2000/-
Get Involved
Gow Seva
Desi cows are integral part of an organic/natural farm. While it helps in sustainability in various forms, it also offers us with an opportunity to be involved in the noble cause of Gow Seva. With this in mind, we hava Desi Gow Shala at Chiguru Farm. We have breeds like Hallikar, Devani, Malnad Gidda and Gir. We follow completely ethical ways of rearing cows. These include free grazing, no outside/artificial feed, priority of milk to the calf, no artificial insemination, no abandoning of old cows and no selling of male calves/bulls to butchers.
Please read more about this topic on our blog
hummingbird
You can also watch this video about Desi Cows at Chiguru Farm.
Having said this, it is not always economically sustainable for a farmer to keep the cows. It involves significant cost of growing their feed as well as the labor cost of keeping them and maintaining the cowshed. Therefore we call upon people who have deep desire to be involved in Gow Seva, but not able to do it on their own for different reasons. People have the following options:
- Sponsor a cow for a year @Rs. 15,000/-
- Sponsor a cow for 3 months @Rs. 4,000/-
The sponsors will have the option to visit the farm with family once a quarter to spend a day in the farm and check out the cow sponsored by them. We will serve free lunch during such visits. (Those who are sponsoring a cow for an year can avail one day stay in the farm with family – of two adults and two kids – once a year instead of quarterly day-visits)
Please get in touch with us for more details.
Sponsor A Crop
Now you can sponsor a crop at Chiguru Farm. This is a low-cost option for those who want to get into farming, but want to experience it before jumping in and without buying the farmland or leasing it out for long term. If the luck favors, you can also make some money out of it!!!
Some salient features:
- We give you the space (quarter/half/one acre) at Chiguru Farm to get your hands on farming.
- You decide what you want to grow
- You pay fixed amount for the entire crop season (sowing to harvesting) and we take care of the cultivation and labor. Additionally, you can either source the seeds yourself or pay for the seeds sourced by us.
- You can take all the harvest and do whatever you want with it. (Of course we can help you with that too, if you want us to do post-harvest processing).
- You can regularly participate in the cultivation activities of your crop.
- You can come and stay in the farm with your family for certain number of days during the duration of sponsorship. The package cost includes such stay.
- Duration of sponsorship is minimum 4 months and maximum 12 months.
Please contact us for specific information.
Volunteer
Chiguru Farm is now a proud host member of WWOOF INDIA (Worldwide Opportunities On Organic Farms). Chiguru Farm’s Host ID is IND 319.
WWOOF India is a network that allows volunteers to live and learn on organic properties/ farms. It brings together Hosts and Volunteers (“WWOOFers”) helping each other to make a healthier world. WWOOF is an exchange – In return for volunteer help, WWOOF hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles. WWOOF organisations link people who want to volunteer on organic farms with people who are looking for volunteer help. The accommodation in this case will be dormitory-type only, without any exclusive room for stay.
We are also registered with ICYE (https://www.icye.org/) for long-term volunteering at the farm.
We also have option of volunteering with stay in the rooms, in which case the volunteer has to pay nominal per-day charges. The room will have to be shared by two volunteers if and when required.
Few guidelines for volunteers:
- We need a commitment of minimum 2 weeks from any volunteer.
- The volunteers should spend a minimum of four hours a day (between 9AM and 5PM) in the voluntary work. Mostly it will be along with the other farm workers/volunteers.
- The volunteers should be ready to participate in any work assigned to them. This includes digging, sowing, harvesting, watering, manuring, conducting farm tour for visitors, assisting in cooking, cleaning/sweeping, washing the cows, etc. depending on the season and the need.
- The volunteers should wash their own plates, cups, etc as well as their own bed linen/blankets/towels/clothes.
- Rules like vegetarian food, no-alcohol, no-smoking should be strictly adhered to.
- Additionally for long-term (6 months to one year) volunteers:
- Minimum one day (and upto 2 days) holiday per week is available, but it is not on fixed days and may vary depending on the workload. The holidays can also be accumulated to use them together for a vacation.
- Upto one month vacation is available to the volunteers during a volunteership of six months. (This means upto 2 months in a year).
- All the vacation plans shall be discussed, planned and approved in advance.
- Vacations should not be planned during the peak season at the farm.
- Volunteers can bring in their friends to visit or stay at the farm for short term. However this shall be discussed and approved in advance.
Collaborate
If you are a like minded person/organization who wants to collaborate with us in the areas of our activities please get in touch with us to work together.
Gift
NEW!!! Gift a quite, enriching, unique day out or stay to your near and dear ones. Prepaid discounted Gift Vouchers valid for 6 months from the date of issue are available now. Contact us for further details.
Consulting
Having spent several years in Organic and Natural Farming and Agri-Tourism we are now equipped with a wealth of knowledge which we are ready to share (for a nominal fee). You can get in touch with us for suggestions for the following:
- Buying the right piece of land for farming (Note: We are not into real estate business. We can only evaluate the farm land for buying)
- Setting up a farm from scratch from empty land
- Conversion from chemical farming to organic/natural farming
- Start an agri-tourism centre
Site visits will be chargeable.
Depending on your needs and interest, we will give suggestions and action plan for upto six months and this consultancy is also chargeable based on the amount of work involved in preparing the action plan. We can also give you contacts and references for getting things done. However, implementing the action plan remains the owner’s responsibility.
