CONCEPT
What Drives Us
“Our core concept can be capsuled and called “ Ecospiritualtrails”. Ecospiritualtrails is imbibed from core the principles of deep Ecology &sustainable way of living. The Pancha Bhoota, the five elements of body and life is in its purest form will transform your body and mind. A weeklong stay at GDM, the headquarters of Ecospiritualtrails. may transform you forever. So come and fall in love with nature and discover your inner self.”
What do we seek in life?
Major length of the human’s life cycle (Or personal life cycle), man/woman is driven by the blind urge to amass material wellbeing. What gives her/him the ultimate and pristine happiness? If she /he stops to ask deeper questions about the purpose of her/his life, he will find that the key to being content is chasing one’s passion and attaining self-actualization. Spirituality is the final step in this continuum.
Happiness to the body is Wellness and to the Mind is
Spirituality. How do we strive to attain these at GDM
centers?
The concept is imbibed from the core principles of
deep Ecology & sustainable living. The Pancha
Bhoota, the five elements of body and life is in its
purest form will transform your body and mind. So
come and fall in love with nature and discover your
inner self
The concept is imbibed from the core principles of
deep Ecology & sustainable living. The Pancha
Bhoota, the five elements of body and life is in its
purest form will transform your body and mind. So
come and fall in love with nature and discover your
inner self.
Life came into existence first in the water. Thus,
the SEA becomes our matriarchal home. Once life
entered the land, trees and plants gave all that was
needed to sustain life. Thus, the FORESTS are our
patriarchal home. We, at GDM, believe total happiness
and wellbeing can only be achieved by going back to
our patriarchal home, dark deep woods, and the
forests. Palavayal has many enchanting mountains and
evergreen forest, hundreds of streams and rivers all
around, all breathtaking stuff. If you happen to wake
up early and roam around you may encounter a handful
of exotic birds and will be fascinated by their
twitters and flutters. The magical sound of Tejaswani
river in Palavayal and he Kallar river in Munnar
flowing down the hills will also add that ambiance.
Elements like air and water in its purest form
contribute to wellness and happiness.
What is Deep Ecology?
Deep Ecology is a holistic approach to face life by bringing together thinking, feeling, spirituality and action. It involves moving beyond the culture of individualism and seeing oneself as part of the earth. This leads to a deeper connection with life, where Ecology is not just seen as something 'out there', but something one is part of and has a role to play in. In this approach, what we have is an involved participant who feels connected with and as a part of the world around him.
What is Sustainable Living?
We use a huge amount of the Earth's non-renewable resources to live our everyday lives and have almost exhausted them. We have been overly using plastic and concrete materials also cutting trees and damaging rivers. Now there is no option to save our habitat and life but to turn to a sustainable way of living. Sustainable living is a lifestyle that attempts to reduce the use of the Earth's natural resources and personal resources in our livelihood.
Does GDM is sustainable?
We, at GDM, do not indulge in additional building construction activities detrimental to the environment. By renovating existing structures left behind in the forest and resorting to options like treehouses, temporary camping etc, we not only live a sustainable life but are closer to nature in our patriarchalhome. We bring together the principles of the PanchaBhoota to enhance our quality of life.
GDM and sustainability of people and environment (Sahajeevanam):
But what is sustainability? It is widely accepted
that to achieve sustainability we must balance
economic, environmental and social factors in equal
harmony.
Nature is not complete without its inhabitants. Our
business model is designed in such a way that all
elements are always in perfect harmony. We link the
people and their services to this concept and
benefits are shared with them. Many tribal who are
well versed in trekking, farming, swimming etc are
included as our supporting staff. We help them share
their incredible knowledge gained by living in the
forests to the outside world and in turn earn a
livelihood without exploiting the environment.
We connect farmers who practice organic farming. They
typically follow traditional methods of farming and
many of them are award-winning certified organic
farmers. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that
the agriculture land surroundings many of our GDM
centers are untouched by chemical fertilizers. The
major chunk of food prepared is sourced locally from
these organic farmers.
In the hustle and bustle of city life, don't we sometimes overlook the things that really matter? Emotions like love and compassion for our natural environment and fellow beings are overlooked in the maddening chaos of everyday city life. The focus is on materialistic well-being - 'who has got the bigger house?', 'my new TV has got the maximum resolution', 'if only I had that extra money for a fancier car'... We consume more and more of things that we believe will make "living better" and in the process, lose all sense of what's meaningful, important and eternal. City folks who are stressed with their busy, mechanical routines will find relief in villages where they observe an entirely different dimension of life - simple, yet beautiful and tangentially different from the monotony. Life in the village of Palavayal and elsewhere give you that difference.
Visiting the organic farms and interaction with the local community is very much a part of our itinerary. Visiting a working farm and participating in farming can be a wonderful family activity- educational and entertaining for children and adults alike. These visits enable you to interact with the village folks and farmhands to get to know their culture, lifestyle and food habits. These are very reputed families, which are deep-rooted in their tradition and are still eager to preserve it. You would not only spend time with them but also be served home-cooked food to enjoy with them as one big family. At GDM you are never just a guest. You are family. And you are at a home away from home.
