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responsible tourism

06
Mar
BASIS REISEN - Indien sehen, erleben und geniessen

Winter Blues? Come Grab a Pocketful of Sunshine!

Posted by / Responsible Tourism, Uncategorized

A warm slice of sunshine in the deepest, darkest, coldest, dead of winter. Wouldn’t we just KILL for that! Well, before we get into the nitty gritty of How to get away with Murder, let’s explore a saner option – step into some sunshine!! Hold on to your horses, I ain’t telling you to go around the city with a thermometer either!

OK let me get straight to the point before you go off on a quest for Little Miss Sunshine. Introducing your very own Place Under the Sun to get a the pocketful of sunshine –  sunny, sunny Kerala.

Why Kerala?

 

The warm sun on your face, green lusciousness as far as the eye can see, wind in your hair, just the right doze of sea breezes to do wonders for your health (the glow on your skin, I tell you!), and all-natural food fresh off nature’s basket of bounties.

Need I say more? Probably not, but let’s hear it from the experts. The National Geographic magazine listed Kerala among the top ten travel destinations under its “Paradise Found” list. Doesn’t get more authentic than Nat Geo on travel, does it?

Kerala has always been known for its beauty and as a retreat from this Mad World. Winter here is the most pleasant time of the year. It is the perfect weather to get in your dose of Vitamin D and take in all those happy enzymes that only sunshine and nature can bring.

Precious Vitamin D

We aren’t just shooting out a feel-good tale of sun and sand and rainbows and unicorns here. Good old common sense and no-nonsense science agrees – you do need some sunshine in your life!

The NHS lays it down: “We need vitamin D to help the body absorb calcium and phosphate from our diet. These minerals are important for healthy bones, teeth and muscles. A lack of vitamin D – known as vitamin D deficiency – can cause bones to become soft and weak, which can lead to bone deformities. In children, for example, a lack of vitamin D can lead to rickets. In adults, it can lead to osteomalacia, which causes bone pain and tenderness.”

The same article talks about the lack of this vital nutrient in cold climes like the UK: “In the UK, sunlight doesn’t contain enough UVB radiation in winter (October to early March) for our skin to be able to make vitamin D.”

The verdict: Chase the Sun!

Chasing the Sun at BASIS

At BASIS, we have noticed that winter is a popular time for our guests to come a calling. Many of our customers love the beautiful weather here and schedule a 2-3 week stay with us. There’s a host of things that are on offer (apart from the very alluring prospect of sitting Under the Kerala Sun). We have specialists in Ayurveda who you can consult and have an ayurvedic treatment started off with. 100% natural organic home cooked meals, tours that show you the best portions of Kerala, and the opportunity to get up, close and personal with Nature – this is what we have to offer. Here are some wonderful comments from our guests who have stayed the winter and have loved it!

 

“Vielen lieben Dank an alle, die diesen wundervollen Ort zu dem machen, was er ist. Diese spezielle Energie hat mir sehr sehr gut getan. Jeder Einzelne hat dazu beigetragen, dass ich tiefgreifend verstehen, fühlen und von innen heraus Heilung erfahren durfte. Dafür bin ich sehr dankbar. Vieles kam auf, hat sich präsentiert und verabschiedet, sodass ich mit weniger Last weiter fliegen und tanzen kann.” – ALEXANDRA

[Translation: Many thanks to all who make this wonderful place the place it is. This special energy did me a world of good. Every single person did his/her bit to ensure that I could deeply understand, feel and be healed from inside. I am very grateful for that. Many things came up, presented themselves and said goodbye, so that I can fly and dance on with less weight. – ALEXANDRA]

“Danke für euer herzliches, liebevolles, fürsörgliches sich Kümmern vor und während meiner Ayurvedakur. Ihr habt mich ruhen, schlafen, lesen lassen, wenn ich es brauchte. Danke auch für die spontane Rundreise und alle anderen Ausflüge.” –NADJA

[Translation: Thanks for your warm, loving and attentive care before and during my Ayurveda-treatment. You gave me the time to rest, sleep, read, when I needed it. Thanks also for the spontaneous round-trip and all the other tours. -NADJA]

Hope to see you soon too! Call us to book your next winter stay right now and get incredible deals.

Here are some pictures from some of our guests who enjoyed this winter with us.

09
Dec

BASIS – Ecotourism Destination

Posted by / Sustainable Tourism

The BASIS program is much more than a resort holiday in India. One of the first tenets of ecotourism is ‘take only photographs; leave only footprints.’  The BASIS program goes one step further; the founders Mathew and Leelamony Moozhiyil firmly believe, and have been live examples, that every visitor adds value. The story of BASIS is an intriguing study in the mutual interspersing of cultures and the benefit that it brings to both.

As a guest, you will see firsthand the many, many ways that BASIS lives up to the principle behind Responsible Tourism. They are completely focussed on Sustainability and every move in BASIS follows that underlying theme.

The food for instance; every meal is made from the best of local produce. The food is prepared in the traditional way, making the best of natural flavours. For those who are wary of the heat of Indian curries, you will get to experience a whole new dimension of Indian cooking that will completely change your mind.

traditional indian food kerala meals

Home-grown, organic, delicious meals

Sustainability is the mantra in BASIS. You can check out all their Sustainability efforts on their web page: There’s the waste water treatment, the tailoring unit to train local men and women and equip them with life skills, the food crop cultivation, the ayurveda plants Nursery in Kumily… the list goes on. But it is the little things around the place that show that sustainability is not just an effort here but a way of life.

Taking a walk around the Sreekandamangalam estate is a discovery tour in itself. There are around 1500 different plants in the property and the methods of cultivation are so uniquely natural. The vegetables that go into making meals are completely organic. You will see no clouds of pesticide hovering over the plants. Matthew explains that nature doesn’t need a boost from man; neem leaves act as pesticides, the filtered waste from the water treatment plant acts as fertilizer. It’s completely natural.

waterfront kerala india eco tourism

Waterfront outside the massage studio

As a guest, there are myriad things that you will learn. Bottle agriculture for instance. On one wall is a line of used bottles that are placed in a zigzag and irrigated by a system of drip agriculture from the waste water plant. This is upcycling in action; used bottles aren’t just recycled but used for a more versatile purpose just as they are.

Seaside Kerala India Ecotourism BASIS

Unbroken, unmarred Nature

The beach front in Kumily is splendid in its all natural glory. There is nothing to break its beauty. You won’t have visitors littering things around, or hawkers trying to pull you to beach shacks. The beach is pristine and beautiful; nature exists in perfect harmony here.

Kerala Banana at BASIS, tailoring at BASIS

Lives touched by BASIS

Another thing that you can’t fail to notice is the way people’s lives have been transformed by the work that the Moozhiyils have done. You really must talk to people in Sreekadamangalam and Kumily; they all have stories to tell and all of them have a thread woven into BASIS.

If it is an ecotourism destination that you are looking for, BASIS is the place to go. For more details, check out the website: www.basis-holidays.com