Why Farmstays Are the Future of Sustainable Travel

We choose a farmstay over a hotel

In a world where travel is often about luxury resorts and five-star experiences, we—The Khanabadosh Family—have taken a different route. For us, travel is not about polished hotel lobbies or buffet breakfasts but about deep connections with nature, people, and cultures. This is why, whenever possible, we choose farmstays over conventional hotels.

Vintage Village is about 2 hours from Lucknow, it offers eco conscious stay and farm fresh food

One of our most memorable farmstay experiences was near Lucknow, where we lived in a mudhouse surrounded by mango orchards, vegetable farms, and a self-sustaining ecosystem. Our kids roamed freely, plucked fruits straight from the trees, and understood food beyond packaged supermarket shelves. This experience, and many others like it, reaffirmed why farmstays are not just a stay option but a way of life for conscious travelers.

Why Farmstays?

1. Learning from Nature and Local Communities
Hotels provide comfort, but farmstays offer knowledge and experience. At the Vintage Village, our hosts, a family passionate about organic farming, shared insights on growing food without chemicals. Our son learned how mangoes, tomatoes, and leafy greens grow—not in plastic bags but in soil, nurtured with care.

In contrast, a hotel experience often keeps children detached from nature. Farmstays, on the other hand, allow them to see how life truly sustains itself, making travel an educational journey rather than just a vacation.

2. A More Sustainable Way to Travel
Travel should not come at the cost of harming the environment. Hotels often consume massive amounts of resources—electricity, water, plastic waste, and food wastage. In contrast, farmstays:

Use locally grown food, reducing transportation emissions
Are built with eco-friendly materials (like the mudhouse we stayed in)
Follow zero-waste or minimal-waste practices
Promote organic farming and water conservation

During our stay, we ate food freshly harvested from the fields, slept in naturally cooled mud structures that required no air conditioning, and drank water stored in traditional earthen pots instead of plastic bottles.

3. A Childhood Without Screens
One of the biggest challenges of modern parenting is reducing screen time. In a hotel, kids often end up glued to phones, tablets, or TV. But in a farmstay, there’s so much to do that screens become an afterthought!

At the Vintage Village and Yog homestay, our kids spent hours:

Running barefoot on the soft grass
Swinging from trees
Splashing in the farm’s natural swimming pool
Observing birds, butterflies, and even tiny earthworms working in the soil

These simple joys make childhood more meaningful than any high-tech entertainment ever could.

4. Supporting Local Communities
Choosing a farmstay isn’t just about sustainability; it’s also about supporting the right people. Instead of giving money to big hotel chains, you directly contribute to local farmers and homestay owners who put their heart into creating meaningful experiences.

Our hosts were passionate about reviving traditional farming practices. By staying with them, we contributed to their efforts and learned about indigenous farming techniques that are often lost in modern agriculture.

How to Find the Right Farmstay?

Not all farmstays are the same, and choosing the right one depends on your preferences. Here are some tips:

✅ Look for farmstays that promote organic farming – Some places market themselves as “farmstays” but are just resorts with a few plants. Look for stays where agriculture is actively practiced.

✅ Check their sustainability practices – Do they use plastic? Do they grow their own food? Are they truly eco-conscious?

✅ Engage with the hosts beforehand – A great farmstay experience depends on the people running it. Hosts who genuinely love farming and cultural exchange make the stay much more enriching.

✅ Choose experiences that align with your family values – If you’re traveling with kids, look for places with safe open spaces, farm animals, and nature-based activities.

Why We Will Keep Choosing Farmstays

For us, travel isn’t just about relaxation—it’s about learning, growing, and making conscious choices. Our experiences in farmstays have taught us that:

Travel doesn’t have to be about luxury and excess—it can be about simplicity and mindfulness
Kids learn best from real-life experiences, not just books or screens
Sustainable tourism isn’t just an idea; it’s a real, achievable lifestyle change