What is PanchaBhoota?
In Ayurveda and Indian philosophy, the human body is
considered to be made of five basic elements called Pancha
Bhoota.
These elements are:
Prithvi(Earth),
Apas/Jal (Water),
Agni (Fire),
Vayu (Air),
Aakash Sound (Aether).
These elements, if available in pure form and assimilated
by the body and spirit in the right proportions, lead to
complete wellness. Total rejuvenation is possible where
PanchaBhoota is pure.
GDM and the PanchaBhoota?
Palavayal and other locations of GDM have many
enchanting mountains and evergreen forests and
breathtaking streams and rivers all around. If you
wake up early, you will hear the twitters of
multitudes of birds. In Palavayal the magical sound
of Tejaswani flowing down the hills will add to the
ambiance.
In Palavayal Trekking along the shores of River
Tejaswini or through beautiful Kottancheri woods or
walking on the gorgeous grasslands of Tabor Hills and
Ranipuram will mesmerize you. “Explore
the unexplored” visit to such many other exotic
locations takes you literally to a surreal world at
the same time feel your connection to life. You will
notice how it brings you closer to roots and inner
self.
The smell is associated with the element of Earth.
Taste is associated with the element of Water. Shapes
and forms are associated with the element of Fire.
Touch is associated with the element of Air and
Sound, with the element of Aether. The purest
elements of Panchabhoota are available abundantly in
Palavayal in the form of chirping birds, whispering
wind, rippling river, and rustling leaves.
Holistic Wellness
GDM was born from a passion to stay closer to the wild and
beautiful nature. We the concept was first introduced in
Palavayal and surrounding places of Kasargod and Kannur in
North Malabar. We promote conservation and protection of
the environment not from a sense of duty or obligation, but
from a joy that stems from the privilege we've had in
experiencing some fantastic landscapes in the Western
Ghats. We attempt to align your inner compass to nature to
lead you to your holistic wellness.
Trekking
Trekking among the woods is not only a physical activity but spiritual as well. Trekking is a meditation on the move. If you want to be one among the growing tribe of trekkers who embark on trails, sometimes through lesser-known tracks, to be close to nature and unravel its hidden mysteries, then you have landed at the right place. A trek through the wilderness of the Western Ghats with an experienced guide could be most likely be your highlight in this adventure - along with the abundance of wholesome, nutritional food; soul-stirring views and tranquility at its finest. Backpack and join us to conquer your inner mountains.
pic of trekking
Life needs Intoxication
If you know how to be intoxicated by divine – not
wine – then you have an endless supply available.
Isn’t it a wonderful experience to be totally
intoxicated and still be aware? –Sadhguru, Indian
Yogi, Mystic and Author
Have you ever paused in life and longed for intoxication of
the body and mind? When people fail to get upliftment for
body and mind from their surroundings, they resort to
unhealthy practices like drugs, liquor, and other
undesirable elements. True blissful intoxication of body,
mind, and spirit lie in the woods, the jungles, and the
forests.
Want to experience intoxication by Nature Divine? Backpack and join us.
Homelike ambiance and service
The ambiance, service, and process in GDM are designed in
such a way that the guests should feel that they have come
to their ancestral home. We are focused to give highly
personalized service. We greet our guests with a local and
unique welcome drink, which is bound to wake your tastes
bud up. We serve natural food the ingredients of which is
sourced from the local farmers. Unlimited food is served to
make our guests feel that they are in their ancestral home.
We encourage our guests to pluck vegetables from our farm
and engage themselves along with our chef if they wish
to.
If you wish to spend a long night in the watchtower,
listening to the song of the crickets and getting charmed
by the fireflies, we will have pleasure in serving you
Sulaimani ( Black Tea )with hot snacks. You can start your
day with a reviving bath in Tejaswini, Kallar or other
exotic rivers as you may have enjoyed in childhood.
Engagement with social groups
One of the most important cultures of Malabar is the presence of active groups committed to social causes. Prof John C Jacob was the pioneer in creating groups with a focus on the protection of the environment. A group of enthusiastic, lay naturalists has risen to the task and the tenacious family of flora called mangroves is gamely fighting back. Some of the newly legislated state laws, of course, will help, but it is the peoples' movement that will save the mangroves. “Thanal” is a movement to save the rice varieties of Kerala. We ensure that interested guests get an opportunity to interact with them. We also encourage our visitors to interact with local groups and organization who are involved in conserving woods, culture, and tradition of the respective locations.
Culture is the trails to your roots.
Cultural trails are journeys back in time and to the obscure past. Discovering one’s roots will help us to discover our self. Malabar has a distinct culture. Theyyam magical dance ritual performed in Kavus or Sacred Groves is an integral part of this culture. Cultural trails integral part of "Ecospiritualtrails". Hope we will discover more and more in the coming days! We are certain the interaction with each of you will reshape and enhance our resources.
