The Green Path Project: an Indian flagship model

H.R. Jayaram in his first organic shop in Bangalore five years ago. Photo © Karin Heinze

The South Indian social entrepreneur Mr H.R. Jayaram started his organic journey two decades ago. His visionary ideas and his passion for organic farming and ecological solutions made him start an organic farm, an organic shop, an eco hotel, an eco retreat and an eco experience center with a big organic store and restaurant. He is convinced: „Organic is essential for the world today."

Green Path is a more than it literally means. It is the philosophy and vison of H.R. Jayaram to "celebrate life with nature" and to spread the idea of organic farming, eco-conscious healthy eating and living with the awareness to maintain our planet in the best way we can. The former lawyer was born and raised in the countryside in the state of Karnataka, South India. Living "in the lap of the nature", as he says, had a huge impact on him. Later, when he started his prpfessional carreer as a lawyer in Bangalore, he always felt this strong connection with nature and decided to buy land outside of the city.

2016 Jayaram opened the Organic Experience Center Organic State with an organic supermarket. Photo © Karin Heinze

Taking the green path

Today Sukrishi Organic Farm in Nelamangala is a home of biodiversity - hundreds of different crops and trees and also animals, insects and birds are living in their natural habitat. However, on these 40 acres of land the foundation of the Green Path were laid too, tells Jayaram who loves to reconnnect with nature when he is walking barefoot through the "Food Forest" in Sukrishi. He knows all the names and stories of the trees and plants and he is steadily enhancing the farm to have even more biodiversity on his land. In Sukrishi, Jayaram welcomes interested people and local farmers, stakeholders from the organic sector as well as pupils for seminars and trainings or just to enjoy the abundance of nature.

The restaurant "Forgotten Food" was awarded two times yet. Photo © Karin Heinze

The Green Path Project

The video shows the surroundings at Sukrishi. Furthermore, H.R. Jayaram speaks about his ideas and visions.

"Celebrate Life with Nature!"

"Our humble aim is to inspire more people to adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle through easily replicable models of sustainability", says Jayaram. "Come walk the Green Path with us!" He is also a spiritual person who respects Mother Earth as well as mankind - as part of one universe. His strong mantras are "everybody can be a change maker" and "organic is very essential for our world today." He met many stakeholders of the organic sector and he learned: organic is not just chemical free farming, it is "a tool to spread love for the Earth". This is the goal of Green Path, too. To push these ideas ahead, Jayaram always tries to involve consumers in events as often as possible. Moreover, he is also getting in touch with consumers personally to convince them of the necessity of a healthy, eco-conscious lifestyle. 

The video shows more of Jayaram´s philosophy and of activities in Bangalore called "Organic State".

His ideas and passion never seem to run dry

Jayaram is a very well known environmental activist in Karnataka whose ideas and passion never seem to run dry. In the last two decades he has not only adapted his competences as an organic farmer. Inspired by a visit of BioFach organic trade fair in Germany, he also started promoting organic food in his home country. He has founded a certified organic food store and the Eco Hotel Green Path in Bangalore. He also bought another piece of land in the beautiful Western Ghats mountains at Coorg where he founded Eco Retreat Green Path. His latest project is the "Organic Experience Center Green Path Organic State" in Bangalore. Spread over three floors, the big city house accommodates an organic supermarket, rooms for workshops, events as well as dining and eco-friendly get-togethers. On the third floor there is a big, but comfortable restaurant called "Forgotten Food".

Organic State: Forgotten Food - Detox Cafe

At the Organic State experience center, Jayaram started the Good Food movement in the awarded restaurant Forgotten Food. Karnataka is a traditional millet growing state, but this had been forgotten because pf practising modern industrial agriculture. Today, the government of Karnataka has recognised the benefits of millets and organic agriculture for the people, the soil, the environment and is supporting it in an intense way. By now, the state counts around 100,000 ha certified organic acreage and a trade fair called "Organics & Millets" was organised last January.

The green path to the Green Path Eco-Hotel in Bangalore. Photo © Karin Heinze

The small power grain plays a big role at the Forgotten Food restaurant and the Detox Cafe. Creative 100% organic recipes bring many varieties of millets in traditional cuisines as well as modern interpretations e.g. in form of M-Crust pizza made of millet flour on the plate. By enjoying the Forgotten Food recipes customers can be pushed to think more about good food and the effects of agroindustry and fast food - one of many goals of the Green Path Project.