“No one involved in making the house was an architect or an artist, and yet what they created proves otherwise. They say form follows function, but in our case, the form follows the community,” explains Ansh. The 600-square-foot house, crafted from mud sourced within 500 feet of the site, bears the imprint of the hands that shaped it and is adorned with a facade featuring sculptural works. “Contrary to assumptions, mud is a very safe material to build a house with. We engaged in daily stomping and dancing rituals, mixing the mud with straw and water to give it strength, all while playing music from all over the world,” Raghav adds. The house stands upon a foundation of robust stone masonry and is sheltered under a canopy of eucalyptus wood beams, intricately woven into a reciprocal roof design. A living garden graces its exterior, not only enhancing cooling properties but also seamlessly blending with the surrounding landscape, blurring the boundaries between built environment and wilderness. Thousands of stones, both large and small, carried one by one, fortify the walls of the Tiny Farm.
The result is a “hand-sculpted house” straight out of a fairytale, a philosophy explored in a book of the same name by Ianto Evans, Linda Smiley, and Michael Smith, which deeply inspired them. “We wanted to craft something locally rooted yet beautiful,” Ansh shares. “Our goal was to embrace natural forms and curves, creating an experience that invites people to appreciate its beauty without intellectualizing or objectifying it.”
Ansh and Raghav also envision the homestay in Rishikesh as a “haven of biomaterials,” showcasing objects crafted from materials consciously sourced from nature and contributed by people around the world through an open call. From a table made using discarded slate found in a village house, to a chandelier crafted from wood found in the river, to bamboo baskets and handmade ceramics, the tiny objects that fill the tiny house embody the same simplicity.
“Trust the process,” says Ansh, reflecting on what they learned from their hands-on experience. Today, the house is listed as a bed and breakfast, welcoming a growing community of like-minded travelers from all over the globe, offering a slow, serene, and authentically responsible way of life. Ansh and Raghav are actively involved in training local villagers in ecotourism practices while simultaneously developing educational models to raise awareness about the merits of mud houses—and how anyone can create their own.
