Connecting the dots of sustainable farming, community power and financial viability
Forest of the Robin
“Chirak” is the Marathi name for the Indian Robin (Saxicoloides fulicatus), the first bird we spotted here. “Van” means forest.
Our logo carries this story—a robin perched on a kokum branch.
Why a ‘van’ and not just a farm?
Chirakvan is a hilly patch left untouched for over 30 years. It mimics more of a forest than a farm. Beyond an enormous diversity of plants and trees the land is also home to small mammals, snakes, birds, butterflies, moths, insects, crabs and fish in perennial streams.
The Land We Call Home
Our land is a 13-acre biodiverse farm in the Konkan region of the Western Ghats, Maharashtra. The land is hilly and rocky and a perennial stream marks one edge.
Before we arrived, this land had been untouched for over 30 years, allowing a rich forest ecosystem of native trees, creepers, and wildlife to thrive. We choose not to erase that. Instead, we work with the forest — keeping most of the green cover intact, leaving some areas completely wild, and carefully opening small patches for cultivation.
Who Are we
We are Sampada and Madhu.
Sampada holds a master’s in Energy Science & Engineering (IIT Bombay) and has a background in research.
Madhu has an engineering degree and many detours, juggling a variety of odd jobs along the way.
For over 15 years we worked with NGOs and organizations as teachers and educators, focusing on experiential learning with underprivileged children.
Drawn to farming, ecology, and nature, we studied natural farming and permaculture, travelled and volunteered on farms across India, and gradually stitched our ideas into Chirakvan.
We moved here in 2022, built a few living spaces, and added two farm-stay rooms and a mud cottage in 2025.
