Day trip to Save farms - Tarpa in Gholvad, Dahanu

We visited Save farms way back in March after my daughter's final exam for the school year when my parents had come down to visit us. It was the perfect season to visit the farm. The farm full of trees kept us cool from the March sun. One of our favorite fruits, chikoo was also in season. I reckon December-March would be good months to enjoy the farm.

They have this beautiful website with all the details about the farm. It is mainly a chikoo orchard but it has lots of other variety of trees too. This farm is one of my happy places. Trees, nature, farms, forests..you get the drift, these places replenish my soul.
Unique trees
Unique trees
Before I get carried away into poetic language, let's begin at the beginning ;) of the trip, ofcourse. We planned to leave by 6:30 am. The farm is about 2-3 hours away depending on traffic. Me and my husband were on the bike and both sets of parents, along with the daughter in the car. We stopped at Vithal Kamat after about an hour and a half. It is one of our favorite stops on that highway. We had some tea and snacks there, keeping in mind that breakfast was awaiting us at the farm once we reach.
Chikoo Trees at Save farm
We have to leave the highway at Charoti and go towards Dahanu and Gholvad. We go through some small but good village roads, lined with trees. It was quite beautiful. We reached the farm a little after 9:30 am. After completing the check-in process, we had breakfast which included poha, batata vada, bread-butter-jam, and farm-fresh chikoos along with chikoo pickle; along with tea and coffee.

After the hearty breakfast, we were taken on a farm tour, on a wagon pulled by a tractor. One of the owners of the farm met us and walked us through the different agricultural methods that they use on the farm. They have successfully convered a barren land into a beautiful oasis full of beautiful trees and vegetation of all kinds. We also tasted a few herbs like mint and stevia right off the plant. They were so potent in taste unlike anything we get in the cities.
vertical gardening
bright red chillies
Tomato plants are growing out of a hole at the bottom of the steel pot in the above picture. They have managed to grow a variety of unique trees on the farm which are not native to the area like a rudraksha tree. You can see the effort and love that has gone into creating this beautiful farm. We also saw a small museum that showcased the tribal culture of the area.

After that, we saw a small pond created for fish. They also created an artificial lake for rainwater harvesting and explained how it has resulted in increased ground water levels for them as well as surrounding farms. I was very impressed and also very thankful that such people exist who are working passionately to do their best. We also saw their plant nursery, cabbage field and plucked mulberries right off the plant. It had been ages since I had seen a sweet, juicy mulberry.
cabbage plant
cabbage in the cabbage field
mulberry
mulberry

After that it was time for some adventure activities. There was ziplining across the artificial lake and a rope obstacle course. It was enjoyed by everyone including my parents.
rope course at save farms
rope obstacle course at save farms

All of that activity, worked up our appetite for lunch. Lunch was a big spread of simple, homely food that was very tasty. After sitting and relaxing for a while, we had a warli painting demonstration and all of us tried our hands at it.
warli painting
warli painting

There is a small playground for the kids which the daughter enjoyed. I did some flower photography :)
flowers
Beautiful flower collage
They also have a swimming pool which the daughter made use of.
swimming pool at save farms
There are a few animals on the farm like emu, chicken and rabbits. After spending a couple of hours relaxing, we had tea. The fathers bought chikoo saplings to take home and plant. We bought chikoos, chikoo pickle and chikoo pulp. Those chikoos were the best!
Bordi beach
Bordi beach
We left the farm after 3:30 pm and we went to Bordi beach. Although it was very hot and sunny, we spent around half an hour there. After that, it was a non-stop drive home. We reached home around 6:30 pm. That was the end of a day well spent.

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