"A mud haven - India's only 'earth' resort and possibly the largest of its kind in Asia"
22 February 2010
"Best for being one with the earth"
May 2010
"India's best eco-resorts"
13 December 2010
Community Participation
At Banasura, we value and respect the socio-cultural identity of the local community, and strive to conserve their cultural heritage and traditional values. Wayanad has the largest concentration of adivasis (aborigines) in Kerala. There are four adivasi villages close to the resort, three belonging to the Kurchia tribe and one belonging to the Paniya tribe. During the construction of the resort for which locally available eco-friendly materials like clay and stone were extensively used, the people of these villages played a substantial role, contributing their expertise and skill in rammed earth architecture.
Today, several people from these villages work at the resort and on the farm. Our long term goal is to open a boutique within the resort to sell artifacts created by tribal folks. This will allow the economic benefits of the resort's operation to percolate further down within the local community. We believe travel must be viewed as an opportunity to gain insights into the cultures that make up the diversity and complexity of the human race. We encourage guests to visit the neighboring tribal village and interact with the community there. Visits to these tribal settlements will also help in understanding how much respect these simple people have for conservation of nature, how they have lived for centuries in perfect harmony with it, and how much they endeavor to preserve it. Our aim is to culturally sensitize our guests through interaction with the local community and at the same time to instill a sense of pride in the local people and confidence in themselves.
Highlights
- Asia's largest 'Earth' Resort
- Nestled on a 35 acre eco-friendly farm
- Set at 3500 feet amidst gushing waterfalls
- Adjacent to forests with exotic flora and fauna
- Neighboring an ethnic tribal hamlet
- The 'Greenest' destination in the Nilgiris Biosphere
Stunning Earth Structures of the World
The Djenne Mosque in Mali is the world's largest mud structure. It was built in 1907, and is today a proud UNESCO World Heritage site. The prayer hall of the mosque measures 26 by 50 meters (85 ft x 165 ft), and is large enough to accommodate 3000 people. The mud covered wooden roof is supported by ninety massive rectangular pillars. The walls vary in thickness between sixteen and twenty-four inches.
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Saint Francis of Assisi Church is a small mission in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. Work on the church was started in 1772 by Spanish priests of the Franciscan Order and completed in 1815. It is considered by many to be the most beautiful edifice in the State of New Mexico, and is an outstanding example of adobe architecture.
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Marrakesh is the third largest city in Morocco after Casablanca and Rabat, and lies near the foothills of the snow capped Atlas Mountains. Like many North African cities, Marrakesh is divided into two distinct parts: the Medina, comprising the historical walled city, and the modern district called Gueliz.
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The ancient Citadel of Bam located in the Kerman Province of Iran, dates back to the Parthian Empire (248 BC-224 AD). With an area of 180,000 square meters, the Citadel of Bam was the largest earth structure in the world.
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Ur was a city in ancient Sumer (now Iraq). Ziggurats are massive pyramid-like structures that have stepped levels leading to a temple at the top. They were built in the ancient Mesopotamian valley and the western Iranian plateau.
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Chan Chan (pronounced 'jang jang'), is located close to the Pacific coast about 5km east Trujillo in Peru. Chan Chan was a 6sqkm earthen city built in 850 AD by the Chimor, a late intermediate period civilization which grew out of the remnants of the Moche civilization.
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The Citadel of Rayen is a historical site situated on the foothills of the Hezar Mountains to the south-west of the city of Rayen. It is considered to be the biggest earthen structure of the Kerman province of Iran, and dates back to the pre-Islamic Sassanid era (224 AD-651 AD).
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Chogha Zanbil was a palace and temple complex of the ancient Elamite city of Dur Untashi in Khuzestan province of Iran. Its construction was started by king Untash-Napirisha in 1250 BC. At the center of the complex is a great ziggurat dedicated to the bull-god Insusinak. It is the best preserved example of such structures in the world today. In 1979 Chogha Zanbil became the first Iranian site to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
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Ait Benhaddou is a 'fortified city', built on the banks of the Ouarzazate River along the former caravan route between the Sahara and the city of Marrakesh in present-day Morocco. Ait Benhaddou has some beautiful examples of Kasbah architecture.
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Shibam is an ancient town in Yemen that was built in the 2nd century AD. What is distinctive about Shibam is the fact that its houses are all made out of mud bricks, and about 500 of them are tower houses that rise 5 to 16 stories high, with each floor having one or two apartments.
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