How Punjab’s farm stays are reshaping tourism and getting global accolades

Gill is not the only one from Punjab who is contributing majorly to sustainable farm tourism.

Hansali Organic Farm

Octogenarian Gill is the founder of Hansali Organic Farm, an agriculture tourism venture in Punjab located on 13.5 acre of land in the Hansali village of Fatehgarh Sahib district – around 36 kilometre from Punjab and Haryana’s joint capital Chandigarh.

The Hansali Organic Farm is one of the finalists for the UN Tourism affiliated Skal International awards for sustainable tourism, results of which will be declared in Turkey in October. The farm stay, according to Sukhchain Singh Gill’s son Pavail Gill, is also among the finalists in three categories of awards by the Union Ministry of Tourism – Best tourism village, Best rural homestay, and Travel for life. These results will also be announced in October.

Gill and his son Pavail are among a number of faces in Punjab who have added a new dimension to the farming sector in the state – offering tourists to stay in the middle of the agricultural fields and orchards in palatial buildings or havelis with state of the art amenities, local Punjabi cuisine along with other gastronomical delights cooked with fresh farm produce.

The farm stays, in the process, are generating local employment and giving a push to the local handicrafts as well.

Gill, who was born in Pakistan before his family migrated to India after partition, started the venture in 2007. Initially, he transitioned to organic farming on one acre of land. After losing his wife to cancer in 2009, Gill completely turned to organic farming by 2011 to promote healthy living.

In 2010, Prince of Wales (now King III of the United Kingdom) Charles visited the farm. It also boasts of a dairy farm and goat farming and poultry.

Hansali Organic Farm, started farm stays in 2018 and is among around three-dozen such farm stays registered with Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board (PHTPB) – as mentioned in its official website – across the state which acts as a facilitator. Gill runs the farm stay along with his son Pavail Gill.

The old building was restored for the wedding of Satwant Kaur’s youngest-of-the-five daughters Noor in 2007 and was later converted into a village stay

‘The Kothi’

Another rural tourism setup ‘The Kothi’, an ancestry estate featuring colonial architecture, is located in Nawanpind Sardaran in Gurdaspur district. Located along the Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC), ‘The Kothi’ offers an ethnic village stay and is run by 80-year-old Satwant Kaur Sangha and her family.

The old building was restored for the wedding of Satwant Kaur’s youngest-of-the-five daughters Noor in 2007 and was later converted into a village stay. Its restoration was monitored by Noor’s sister Gurmeet Sangha Rai, an acclaimed heritage conservation specialist.

“We decided to run it as a farm stay under the Punjab tourism scheme by getting it registered with the PHTBP,” said Satwant Kaur Sangha, wife of late Gurpreet Singh Sangha who served as a pilot with the Indian Air Force. “My husband, Captain Gurpreet Singh Sangha, had served as a pilot in the India Air Force during the Chinese aggression (1962 Indo-Sino war). He died when he was around 46 in a crash while flying a private jet in Kerala,” she said.

Satwant Kaur Sangha with her daughters and other family members. (Express Photo)

“A couple of years ago, we started another rural homestay, ‘Pipal Haveli’, near ‘The Kothi’,” said Satwant Kaur Sangha, adding that the peak months are between November end and February. Pipal Haveli got the UNESCO Asia Pacific award for cultural heritage conservation in 2023.

“While ‘The Kothi’ is tourism centric, ‘Pipal Haveli’ is a sort of knowledge hub for students of architecture,” said Gurmeet Sangha Rai. Her sister Manpreet, who lives in the United States, takes care of the social media accounts and online bookings of the two properties. Gurmeet said local villagers have been employed in various jobs in both the properties.

Nestled close to the Shivalik foothills in Chhauni village in Hoshiarpur district is Citrus County Firdaus farm stay (Express Photo)

Citrus Country Firdaus

Nestled close to the Shivalik foothills in Chhauni village in Hoshiarpur district is Citrus County Firdaus farm stay. Firdaus is a Persian word which means paradise. “Citrus County Firdaus was one of the best properties to stay during Covid pandemic,” said owner Harkirat Ahluwalia, adding, “We have another property, ‘Ama’, which is managed by Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL). They do the marketing for us.”

An agriculturist with orchards, Ahluwalia claims to be the first such farmer to diversify into farm tourism. “I am often referred to as farm stay man of India when introduced during the farm tourism events,” said Harkirat. He said the majority of the clientele at his properties are foreigners. “Every year, we host farmers from the United Kingdom and Scotland. We have been also hosting Australian married couples who come and take vows in Punjabi tradition,” said Ahluwalia.

Another farm stay nestled in the foothills of the Shivalik is Cops Canopy in Mohali district. (Express Archives)

Cops Canopy and Sarhad

Another farm stay nestled in the foothills of the Shivalik is Cops Canopy in Mohali district. Located in the Kahne ka Barah in Karoran, Nayagaon, the farm stay is owned by ex-IPS officer Rakesh Chandra who retired as the additional director general of police from Punjab in November 2021.

“Located off the city grids, the farm stays in Punjab connect tourists with the cultural heritage of the state. The majority of the tourists who come to Cops Canopy are the ones headed for Himachal Pradesh. They stay at our farm stay in transit for a break in journey while going to their destinations in Himachal Pradesh. Our farm stay also provides employment opportunities to people in the adjoining villages. The tourists get to see the village life. At times, they also purchase local handicrafts like durries (handwoven rugs/flat carpet) etc,” said Chandra.

Another farm stay, Sarhad, is located in Amritsar district near the Attari border. Amanbir Singh Jaspal, who runs the farm stay alongside the Sarhad restaurant, said, “We get tourists from far off states like Maharashtra and Gujarat. We take them to villages in the border areas and other historical places like the Attari railway station.”