The new catchphrase in the development course is Sustainable Development. Though people are now more concerned as well as aware about the environment and leading a sustainable lifestyle more than ever before, they are still unclear on some of its aspects.
Here we came across two people who have adopted sustainable means of living and also have been encouraging others to live with nature through Green Spaces.
Tejas Chavan and his father, Kiran Chavan strongly believe in the fact of co-existing with nature. Thus, they developed a space to take care of nature as it takes care of us and offers people an experience of a sustainable lifestyle.
Grape County, one of the luxurious eco-resort is surrounded by forests and water bodies, it is hard to believe it was a barren land once. On the other hand, Viveda Wellness, one of the premium wellness retreats which brings us close to our mother earth and helps us to revisit our Indian roots.
Let’s dive into the astounding journey of the father and son and take a glimpse of how they have inhabited co-existing with nature with the philosophy of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”.
In an interview with Rusen Kumar, Editor, India CSR; Tejas Chavan, Managing Director, Green Spaces shared his vision and recent developments on various social development initiatives. Excerpts of an interview:
What inspired the father-son duo to create the biodiversity park? What was the thought behind it?
We believe we should give back what we receive from nature, also we want to enter the hospitality industry so what better way to put our beliefs of co-existing with nature into action than creating a resort. The cordial habitat of Nashik and its lofty mountains and dams was what attracted us to create Green Spaces at the very location.
Initially, the space was arid, during the pace of time we joined hands with environmentalists, horticulturists, landscapers, and architects worldwide to create a bio-diversity park that is not only sustainable but also allows us to coincide and interact with nature.
Tell us about the journey of turning up the barren land in the biodiversity park? How big is it now? Mention the flora and fauna, animals, birds, etc.
We started with about 115 trees in the area and today we are at around 44500. It takes at the most 6 to 8 years to create a dense forest with a variety of flora and fauna.
The bio-diversity park stretches about 200 acres with 50 different species of birds and over 30 species of butterflies residing.
The trees planted are local and indigenous. From medicinal to prolific, from aroma diffusing to oxygen yielding; we chose saplings and trees which favoured the soil and environment.
Apart from conserving the park, do you organise any other plantation drives? Please mention seed and seed ball plantation.
Green Spaces has vowed to plant 5000 trees by the end of 2021, under our “Green Footprint Initiative”.
We also kick-started a “Seed and Seed Ball Plantation Drive” in June 2021, where we are aiming to plant 5000 more trees by 2025.
When and how did you come to terms with the concept of sustainable property? What motivated you to build sustainable properties?
Green Spaces was started by my father, Kiran Chavan in 1982. As I mentioned before, Nashik was the ideal location for us because of its mountains, dams, and gorgeous climate. ‘Nature’ is the nature of our business, is our corporate firm’s motto. Co-existing is one of our major beliefs which drove us to build sustainable ventures and be the first Green Griha Certified building in Maharashtra.
We believe in taking care of nature for the simplest reason that it takes care of folks. We owe our existence to the range of life, then we are fixing our energies to seek out innovative ways during which people can share the canvas with nature.
Was Green Spaces able to contribute to the community in Nashik? What kind of empowering initiatives are run by the company?
Indeed, Green Spaces is continuously contributing to the community in Nashik. For our hospitality, wellness, and agro-business, we source our products locally which empowers the local communities and tribes.
The community’s dedication to livelihood development not only enables local communities to profit from Nashik’s thriving tourism but also reduces our overall carbon footprint by minimizing the transport of products and services from various locations. A responsive effort is formed as we use more people from adjacent villages.
At the resort also, we try to employ local villagers as much as possible. Teaching each employee English, hospitality skills & basic manners inside a training-driven atmosphere. We give them the dignity of being full-time employees with all benefits like PF, gratuity, free accommodation, uniforms, and meals.
Tell us about your top green projects and achievements so far.
Our main office of Green Spaces was honoured with the 4 Star rating by SVAGRIHA under ADRSH & TERI.
Our resort, Grape County Resort, was awarded the 5 Star rating by TERI. We have been awarded the Best Renewable Energy Utilization by TERI. We are honoured with the “Vanashree Award” for the Plantation of 35,000 trees in the year 2008 by the Hands-off Chief Minister Mr. Pruthviraj Chavan, the Government of Maharashtra. In the year 2019, the Government of Maharashtra awarded the “Vasundhara Award 2019”. As an epigram to nature, we’ve planted and nurtured thousands of trees since our establishment. We’ve also been felicitated with the eminent “Vanashree Award” by the Government for our efforts towards forestation and development of barren lands into verdant pastures.
Share some insights on architectural and construction techniques of Green Spaces projects that are eco-friendly and sustainable.
All undertakings embraced by Green Spaces are climate well disposed. Our development approaches consistently centre toward the advancement of the supportable climate.
A portion of the actions we follow are:
Use of Fly Ash Bricks (Godara) is utilized rather than the usual Red Clay Bricks as these blocks have better quality and are fit as a fiddle. They predominantly contain fly debris, water, speedy lime or lime ooze, concrete, aluminium powder, and gypsum. This assists with lessening the heat of hydration and is acceptable in warm protection.
Replacement of Natural Sand with Fake/Artificial Sand as its more prudent than regular sand because it is formed in an industrial facility. Residue content in fake sand is zero as is more eco-accommodating and less destructive when contrasted with regular sand.
The Non-VOC paints are non-dangerous to tenants even as natural as they do not contain synthetic. They’re going to generally dry rapidly, give great inclusion, and deal a sturdy completion when compared to the Low VOC paints.
Abiding by the quality of reusing and recycling, we utilize the best-rescued wood everywhere in the place. The minor measure of the latest wood material we utilized is green-guaranteed wood for our furniture and wooden material.
We utilize elite energy-productive glass for all windows and gallery entryways. These glasses communicate very low warmth inside thanks to which the inward temperature stays ordinary.
