Manvendra Shekhawat Wins Climate Impact Of The Year At NDTV Indian Of The Year

Rajasthan-based hotelier Manvendra Singh Shekhawat has been awarded the NDTV Indian Of The Year under the Climate Impact category, whose organisation Dhun has worked to transform 500 acres of barren land into an ecosphere.

Speaking to NDTV's Ankit Tyagi about the idea behind the project, Shekhawat said, "The whole idea came because living environments have a profound impact on determining human outcomes. We can design environments that can give people the freedom, inspiration and resources to manifest their truest potential. If we lean into traditional knowledge systems and technology, and build something on first principles, we can create environments that are far better than now."

The playbook used for Dhun is not a new one, Shekhawat said, adding that it in like those adopted by any indigenous community in the world. "They have built and sustained communities that have worked on similar principles - water certainty, building with nature not against, and developing not at the cost of erasure of identity or environment," he said.

Shekhawat said that his meeting with King Charles earlier this year saw the latter sharing their knowledge ecosystem.

An alumnus of Mumbai's St Xavier's College, Shekhawat is also a Managing Director of the MRS Group, which helms luxury properties across Rajasthan. He, however, does not see them as competition but wishes for more such properties. "The moment that the country and people see culture as infrastructre, we can truly create a development narrative that will bring sufficiency to people not at the cost of our environment an identity, but because of it," he said.

Behind some of the leading hotels in Rajasthan, including Jaisalmer's Suryagarh, Bikaner's Narendra Bhawan and Binsar's Mary Budden Estate, Shekhawat turned his eye towards systemic problems in 2013. He allied with local communities and undertook over 30 community projects, including Jaisalmer's largest cleanliness and conservation drive under his NGO "I Love" Foundation.

At the site of his pet project Dhun, a habitat designed for 8,500 people who aim for holistic well-being, 500 acres of barren land have been transformed into an ecosphere by planting 2,70,000 trees through the Japanese Miyawaki and traditional methods and four food forests.

Ruined by a flood, the land was brought to life through traditional water harvesting practices. It now has eight water bodies. The ecosystem, which once had 30 trees, now also features water structures, greenhouses and farms. It boasts of 120 species of birds, 70 species of native trees and thousands of animals. It has also improved the life of neighbouring villages.

As part of the Dhun project, local varieties of grains and pulse, as well as seasonal vegetables and herbs are grown. Their farm also raises cattle and poultry.