About hosts

ABOUT ASHISH

The concept of an agro-rural Farmstay was conceived, initialised and brought to the present day status by Ashish Amrute since 2005. Ashish during his graduation days in Mumbai in the field of Hotel Management & Catering Technology had seen and experienced the glamour of the hospitality Industry. He worked for the prestigious “Orchid”, a 5 Star Eco-tel. The opportunities in India & abroad too were tempting and aplenty. However, his roots in a Village like Gavhe where he was born and brought up were very strong and made him take the challenging decision of making a career in Agro-tourism at the farm in a typical rural backdrop.

Gavhe village is set in the subtropical rain forest ambience and the housing structures had to be designed in harmony with nature. The variety of structures in which guests are accommodated are the outcome of Ashish’s continuous thought process. In these designs, monotony as well as repetition is avoided. The structures, their designs, their looks, the material used & also the interiors; all have Ashish’s special touch that a few professionals envy. Designs have harmony with the local conditions where local material, local man powers play a vital role. Use of material that isn’t eco-friendly is strictly avoided.

Ashish’s deep insight and strong commitment is reflected in the whole space of Amrutes’ Nisarga Sahavas. The guests of ANS who are not familiar with the area are systematically followed up by Ashish till they arrive at Amrutes’ Nisarga Sahavas . The warmth is felt  in the concern he has for them throughout their stay. The team at Amrutes’ Nisarga Sahavas led by Ashish conveys a message very powerfully to each guest that hospitality at Amrutes’ Nisarga Sahavas is “the way of life “. Each guest from an infant to an old man here is as special as any member of the family. He keeps on interacting and enquiring about their likes, dislikes and tastes. This process begins from the time the guests make an enquiry and continues throughout their stay at Nisarga Sahavas. A nature trail or bird watching excursion with Ashish is a real treat for guests of all ages. His enthusiasm and knowledge is experienced during the trail.

In 1977, a well settled couple Shaila & Arvind Amrute chose to settle down in a remote village Gavhe, near Dapoli. Little did they know what was hidden in future. But they had the will, the patience and confidence in the path they had chosen. The journey was to explore available means in the pursuit of making descent living wherein there was no room for exploitation of any nature. The journey that began with growing of vegetables gradually grew into many fold activities such as horticulture, floriculture, plant nursery & fruit processing. The village youth, who received valuable guidance, training, motivation & support from the couple could visualise bright future hanging on to their villages, instead of migrating to towns & cities in search of better future. Shaila Amrute made her contribution by training women in easy to operate business ventures & also offered initial valuable hand holding during their period of struggle. The adventurous and thrilling story of Shaila & Arvind makes the listeners miss a heart bit. They chose village Gavhe to start their new journey with no experience of village life or agriculture. They neither had financial security nor did they have own land. Incredible as it may sound. But they put it in a different way “starting any learning with a clean slate has its own advantages. You don’t have any pre-conceived ideas, all that you have to do is to test the knowledge with logical reasoning & implement what passes this acid test.”The journey that Shaila & Arvind started with growing vegetables developed into a centre of multiple agro related activities. This pattern of development became a self-sustainable model of growth that assures growth of all & exploitation of none. The most logical extension to these multi-faceted activities was conceived by their only son Ashish, who started his venture of agro-tourism Nisarga Sahavas, thereby completing the circle of self-sustainable village development.

Shaila, Ashish’s mother has played a great role in standardising most of the recipes. The food served at Nisarga Sahavas has mother’s touch; this comes from Shaila’s very carefully selected ingredients & over the years has become the USP of NIsarga Sahavas. Her everlasting enthusiasm and stamina is experienced when she prepares “MODAKS” for the guests, she gets thrilled to share the art, technique, & intricacies in MODAK making with those guests desires to learn. Many guests try their hand in this skill during informal modak making sessions.

Gomati, Ashish’s wife, a post-graduate in Analytical Chemistry from Mumbai was born & brought up in New Mumbai. Though she had ample of opportunities to pursue her career in line with her academic background, chose to support Ashish. She plays a key role in Nisarga Sahavas handling administration, front office & public relations with confidence ease & politeness she is gifted with. This is experienced by the guests during the interaction they have during their stay & during annual and regularly conducted events where she motivates the local talent to give out their best performance in their traditional folk dances.

Advait, the son of Ashish & Gomati too is an important member of the Team Nisarga Sahavas. He has most unusual qualities for his age. He quickly becomes friendly with guests irrespective of their age & languages they speak. He has a great sense of love & care towards birds, animals, all the pets at the farm and plants that are an integral part of Amrutes’ Nisarga Sahavas.