Our inspiration,
and the founders who kept it.
A residential nature cure ashram founded by Mahatma Gandhi and stewarded, over eight decades, by physicians and villagers who believed the body could heal itself if you let it.
"The real seat of taste is not the tongue, but the mind."
Alongside Gandhiji, many devoted lives to the declining rural health of India through this ashram — Shri Manibhai Desai, Shri Balkoba Bhave, Smt. Gangabehn Bhate, Shri Vishnupant Gokhale, Smt. Hoshyaribehn Bohare and Shri Ganesh Behede.
Their commitment, simplicity and sincerity remain the source of everything we do. Eighty years on, the bell still rings at 4:30, the kitchen is still vegetarian, and the mud is still cool from the earth.
Eighty years,
one method.
- 22 Mar 1946Gandhiji arrives in Uruli Kanchan at 16:00 hrs.
- 23–30 Mar 1946Treats hundreds of villagers with Dr. Mehta, Balkoba Bhave, Manibhai Desai, Dr. Sushila Nair.
- 1 Apr 1946Founds Nisargopchar Gramsudhar Trust on land donated by Shri Mahadev Tatyaba Kanchan.
- 1950s–70sManibhai Desai leads rural hygiene and community health work.
- TodayA residential ashram serving guests from across India and the world.
The trust's promises,
still on the wall.
- 01
Extend the healing touch of Naturopathy and Yoga to all — especially the rural poor.
- 02
Build a self-reliant, health-conscious society through natural living and sanitation.
- 03
Prioritise women's health, so they may lead wellness within their families.
- 04
Provide affordable, ethical healthcare, anchored in Sarvodaya — welfare of all.
- 05
Awaken health awareness in villages through preventive, nature-based methods.
- 06
Revive and propagate the Indian systems of Naturopathy and Yoga.
- 07
Support traditional healers and integrate them into community-based health.
- 08
Publish books and materials for health literacy — for women, children and elders.