Red Earth – 

Red Earth can be accessed via road from Mysore and the 60 km takes around an hour to cover. Mysore is well connected by bus and train from many major locations.

Those flying into Bangalore which is around 215 km away, can either book transport directly to the resort or opt to travel to Mysore and then arrange for further transport either privately or through the resort. There are innumerable buses, trains and taxis that will cover the distance from Bangalore to Mysore in not more than 3-4 hours.

If in the mood for a taste of local conveyance, one can hop on to buses heading from Mysore to HD Kote or Sargur and get off at the Hand post from where the resort will arrange for a pick up across the final 15 km.

There are direct buses from Bangalore to HD Kote but they are not frequent and also take an inordinate amount of time and hence are not recommended.

For those driving up in their own vehicles, the website has directions indicating the fairly straightforward route.

Of the resorts in the Kabini belt, Red Earth enjoys the closest proximity to Mysore, the others being nearly twice the distance away.

It is also a mere 7 km from the nearest Safari point.

I travelled in the non stop Volvo bus from Bangalore and I was picked up by the resort vehicle in Mysore. The entire drive was quite comfortable and quick due to the adequately good roads.

The final 5 km however, was a bumpy ride over the village track.

While this could be rather rough for those who cannot tolerate it, the good news is that after many long years, work is finally in progress and a spanking new road leading all the way to the resort, is due to be in place very soon.

Being used to country roads, I chose not to let the jolts bother me and I turned my attention instead, to the vibrant fields of sugarcane, ginger, tur (pigeon pea legume), cotton, corn, paddy and such like, that flanked the path all the way to the gates of the resort.

The turn off to the village road is also the mouth of the peninsula that

contains the resort and its 5 neighboring villages, surrounded on three

sides by the Kabini backwaters. The resort hugs the shoreline along its

boundary on the left and hence enjoys direct access to the water and at

night, one can view the lights of the dam in the distance.

I was met by the soft spoken Rachel who showed me around and explained the

philosophy behind their creation, her calm aura matching the gentleness of

the earth that she nurtured.

In their aim to maintain responsible tourism, they have gone to extreme detail to stay true to the cause. Sustaining the ecology, giving back to the local villagers, training them in improved agricultural techniques and ensuring the survival of dying arts and hand crafted processes, is their prime focus and all their actions are centered around achieving just that. 95% of their staff are from the locality and the village men, women and differently abled are employed in various ways.

The resort also helps by buying the produce from those who grow crops or rear cows.

There are 20 cottages in 2 clusters of 10 each, that encircle 2 water bodies – the Lily lake and the Lotus pond.

Red Earth gets its name from the intense hue of the extremely fertile soil

of that area and all their cottages and other buildings are made using that

very soil which is rammed into blocks and baked, resulting in a material

that ensures an insulation from the outside temperatures both in summer and

winter.

The inner layer of the roofs are made from thatched bamboo mats woven by Wayanad tribals and these are covered by elephant grass that is matted into thick layers, by elderly craftsmen from Tamilnadu.

Terracotta tiles and beautiful handmade Athangudi glass tiles are used as flooring.

The furniture is of solid wood and there is a part traditional, part colonial touch to the décor.

The cottages have a large bedroom and bathroom and despite the homely old fashioned

touch, modern facilities like bath fittings, intercom, TV, air conditioner, fridge etc blend quite inconspicuously alongside. There is a front and a back porch and also a little yard where every cottage has its private Jacuzzi open to the sky. The bath toiletries are specially hand made using natural ingredients.

3 of the cottages are for Honeymooners and one cottage is devoted to being disabled friendly.

Wi Fi is available only in the business area and not in the cottages. This should work out well for addicts who need a forced separation from their gadgets. Being one myself, I must confess that with so many things to busy myself with, I actually did not find the time to miss my internet 😀 Ok I am lying but then it was just temporary, so I survived.

Tip – Cottage No. 21 (yes they have skipped number 13 😀 ) is the closest to the restaurant and also has some of the bountiful fruit trees in its vicinity.

Apart from the cottages, there is the main reception building, the conference room Samarya, the gift shop Mukti that sells products made by tribals, Parihasa the children’s play area, Poshini the restaurant, Wetlands the island bar, Zvasthii the spa, Wonky Monkey the tea time café, the driver accommodation and also the utterly charming cottage where the owners stay.

Energy conservation and recycling is the name of the game. Nothing goes waste and even the soil that was excavated to create the ponds has been used to build the ‘stage’ where performances take place.

Solar heating takes care of the hot water and sewage treatment plants (STP) ensure that waste water is reused for the land.

The 10 acre property is lush with hundreds of plants and trees bearing flowers, vegetables and fruits, which are organically grown as far as possible. Vermi-compost pits provide the manure and Pinto peanut shrubs grow rampantly, fixing Nitrogen in the soil and deterring the growth of other weeds.

The garden is a veritable playground for several varieties of birds and butterflies and their excited flitting makes for delightful viewing which was unfortunately too quick for my camera, though I did make an effort!!!

There is no clinical manicuring of the vegetation into obedient shapes and sizes and the landscape is given the freedom to keep nature as … er Natural as possible 😀

Their brilliant flowers greatly add to the surrounding colors and of course the fruits are made good use of. You will read more about that in the post on the cuisine.

A large well maintained swimming pool, a library, hammocks that swing from

the ancient mango tree and benches along the shore, complete the laid back

picture.

A gigantic jackfruit tree spreads itself out in a show of splendor beside the pool and is known to provide hundreds of sweet fruit in the season.

Having been struck by lightning years ago, this tree was nurtured back to life by Ravi and thus became the symbol of all that the resort stands for, namely rejuvenation and endurance. Hence it has been given pride of place on the resort logo.

Red Earth – As close to silence as possible, is their tag line and there is an emphasis on making minimal man made noise and listening more to the surrounding sounds of nature, be it the gentle swishing of the lapping waves at the waterfront or the musical chirping of the birds or the lulling drone of the dragon flies that dart self importantly through the air like helicopters on a mission.

The owners being pet lovers, have 3 Rottweilers, a boxer and a spaniel,

apart from the many cats that rule the place. An interesting feature of this

place is that pets are allowed along with their guests … or as they put it,

guests are permitted to accompany  their pets 😀 Hence it a great place for

those who want to holiday along with the furry members of their family.

One can check with the resort for the charges and regulations.

For adults and children who have not had the ‘luxury’ of living in rustic surroundings, this is a great place to soak in the simple village life.

For someone like me who has spent a lot of my childhood in the midst of nature, this was like a welcome homecoming and I returned renewed and refreshed after my 3 day stay.

Read on for the activities available at the Red Earth Kabini and the food and drink.

For more pictures see My Facebook – Red Earth Kabini-Part 1-an Overview

Nov 8th-10th, 2017

To book a holiday with them please connect with Red Earth Kabini 

Disclosure – This trip was made in collaboration with the Red Earth Kabini. This narration is based on my own observations and experiences.