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Why Travellers Are Choosing This Village-Run Forest Lodge in Kanha Over Luxury Resorts

Driving through the dusty roads of Kanha, with sal trees lining the tracks on either side, I found myself wondering — would this be yet another jungle lodge that claims to be conscious, or would I experience something truly different? The answer came before I even stepped inside. No grand entrance, no manicured lawns , no signage shouting for attention. Just a mud wall that seemed to rise out of the earth, a canopy of trees that had clearly been here long before anyone thought to build beside them, and the faint smell of something composting nearby — which, I would soon learn, was entirely intentional. Kanha Earth Lodge didn't announce itself. It revealed itself slowly, in parts, just the way the forest does. And the more I explored, the more I realised that what this lodge has built over time — for the forest, for the village, and for its guests — is something worth making the journey for. Read on to find out why. Built from the land, for the land Most lodges are built in the forest. Kanha Earth Lodge was built because of it. I noticed it first in the walls — thick mud, the colour of the earth just after rain. Then the stone, rough and untextured, the kind you find piled on the edges of farm fields. And then the wood — dark, knotted railway sleepers and reclaimed timber that had clearly lived a life before this one. Nothing here looked like it had been ordered from a catalogue or shipped from a city. It looked like it belonged here. Most lodges are built in the forest. Kanha Earth Lodge was built because of it. I asked about it, half expecting the standard sustainability spiel, but what Harpreet Singh, the Lodge Manager, told me was anything but standard. “Before we started our work, we researched the local area and created a material palette from what was available,” he said. “Accordingly, the lodge was designed and created.” “The stone in the walls came from unused farm deposits ,” added Rohit Kumar, Assistant Manager, who has been with the founding team. “The wood used for the furniture was timber villagers would otherwise have burned as firewood. The baked tiles on the roof came from local kilns,” he told me. Every material had a postcode. Every choice put money into local hands. “Using local material also helped blend the architecture with the local aesthetics,” says Harpreet. Walking through the property, you see exactly what he means — nothing here looks out of place, because nothing here is. And through it all, one rule held firm: no trees would be felled. Every cottage was built around the trees that already stood on the land, while many more were planted to create a green cover. Fifteen years later, that decision has turned what was once open ground into a canopy that feels ancient. The lodge didn't clear the forest to make room for itself. It simply asked the forest if it could stay. The village that runs it But it isn't just the walls and the wood that carry the village’s fingerprints. It is the people. After spending a day at Kanha Earth Lodge, I realised the man who brought me breakfast had grown up in a village two kilometres away. The woman tending the kitchen garden had been here since the lodge first opened its doors. The guide who took me on my morning safari knew the trees not because he had studied them in a classroom, but because he had grown up beside them. I asked Harpreet how many of his staff were from the surrounding villages. He didn't have to think about it. “We have a policy of a minimum 70% locals, and many of them have been with us for the last 15 years or more,” he said. In practice, the number sits well above 80%, around 32 people. What struck me wasn't just the statistic. It was the continuity. Kanha Earth Lodge doesn't just hire from the community — it invests in it. In a part of India where young people routinely leave for cities in search of work, here was a lodge that had given an entire generation of villagers a reason to stay — and then trained them, year after year, to grow within it. These aren't seasonal hires. Many of them helped build the very rooms they now service. Kanha Earth Lodge doesn't just hire from the community — it invests in it. The property supports the local school in Narna and regularly brings guests along to visit, turning what could be a passive stay into something more connected. The lodge also takes part in village volleyball and cricket tournaments, cheering on young boys and girls from the community and supporting them with prizes. Small gestures, perhaps, but in a village where opportunities are still finding their footing, they add up to something meaningful. This, I think, is what giving back to the land you are on actually looks like. Nothing here goes to waste “I personally look into this,” Harpreet told me when I asked about waste management. “We segregate waste right from the kitchen using different colour-coded dustbins, and use the food waste to make our own compost, which is then used in our organic gardens. We also do leaf composting and vermicomposting. We have an STP as well, and the treated water is reused in the kitchen garden,” he explained. At most lodges, sustainability is a department. At Kanha Earth Lodge, it is a habit — one that begins at the kitchen dustbin and ends, full circle, back