A beautiful road meandering through the green paddy and sugarcane fields takes you to the Nature First Eco Village located 15 km from Dharwad, towards Dandeli. Once you have reached, you can instantly sense that away from the hustle and bustle of the city, tranquillity lingers here amid the twittering of birds and crowing of peacocks. A beautiful hill in the backdrop and a fresh nip in the air further augment the delight of the visitors.
Besides being a recreation point, Nature First Eco Village is a learning and nature research centre as well. Through its programme, eco-tour, the visitors get to learn about the treasures of the region, the significance of biodiversity, need of saving our natural resources, birdwatching, rare medicinal and fruit plants of Western Ghats, various models of gardening, water harvesting, and generation of renewable energy. The centre was founded by P V Hiremath, an entrepreneur based in Dharwad.
Among the assorted activities here, the cafeteria named Seva Cafe is interesting. Ensconced amidst greenery, it is a cool and peaceful place to unwind. Employing about 15 women from the nearby villages, the kitchen can cater to around 700 people at a time. The provisions required for the kitchen are procured from neighbouring villages. This cafe promotes traditional foods of the region by employing, training and encouraging rural women to prepare food.
A natural refrigerator using sand and water has also been constructed to preserve fruits and vegetables. A biogas plant has been installed in the kitchen premises to ensure that the waste generated from the kitchen is utilised in producing biogas. More than 100 varieties of plants procured from four agricultural universities have been planted in the eco-village.
Nature First Eco Village also provides practical education through its exquisite models of terrace garden, palm garden, front yard and backyard gardens and Ashtamandal. Ashtamandal is a unique model which highlights the utilisation 545 sq feet land in cultivating 64 varieties of plants and vegetables. Customised solar and wind energy units produce five kW per day at eco-village. A four kW is obtained from the solar plant, while one kW is sourced from wind energy. The water harvesting models rainwater water harvesting, roof-top water harvesting and bore well recharging.
The members of Nature Research Center in Dharwad have joined hands as facilitators who educate the visitors on various topics. The eco village is a green paradise for the children. Besides learning, there are various fun-filled activities to engage them in a creative and environment-friendly manner. Children get quite thrilled while riding on a coracle, bullock cart, horse cart, tonga and tractor. Hanging bridge, rope pipeline, zip line, volleyball, gully cricket, rain dance, swimming and tyre swings enthral adventure lovers.
Nature First Eco Village not only engages children and the younger generation in a creative manner but also enables and inspires them to make contributions in their individual capacity towards the conservation of environment.
