While the rest of us may be busy complaining about how traffic woes, polluted air, living in concrete jungles and eating pesticide laden food have affected urban lives, 40-odd Hyderabadi families have decided to do actually do something about it. Their solution? To move to the outskirts of the city, and form an eco-friendly community by adopting a sustainable lifestyle . The 70-member-strong community in Aziz Nagar , who call themselves “ru-urban”, cultivate their own fruits and vegetables, rear cattle, produce energy from solar panels and live in eco-friendly homes, which make use of recycled bamboo and energy-efficient layouts.

It all began with a love for preserving nature

It was a coming together of like-minded people who cared for nature that led to the creation of this commune, says Rajendra Kumar G , one of the founders. “Most of us have an architecture background, but what made us bond was our sheer passion to preserve nature and the desire to lead a sustainable life, while battling the evils of urbanisation. We realised that producing our own food was the key to accomplish this mission. So four years ago, we started this collective farming initiative, today, we make our own food, energy and have even adopted four small hamlets near our farm. Our urban farm also provides employment to 400-odd villagers,” says Rajendra Kumar.

Urban hyderabadis living a full-fledged farm life

The members realised that the one important step in producing non-toxic food is by rearing native breeds of cattle. “We now have about 45 cows and over 30 goats. Also we have a lot of chicken and ducks, all rescued from slaughter houses. Here they help create an invaluable eco-system and rejuvenate the soil of this land that was lying barren for decades.” The homes are all fitted with rooftop solar panels that produce around 0.8 mega watts of energy every hour, making them fully energy sufficient.

In pursuit of a healthy, happy ‘slow life’

Madhu Reddy, a civil engineer and entrepreneur who was one of the first residents of the community loves the fact that his friends think he lives in a “jungle home”. “When my wife and I moved here we had no neighbours, save the flora and fauna around us. I lose track of time when I’m home. I spend a lot of time capturing the birds and animals on my camera,” he says. What his wife Suneetha, loves is “the quality of the vegetables and fruits that grow in our farm.” It was a desire to live in harmony with nature that drew fashion designer Kajal here from Bengaluru. “We have a nice home in Hitec city, but there are no trees there. Here we can provide a better quality of life to our four-year-old daughter,” she says.