in the earth that feeds the garden that feeds the guests. Solar panels meet approximately 60 to 70% of the lodge’s electricity needs. And the thinking doesn't stop there. “Each of our cottages is placed next to a large tree, which keeps the room cooler in summer. This reduces the need for air conditioning. Low-watt LED bulbs and master switches in the rooms also help us save electricity,” Harpreet adds. That thinking extends to the dining table too. “There are no buffets here,” says Head Chef Ark Bagchi. “Guest food preferences are gathered before arrival, meals are served one-to-one, and pre-orders are taken for the next meal,” he explains. It sounds like a small thing, but in a lodge this intentional, nothing is small. Less food ordered means less food wasted. What struck me about all of this was not the scale of it, but the sincerity. There was no certificate framed above the reception desk, no eco-label printed on the menu. Just a team working relentlessly to leave as little footprint as possible. From the garden to the table The compost that leaves the kitchen, I soon discovered, doesn't travel very far. I first met Maya Madavi, the Garden Executive, in the kitchen garden. She was crouched beside a row of herbs while I tried unsuccessfully to identify something that smelled faintly of citrus. She knew immediately what it was, rattling off its local name, medicinal properties, and exactly which dish the chef planned to use it in that evening. Maya, who holds a degree in agriculture, oversees both the kitchen garden and the butterfly garden. The garden she tends grows what the local market cannot provide — specific herbs, garnishes, and varieties of vegetables that guests and chefs need but rarely find in the village bazaar. “We don't use any pesticides or chemicals in our garden,” Maya told me proudly. “We make our own organic fertilisers and insecticides to keep the garden thriving.” Then there is the mushroom hut — a small, carefully controlled space where different varieties of mushrooms are grown, with temperature and humidity monitored three times a day. “It takes a minimum of 35 days before harvesting can begin,” Maya explained. “If there are no issues in the process, we often grow more than we need — and the staff kitchen enjoys the same produce.” There is something deeply satisfying about that last detail. The guests eat well here. But so does everyone else. For what the garden doesn't grow, the lodge turns to nearby villages. Chinnor rice, Kulthi, Kodo, and Kutki — grains and pulses with deep roots in this part of Madhya Pradesh — are sourced directly from local farmers. And when dinner is served under the mahua tree, it feels magical. “We ensure that every guest experiences Gond cuisine during their stay,” says Ark. Guest food preferences are gathered before arrival, meals are served one-to-one, and pre-orders are taken for the next meal. “This is the food traditionally served during festivals, weddings, and celebrations, made using local vegetables and herbs from our garden.” So that night, as I sat beneath the mahua tree eating a beautifully prepared thali, I realised I was consuming far more than a meal. I was tasting a region, a community, and a way of life. Every artefact has a story The food and the setting were still on my mind the next morning when something stopped me in my tracks. I was standing at the bar when I noticed the counter rotated. Curious, I asked why. The answer surprised me. The rotating mechanism was an old cart axle salvaged from a village cart and repurposed into the centrepiece of the bar. I looked around with new eyes. The vessel beside it, once used to feed cattle, had been transformed into a decorative donga. The glass counter across the room had once been a damaged old boat. Cowbells no longer needed by villagers now hung on the walls as art. “Most of the artefacts were purchased from local villages and markets,” Harpreet told me. Every object had a previous life, and someone at this lodge had seen enough value in it to give it another. Gond artisans from the nearby districts of Mandla and Dindori crafted many of the pieces displayed alongside these salvaged objects. “The aim was to bring indigenous art into the lodge so it truly felt of the land,” adds Rohit. Look closer, and there is even more. Much of the furniture was built by local carpenters using railway sleepers and wood that villagers would otherwise have burned as firewood. The lanterns lighting the pathways at night are made from dried pumpkin shells — just like those found in village homes nearby. “The founders often visited nearby villages while the construction work was underway,” Harpreet explained. “The vision was to make Kanha Earth Lodge feel like it belonged to the land.” Every corner tells a story of a forest protected, a village uplifted, and a way of travelling that leaves the world a little better than it found it. And it does. Every corner tells a story of a forest protected, a village uplifted, and a way of travelling that leaves the world a little better than it found it. If that is the kind of place you are looking for, you already know where to go. The essentials How to reach: Jabalpur Airport (160 km) Tariff: Doubles from Rs 27,000 plus taxes Best time to visit: November to June For more details, you can visit their website .

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