Welcome to Forester Farms, a 20 acre food forest nestled at the foothills of Dategad Fort in Maharashtra. Our farm is situated near the pristine Koyna River & is guided by a deep connection with the land, animals & ecosystem.
At our farm we weave together ancient Vedic wisdom with select modern technology to cultivate & process produce that is both delicious & nourishing. Agriculture should be a source of life, not depletion - for us & for Mother Earth; that’s our guiding principle at Forester Farms.
We practice traditional agriculture through adoption of a regenerative food forest model which prioritises minimal human intervention & promotes healthy produce. Unlike conventional farms, heavy machinery is a distant rumble here. We use a no-till method; i.e. working the land primarily by hand & small equipment. No tillage helps soil retain its natural texture & forest-like quality, fostering a healthy regenerative process. We are working to increase organic matter in the soil which helps sequester carbon (convert CO2 from the air into useful carbon for the soil & release Oxygen into the air).
We have some rescued cows, a few chickens, some indie cats & dogs & 20 Apis Indica bee colonies we like to call our friends; each playing a vital role in our ecosystem! Our desi cows (Khilar & Gir) help us maintain the nutrient cycles & enhance the biological fertility of soil by using the dung & urine as natural fertilisers. Indian bees help us pollinate our trees & crops, & provide us with nutritious honey. We plant local heirloom seeds in rhythm with the seasons,
in an effort to preserve our tradition. Rotating crops & planting good neighbours together, replicating nature, keeps our land healthy. The dogs act as shepherds & the cats help keep the rodent population down. A harvesting pond & simple swales capture precious rainwater, replenishing depleting underground water levels.
While we’re not certified organic, our practices of growing naturally, not using chemical fertilisers & other harmful products makes our produce organic in practice if not in name. We intend to keep our farming practices & products sustainable hence packaging is a challenge we are trying our hardest to tackle. We use glass bottles for products like honey & oil. Where we don’t have any other option but to use plastic, we’ve made sure it's sturdy & will stay on your kitchen shelf for a long time before getting recycled.
We have grown the farm with the intent of returning to slow, sustainably produced, nutritious food. Our core belief is that it is important to eat food that is not only flavourful, but also nourishing with all the nutrition & qualities intact. We manage everything right from the seeding to the dispatch of the final product, making our products 100% traceable to their origin. Our food forest is abundant with fruits, native berries, spices, timberwood trees & other seasonal crops.
We also have an obsession for the wild food in our region & often go exploring to find all the hidden treasures in the forest. We roam the hills & the plains discovering & gathering wild fruits, mushrooms, seeds & local greens.
Forester Farms is dedicated to creating a sustainable & harmonious world where no being is exploited. We believe in fostering a symbiotic relationship where we take & equally give back to the land. Our main areas of focus are agroforestry, rural development, employment generation, sustainable food production, indigenous species preservation & carbon sequestering to name a few. This isn't just farming, it's our passion to revive ancient knowledge for a more abundant future. By sharing our story, we hope to inspire a return to harmonious food production, one community at a time.
Established in 2021, our headquarters is in Patan, Maharashtra.