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RARE NEWSLETTER
DECEMBER, 2020 |
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| An enduring vision for RARE is to create transformations towards conscious living. Travel we believe is integral to transformations when it is about going back to our basic nature and back to the natural ecosystem. This involves collective growth; the growth of universal values that are applicable in personal evolution as well as shared businesses. The RARE Touchstones is a self-evaluating tool that we encourage our partner hotels to use to promote luxury travel while highlighting values of preservation and responsible tourism. The pandemic allowed us to expand and RARE & Synergy Partnerships was born - to bring together people and businesses who believe in everything natural, organic, authentic and spiritual. The idea is to encourage travellers and consumers to discover and support genuine and mindful products and services, those who believe in what we believe, the right balance of Planet, People and Profit. |
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Meet the RARE India Synergy Partners |
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Wah Tea Estate was established in 1857 in the Kangra Valley by the British and are completely weedicide and pesticide free, blended with estate grown organic herbs and flowers. The teas prepared for consumption after a process that involves careful hand-picking from the original variety of tea - Camellia sinensis (China Jat). In 1953, the estate was taken over by the Chaiwala family from Kolkata and today, Wah Tea Estate is looked after by the third and fourth generations of the family, Deepak and Surya Prakash. Go ahead and order your tea from them here or to stay close to the gardens, book your stay at The Lodge at Wah. |
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| Glenburn Fine Teas offers fresh, seasonal tea direct from its source. With a 100 year tradition in growing tea, the Prakash family aims to connect passionate tea drinkers around the world with the tea community on their two estates - Glenburn in Darjeeling, and Khongea in Assam. ‘Darjeeling’ has the coveted GI status (Geographical Index) for its geographical prominence and Glenburn is one of the 87 estates where ‘Darjeeling’ tea is grown. Exemplifying the two best tea regions of India, all of Glenburn Fine Teas come from a series of special harvests on the best days of each season, year after year. Glenburn tea is retailed is stores such as ‘Good Earth’ and can be purchased online here, or better yet get it from the source by booking your stay at Glenburn Tea Estate. |
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Yaser Shaw produces exclusive handmade fabrics, accessories and furnishings that reflect his Kashmir’s delicate heritage in crafts and weaving. Being true upholders of generations’ old-traditions and techniques, the artisans employed in his family’s workshops are responsible for implementing Shaw’s vision into each heirloom textile. Through a careful selection of fabrics, design and colour, Yaser nurtures both traditional and contemporary elements of design, yet remains in touch with all ages and occasions. A walk through the weavers’ lanes is in the itinerary when you stay at Nadis in Kashmir. The exclusive Yaser Shaw products can be ordered online here and book your stay at Nadis. |
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| Ma Earth Botanicals is a twenty-year-old journey of curative self-experimentation brought to you from the Sukh Family who are a creed of healers, doctors, architects, designers, artists and activists with a global footprint. The recipes showcase a rich tapestry of wellness culture from India, Iran and West Africa, rooted in traditions and with a deep respect for the planet and its elemental relationship with wellbeing. RAAS Hotels, a part of the RARE Community offer room amenities curated by Ma Earth and their products are available online here. |
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RAS Luxury Oils is India’s first ‘Farm to Face’ 100% natural, organic and vegan skincare and wellness brand. It is a vertically integrated brand with its own farms, processing, manufacturing and R&D. The products are crafted with 100% naturally-grown produce, using ingredients sourced directly from the family owned farms or from local farmers. RAS embodies the promise of purity, happiness and goodness. Their products can be purchased online here. |
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Trikuta Oils Jammu bring to you cold pressed, extra virgin oils that are fresh, pure, organic, natural and fully edible. Extracted from handpicked kernels and ethically sourced from the hills and valleys of Jammu and Kashmir, the specialties are Sweet Almond Oil, Wild Apricot Oil, Valley Apricot Oil, Kashmir Walnut Oil and Kargil Sweet Apricot Oil. The unique and pure taste of the oils add depth and flavour and work beautifully over foods and salads. Order your delightful oils here.
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Bili Hu is born out of a passion for coffees and their rare availability in the domestic market. At Bili Hu coffees they work with coffee plantations across Chikmagalur. In an endeavour to bring forth the finest cup to you, Bili Hu coffees showcase single estate coffees and blends unique agricultural practices and innovative post-harvest processes. Bili Hu is a white flower symbolic of the coffee plant flower that blooms to signify the yield in the harvest season. Order this unique coffee here. |
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| Transformational Travel, The 220 page journal is a guide to discovering the full potential of a traveler’s journey by helping them harness the power of travel to create personal growth and make a positive impact in the world. The guide is presented as a journal, a travel companion in which to capture thoughts, ideas, and memories, and to create your story. Authored by Eric Rupp, Author and Founding Partner of the Transformational Travel Council, the soft cover journal is filled with interactive activities, inspiring quotes and provides a background and philosophical understanding for Transformational Travel. Order your copy here. |
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Waste Warriors Society is a not-for-profit solid waste management (SWM) NGO. Their journey began with Jodie Underhill and Tashi Pareek in the littered hills of Upper Dharamshala with just an empty bag, a pair of gloves, few volunteers, and a vision to clean India. Their mission is to develop integrated SWM systems through models that are affordable, sustainable and replicable. They essentially focus on waste segregation, collection, and processing, as well as advocacy for behavioural change and livelihood development. They also work to destigmatize, formalize and empower the lives of informal waste workers. At RARE we have worked with their teams who engage with people at all levels, from waste pickers to community residents and corporates to government administrators to build awareness and impart solutions. For more information and solutions visit their website here. |
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| Orissa by Tania (OBT) is a passion project born out of love for handloom with a vision to be more than a fashion and lifestyle brand. Odisha’s rich textile art with techniques dating back centuries is a dying art as artisans and weavers are opting out for more lucrative options, hindering this age-old skill from being passed to the next generation. OBT ethically sources fabric directly from the artisans and craftspeople and are focused on revival and sustainable solutions with a mission is to produce modern and comfortable silhouettes while increasing awareness for the crafts. Shop the collection here. |
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Avid?Learning, founded in 2009 has, over the past decade, grown into one of Mumbai’s leading public programming platforms and is firmly entrenched in the country’s wider cultural ecosystem. Our thoughtfully curated and diverse events embrace the spirit of collaboration to bring together the best of Indian and international writers, artists, intellectuals, cultural experts, policymakers and industry leaders across Visual Art, Literature, Culture and Heritage, Education, Design & Technology and the Performing Arts through engaging and dynamic formats like panel discussions, workshops & master classes, roundtables, lecture demonstrations, festival platforms, symposiums & conferences, multidisciplinary performances and walkthroughs. Sign in for their upcoming programmes here. |
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| The Royal Opera House, Mumbai is widely touted as Mumbai’s Cultural Crown Jewel and India’s only surviving Opera House. The space became a cinema in later years before falling into disrepair and shutting by the 1990s.?The Royal Opera House Mumbai, now one of the last remaining Baroque structures in the city, reopened after 23 years in October 2016. The building was included on the 2012 World Monuments Watch to raise awareness about its history and significance, and support preservation efforts. The building has since been recognized with an Award of Merit in the 2017 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. Today, it stands as a key performance and creative hub in the city’s cultural landscape, while being a premier heritage landmark. See the grand Royal Opera House here. |
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