"Everyone come visit our village... extensively decorated with trees and vines"
- From the Santhal tribal song Ale Atu Do
Dularia is surrounded by Santhal tribal villages, which have a unique nature-connected culture, with seasonal festivals, beautiful handicrafts, a tradition of foraging for food, an ancient system of herbal medicine, and rhythmic songs and dances. In this immersion, you will get a vivid taste of this vibrant culture through an enjoyable hands-on learning experience guided by Dularia's village team. This experiential retreat will begin with the unique Santhal tribal flower "Baha" festival, and concludes with the celebration of Holi, the festival of colours.
COMPONENTS OF THIS EXPERIENCE
CRAFTING WITH THE HANDS
Typical Santhali homes are full of beautiful objects such as brooms, mats and baskets made from natural materials such as grasses and bamboo. Our Santhal tribal team will teach you the basics of making these handicrafts so that you get a fun and immersive learning experience.
PLAYING WITH MUD AND BAMBOO
Santhali homes are handcrafted with great skill using all natural, local materials such as mud, straw, and bamboo. For those interested, we'll include fun activities of mud plastering or bamboo building, taught by our local Santhal tribal experts.
VISITING VILLAGES & MUSEUM
We'll visit the Santhal tribal villages surrounding Dularia, learn about their unique lifestyle and natural building methods, as well as visit an informative museum of Santhal culture nestled within a village.
GATHERING WILD EDIBLE GREENS
Santhals have a centuries long tradition of gathering edible greens that have a variety of medicinal properties. Many of these greens are considered as "weeds" and are totally overlooked in modern society. We'll learn which seasonal wild greens to gather and make delicious and nutritious meals with them under the guidance of our knowledgeable Santhali team members.
LEARNING SANTHALI SONG & DANCE
Santhali culture has a rich tradition of songs and dances, most of them telling stories of their nature-connected lives. We'll learn songs and participate in dances accompanied by drums, flute, and traditional Santhali dancers. We'll also be able to celebrate the Santhali Baha festival- the festival of flowers, towards the beginning of the experience.
ENJOYING TRIBAL DELICACIES
Each day we'll enjoy delicacies unique to the Santhal tribal culture, cooked outdoors on a wood-fired stove for extra flavour. You'll eat foods you cannot find in any restaurant and have probably never tasted before. You'll have the option of joining our team in cooking and learning these unique recipes from them.
CELEBRATING HOLI THE NATURAL WAY
We'll wrap up our time together by celebrating Holi, the festival of colours, the natural way. Shantiniketan, which is just a few kilometers away from Dularia, has a rich tradition of celebrating Holi which people come from around the world to witness. You'll have the option of going to Shantiniketan for Holi or if you prefer, stay in Dularia and celebrate with self-made natural colours!
MEET YOUR FACILITATORS
This immersive experience will be facilitated by our Dularia village team, Saraswati Murmu Baski, Iti Malo, Sona Murmu, and Jithu Baski. All of them are from surrounding villages and three out of four are from the Santhal tribe. Read more about each of them here.
The workshop at Dularia was a life changing experience. Such sweet and inspiring hosts.. It’s home away from home .. truly created through love.
Reshma Krishnan, Tamil Nadu
If anyone wants to learn about regenerative living, I think Dularia is the best place to do so.
Tshering Penjor, Bhutan
Food & Accommodation
We have three options for accommodation:​
- in our gorgeous Earthhome (limited to four people on a first-come, first serve basis)
- in your own tent with own bedding pitched in the middle of our food forest. Shared showers and toilets are available on the premises.
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In any of the surrounding guest-houses. Two options are Panchabati Resort ( 850 m away from Dularia) or Khoai Village Resort (2.7 km away from Dularia).
Meals consist of simple yet wholesome vegetarian food containing fresh vegetables and greens harvested from our farm, and often cooked on our wood-fired stove in the Santal tribal tradition. We serve two big meals plus fruit, tea and snacks to keep you well-fed and energized for the tasks of the day.
DETAILS
DATES
​Mar 10 - 15, 2025
Arrival is suggested on Mar 10 by 4 PM latest, and departure is around 10 AM on Mar 15. Participants can choose to extend their stay if they wish on prior agreement. If interested, please enquire for this possibility and the extra fees it will entail.
Last date for registration: Mar 1, 2025
PARTICIPANTS
Min 6 - Max 10. Book your spot soon as limited places are available!
​​FEES
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Please note that 100% of the income from this workshop goes to supporting the livelihood of our socio-economically disadvantaged village team members and the local village economy. It also helps us to preserve a fast-disappearing indigenous nature-connected culture. So please take a look at the following numbers through that lens. If you'd love to join but are unable to afford the following prices, please contact us and we'll see whether it's possible to offer you a discount.
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Course fees: INR 18,000/- including materials and taxes, excluding food & accommodation. To book your spot, a non-refundable deposit of INR 5,000/- will be required. ​
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Food: INR 5,400/- Includes all meals. Vegetarian meals using mostly Santhal tribal recipes will be prepared using organic ingredients from the farm to the extent possible.
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​Accommodation:
In your own tent with own bedding: 600/-
In our Earthhome (only 4 spots available, first-come, first serve basis): 6,000/-
In guesthouses near Dularia: please enquire with them directly. ​​
All inclusive prices, including food and accommodation:
In your own tent: 24,000/-
In our Earthhome: 29,400/-
In guesthouses: 23,400/- plus guesthouse accommodation charges
DAILY SCHEDULE
8:00 - 8:30: Breakfast with tea/coffee.
8:30 - 12:30: Morning session. These sessions will cover the core content of the course. All content will be hands-on. Tea/coffee plus a snack will be served. ​
12:30 - 14:30: Lunch and personal time​
14:30 - 17:00: Afternoon session. These sessions will cover the core content of the course. All content will be hands-on. Afternoon tea & snacks will be served.
18:00 - 19: 00: Dinner
19:00 - 21:00: Bon-fire, songs, sharing, relaxation. Participation is completely optional.
WHERE WE'RE LOCATED
Dularia is located in a rural setting, just ten kilometers away from Shantiniketan, which has been recently recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site for its historical and cultural value. This makes it all the more attractive to visit Dularia and to take a few days extra to visit the surroundings.
HOW TO REACH US
The closest train stations to Dularia are Prantik and Bolpur stations, and the closest airport is Durgapur.
If you want to come by flight, you could fly into Kolkata airport, followed by either a train journey from Howrah/ Sealdah stations to Bolpur/Prantik stations, or take a 4-hour taxi ride directly to Dularia. Alternately, you could fly into Durgapur airport, followed by a 2-hour taxi ride to Dularia. Kolkata has several more flight options than Durgapur does, so both airports have their advantages/disadvantages.
If you want to arrive by train, you can come to Bolpur/Prantik stations, and then take an electric rickshaw (Toto) to Dularia. There are better and faster train connections to Durgapur train
Have questions? Contact Us
Contact Sharmishtha Dattagupta (WhatsApp): +91-9831404006, email: dulariatrust@gmail.com
