Hello friend,

Our Co-founder Jeremy Tran is at the IGLTA Global Convention in Osaka, Japan this week to explore the critical intersection of LGBTQ+ inclusivity and sustainable tourism. We’ll report key highlights and learnings in the upcoming newsletter. 

For this week’s Feature Story, we are pleased to share a story by our contributor Misha Paul about a natural retreat in Western Ghats in India. 

We are looking for travel and tourism professionals and companies to join us as speakers, venue partner, and sponsors at the AST Forum Hanoi. There are four ways to get involved, please find collaboration details below.

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Be One With Nature at Panchabhuta Retreat

If you go by the website, you’ll know that Panchabhuta Retreat is an eco-friendly retreat located at the doorstep of the Aghanashini estuary and the cul-de-sac (dead-end street) of Nirvana Beach. The entire place is designed to embrace the natural environment where it lies. But the true magic of the Retreat unfolds only when you visit it. 

With meticulously designed habitat rooms with organic yet contemporary interiors, which are only 4 in number, you realize the place is in no rush to embrace the mainstream side of tourism.

Each of the four solar-powered rooms has been constructed with local and recycled materials and made by local craftspeople. While peacocks crow in the background, you are welcomed with permaculture-grown specialty coffee and asked about your meal preferences because even the food here is made-to-order. 

Next, you enter the single-use, plastic-free rooms with tastefully done furniture. The welcoming bathrooms have artisanal natural cosmetics made from the luxurious local ingredients from the Aghanashini ecosphere and bathrobes made with discarded temple flowers. At once, you know you are in for a life-transforming journey with nature. 

Business for Nature

Growing up in the idyllic Western Ghats, Mangal Shetty and his wife, Ambika Shetty, have always been deeply connected to nature. After trading the busy corporate life in New York for the serene beauty of their homeland, they embarked on a distinctive journey: crafting enterprises that nurture the environment. 

For nearly a decade, they dedicated their time and resources to researching opportunities that extend beyond profits, intending to inspire people to reconnect with nature and embrace a sustainable lifestyle.

While Mangal is the dream, Ambika is the bedrock for Mangal's ambitious vision, serving as a sparring partner while playing a pivotal role in realizing, executing, and flawlessly operating these ventures. They are the perfect hosts, quite aware of the business they are trying to build- one natural element at a time.

So, what exactly is this concept of “business for nature”? 

“I have acquired four properties in the Coastal and Western Ghats Biosphere, India, one of the top ten biodiversity hotspots in the world, and I am working on developing ventures in responsible tourism, agri-food, sustainable construction, sustainable transportation, and marine value addition in the biosphere.

Panchabhuta Retreat is only one expression of my vision of creating a nature-positive economy,” says Mangal, who has over two decades of experience building transformative businesses across the globe. 

The more you engage with Mangal, the more you know that he is a man who truly believes in creating sustainable wealth through biodiversity. He is keenly aware of the potential of this business model for community growth beyond short-term profits.

“I want to kickstart a nature-positive economy in Uttara Kannada, India. Mangroves are some of the most carbon-rich ecosystems on the planet. They work in tandem with other marine ecosystems and house the most varied species of flora and fauna, offering great opportunities for ecotourism.  They are Earth’s natural capital, needed not only for human well-being but also for economic potential. I have a vision of inclusion – inclusion of the immediate community, culture, and ecology. Community integration is an integral part.”

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Together, we’ll deep dive into some critical topics:

»»» Sustainability Certification: Green Stamp or Greenwash?
»»» Typhoon Yagi Aftermath: Building Climate Resilience in Vietnam’s Tourism or Sustainability: A Revenue-Generating Strategy or a Cost Center

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