Nestled like a verdant jewel within the deep blue sea of the Bay of Bengal, Havelock Island emerges as a canvas painted with nature’s maximum colourful hues. Image this — cerulean water kissing the sand so powdery that the solar makes it seem golden.
In Havelock, Andaman, nature finds itself in all its glory and is sure to go away you breathless, because it did for Samit Sawhny (52) when he first set foot at the island’s coast. “In 2001, I took a couple of years’s ruin from paintings to commute the sector. Once I reached Havelock, it took my breath away, and I by no means sought after to go away once more,” he tells The Higher India.
Roaming the shores of the island, he realised his need to give a contribution to its attract. The outcome? ‘Barefoot at Havelock.’ True to its title, the hotel provides a possibility for guests to totally immerse themselves within the island’s herbal good looks.
From eco-friendly cottages nestled amidst lush tropical foliage to sumptuous beachfront villas boasting panoramic perspectives of the azure sea, the hotel caters to a number of tastes and personal tastes.
The tipping level
Recalling his lifestyles ahead of he based Barefoot, Samit displays on his preliminary occupation aspirations. “I sought after to pursue a trail in finance and meticulously decided on prestigious schools to guide me there.”
At first from Chennai, he relocated to London upon finishing his commencement and began employment at a famend company. “After 5 years of operating, I realised that company finance didn’t resonate with me. It lacked the sense of fulfilment I sought. Regardless of the laborious adventure to safe one of these place — navigating instructional demanding situations, in search of out the appropriate establishments, and cultivating the essential connections, the paintings was moderately mundane. Whilst the sphere fits many, I yearned for one thing extra tangible,” he displays.
Samit then determined to go back to India. “Upon my go back, I discovered myself at a crossroads and not using a transparent route. It felt like beginning anew. I opted to take a little time off and embark on a adventure,” he stocks.
All the way through his seven-month expedition, he serendipitously discovered himself in Havelock, captivated through its breathtaking good looks. “What struck me used to be the sheer loss of tourism on this shocking locale. It felt like a hidden paradise, secluded from the remainder of the sector. Recognising its doable, particularly for nature fanatics in search of a tranquil break out, I used to be impressed to start out an eco-friendly undertaking at the island, with out tense its herbal good looks,” he says.
The valuables blends into nature
Whilst the island’s isolation from the remainder of the sector used to be its enchantment, Sumit realised this USP additionally got here with its personal set of issues.
“The foremost factor that I may just see used to be that since I used to be the primary one to start out one thing like this at the island, there used to be little or no connectivity. There have been no common ferries, and the to be had ones had been painfully sluggish,” he explains.
The infrastructure of where used to be very deficient, and ahead of Samit may just start paintings on his hotel, he needed to deal with the problem of constructing it obtainable to the sector. “However there used to be a very powerful lesson realized from this enjoy. Havelock used to be Havelock because of this — fewer crowds and extra nature. Where isn’t just like the Maldives or every other vacationer vacation spot. Other people come right here for a actually herbal enjoy,” he emphasises.
Samit concluded that opening a hotel even deeper into the island would now not be sensible because of the connectivity factor. Due to this fact, he determined to construct the valuables along the seashore.
“Whilst you come to the island, what you’ll realize is that it’s a mixture of thick woods and seashores. So I determined to create a hotel that blends into the herbal environment and does now not disturb the natural world,” he provides.
Samit were given a plot of land beside the seashore and determined to construct a wooded area round it. “The lands at the island had been best allotted to those who cultivated bananas, rice, and coconut, or to parks, sanctuaries, and reserves,” he says.
So Samit began a banana plantation and constructed his hotel in some way that merges with the character in it. “The hotel isn’t a standalone in essence. We needed to carry the island at the map, which is why I began a commute corporate to lend a hand plan itineraries across the island. I additionally began Barefoot Scuba which is a scuba diving centre,” he explains.
Sustainable, nature-friendly, and a hidden gem
Repeatedly indexed a number of the best eco-friendly accommodations within the nation, Samit says he included numerous sustainable components all the way through the development. “There are some things that we did, as an example, we used herbal fabrics like dust, wooden, and thatch within the development of the construction. All our rooms and not unusual spaces are made in some way that they appear to be part of nature,” he says.
“We even have herbal pathways and not using a concrete on them,” he says including that the hotel makes use of very low lights as they have got 4 other types of owls that keep at the belongings. “The instant you flip brilliant lighting fixtures on, they fly away. We don’t wish to disturb the birds, so we give flashlights to the visitors and ask them to make use of the sunshine best when wanted.”
The hotel additionally has a waste control device in position. “Kitchen wastewater flows via grease traps, and sewage is directed into septic tanks ahead of being taken via our sewage remedy plant. Wastewater flows into soak pits,” he stocks.
“A herbal purification procedure then takes over, making sure the groundwater isn’t polluted and the water desk is undisturbed. We additionally don’t take a drop of water from the Govt pipeline. We harvest rainwater and the positioning we decided on has a herbal spring,” he informs.
Moreover, the hotel has in-house Opposite Osmosis (RO) crops that provide water for ingesting and kitchen use. “We urge visitors to fill up their bottles with this water and steer clear of purchasing single-use plastic bottled water. The reject from the RO plant is used within the lawn and has been examined to be have compatibility for this objective,” he informs.
The hotel has a bunch of actions that their visitors can revel in — together with tree walks, fowl trails, Kalapathar seashore trek, Elephant seashore trek, scuba diving, snorkelling, kayaking, and standup paddling.
As for the choice of visitors, the hotel, the dive centre, and the commute corporate have jointly hosted over two to a few lakh other folks because it opened its doorways, says Samit. “We welcome about 10,000 vacationers a 12 months.”
Ajay who visited the valuables in 2024 calls it “a hidden slice of heaven”. He says, “From the instant you arrive, the Barefoot workforce greets you with the warmest of welcomes. They’re all about fostering a way of kinship, and let me guarantee you, they be triumphant admirably.”
“The rooms are a fusion of luxurious with a touch of Robinson Crusoe appeal. Then again, what actually distinguishes Barefoot is its dedication to eco-friendliness. They prioritise sustainability with out compromising at the finer issues. From harnessing solar energy to enforcing waste relief measures, it’s as though they’re exchanging high-fives with Mom Nature whilst you indulge for your cocktail.”
As for the longer term, Samit is making plans to extend the hotel. “We’re within the procedure of having clearances of land from the government. So increasing where with out tense the character round it’s what’s on my plate subsequent!” he says.
(Edited through Pranita Bhat; All Pictures Credit score: Samit Sawhny)