Christina Ajith and her family turned vegan after she was diagnosed with Lupus. They eventually converted their dairy farm in Bengaluru into a vegan farm-to-table retreat called ‘The Lilac Farm’.
Guests can farm, take mud baths, and eat wholesome vegan meals here. They also offer flower drinks using hibiscus and butterfly pea flowers grown on the farm. Apart from that, they also conduct health retreats, yoga retreats, corporate outings and school outings.
Farm to Table
Farm to Table
Shruthi Jose utilised her mother’s excellent cooking skills to build this farm-to-table venture in Kerala to encourage healthy living and promote completely organic, chemical-and-preservative-free food.
Items like hazelnut-choco spread, almond choco spread, mango jam, pineapple jam, peanut butter, and apple banana jam are their top sellers, earning the mother-daughter duo Rs 20,000 per month.
C’est L’avi
C’est L’avi
With an urge to showcase tribal and authentic Goan food, Chef Avinash Martins converted his ancestral land into a farm and started C’est L’avi.
He grows organic produce and raises livestock on the farm, providing fresh and healthy ingredients for the restaurant. The dining experience here also offers indigenous drinks like urak, feni, nira, toddy and more.
FarmLore
FarmLore
Johnson Ebenezer, a Michelin-starred chef, along with his former sous chefs Mythrayie Iyer and Avinash Vishaal, curated Farmlore in Bengaluru. The raw materials are sourced directly from their own 37-acre organic farm employing local farmers.
The menu here is a mix of dishes that are both modern and traditional — Kochi oysters with passion fruit, Irulli — a dish made with white onions, Kamala oranges and tulsi (basil) flowers, Hasiru — made with FarmLore avocados etc.
The Circus Canteen
The Circus Canteen
Wanting to leave a cleaner and greener planet behind for his daughter, Ajay Raghavan quit his career as a lawyer and started The Circus Canteen, whose interiors are built using materials from scrap dealers and collection drives.
This Bengaluru venture has an evolving menu where they serve dishes depending on what produce is grown in its in-house hydroponic system, permaculture garden and aquaponics system.
'Brio Art Cafe
'Brio Art Cafe
With the motive to incorporate different crafts and art by artisans, Ankita Jaiswal started this cafe in Lucknow as an art gallery that served only chai and vada pav.
Today, it offers traditional recipes such as the Subz ki Galouti, Daal Sultani, and gulkand (rose petal jam), and guests can enjoy buttermilk served in kulhad (earthen pot). All the ingredients for the dishes are grown on the property itself or are locally sourced from farmers.
Solitude Farms
Solitude Farms
When Krishna Mckenzie was 19, he left the UK and settled in Auroville, Pondicherry. With no professional degree, Krishna, started practising natural farming and serving his produce in a small cafe in Auroville.
From vegan sugar-free ice creams and green papaya chutney to the classic cordon bleu lemongrass coconut milk soup, he serves a variety of unique organic, pesticide-free, and chemical-free food options.