© All images and videos displayed herein are actual visuals of Dhun captured on site
website: https://dhun.life/
Story of Dhun:
This dry and dusty piece of 500-acres of land on the outskirts of Jaipur once hardly had 30 trees on it. But today, the same land has over 120 species of birds, 70 species of native trees and thousands of animals.
This land in the Phagi district once had plenty of life in it. But a devastating flood ruined the topsoil and left the land to die and be part of the desert. The fate of the land changed when Manvendra Singh Shekhawat, a hotelier from Jaipur saw the land back in 2013. Instead of selling the land in parts, Manavendra aspired to do something different with the land, to create an alternative ecosystem to live in, to build a unique business model while keeping the land away from the unscientific and destructive practices. And the first step for his dream project was to bring water to this dry land and using traditional water harvesting practices the land today has more than 8 waterbodies on it. The water also has completely transformed the life and economy of the neighbouring villages as well. With the water feeding the land and with 100s of trees and buzzing wildlife, Manavendra is now stepping on to build an alternate living space here.
After bringing water into the land, the team ventured into the next adventure. reviving the ecology of the place. creating a forest using indigenous trees, bringing grassland back to the ecology and finally take steps to redefine living spaces.
For creating a sustainable ecosystem, having an intelligent design was crucial. The team along with experts created an ecological masterplan in which they surveyed and, understood the topography and soil type and identified 108 species of native trees, grasses and shrubs to plant in these spaces.
After nurturing the saplings in their own nursery, the team planted them in the land now filled with enough water for them to grow. They also used techniques like community grazing to increase the fertility of the soil. And their hard work and vision has come to fruition with Dhun now home to around 70 species of native trees and has a grassland of its own. The transformation has also transcended the boundaries of Dhun to nearby villages.
Today, Manavendra is chasing another dream. something more ambitious. He dreams of making a sustainable settlement in these spaces. one that is away from the cities. One which is close to nature.
