Sanjay Austa had a long and thriving career in journalism for 15 long years where his prowess lay in writing about travel, art and culture.

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Such was his love for travel that he returned to his native Himachal Pradesh to start ‘Meena Bagh Homes’ in 2017 as a step towards making eco travel possible.

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The sustainable property offers city folk a chance to live in a “typical Himachali home” and is surrounded by fruit orchards and farms that spread out for miles.

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Not having had any prior experience in running a business, Sanjay says he learnt the tricks of the trade from the locals themselves.

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It is interesting to note that Meena Bagh Homes is set on an ancestral plot of land where Himachal’s famous apple belt is located.

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Speaking of the building his grandfather had built, Sanjay says, “While the orchards continued to bloom, the building had been in a dilapidated state for a few years now. My father wanted to bring it down and in its stead, build a more modern house.”

It was at this juncture of deciding what to do with the property that Sanjay reached the scene and proposed an interesting plan.

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“The structure built by my grandfather was in the traditional kumaoni style and I thought it would be a draw for tourists,” he shares. “My parents were unsure of this potential that I saw in the house as Ratnari is not a touristy place to begin with, but more of an off-beat location,” he adds.

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Once the family agreed, Sanjay got to work on fulfilling the dream. His travels had taught him many things, and one of these was the importance of insulation within the home.

“In Himachal, 99 percent of the homes are not insulated and rely on firewood and electricity for heating. If only insulation were used, we could stop the heat from percolating and escaping outside,” he informs.

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When he began to work on their two Meena Bagh properties — one in Ratari and another in Shimla — the first aspect that Sanjay focused on was the walls that held the structure together.

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“I built around the desolate walls using kath kuni architecture,” he shares, “It is a traditional technique that uses alternating layers of wood and stone masonry, held in place without using mortar. Our ancestors knew of this concept.”

Today, Meena Bagh Homes prides itself on its judicious and sustainable use of recycled wood that Sanjay has sourced from factories, mills, and old heritage British architecture buildings that were being razed to the ground.

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The homestay boasts a water harvestation unit that has a capacity of two lakh litres and a blooming kitchen garden — filled with exotic fruits such as raspberries, strawberries, apricots, and plums.

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There is a telescope on the Ratnari property which lets guests watch Jupiter, Saturn and even nebulae!

You can book your stay, here.

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