Organo Editorial

Long long ago, we lived in villages surrounded by human beings were an integral part of. With least intrusion and invasion, we coexisted with other forms of life in symbiosis. Almost every other person was engaged in some form of agriculture. Most of our ancestors were farmers. Crops were abundant and good health was taken for granted.

We have long been aware of the positive correlation between maintaining good physical health and a longer, happier, existence.

Learning to live with nature was the most significant adjustment we’ve had to make after moving to Naandi. There are times when we find frogs behind our washing machine or even in our shoes! During the monsoons, it is pretty common to see frogs around and we sometimes have a whole family staying in our utility. Likewise, there are other insects and critters that come in sometimes too. We live in their space and they are bound to stray into ours. It is only a matter of getting used to it, though.

Organo signed up for IGBC's (Indian Green Building Council)IGBC Mission on Net Zero, which was recently launched on the occasion of Earth Day 2021. This is a big step for Organo because IGBC's vision of India GBC's Net Zero movement aligns with ours.

What is planet-first thinking? Why is it relevant now more than ever? Meenakshi Iyer Founder of NorthStar Solutions and Services & Personal Agility Coach organised and hosted a virtual coffee meet on Earth Day.

Good health is a pot of gold that we all chase (aside from actual pots of gold, of course)! One that is a drive built into our DNA, which serves as the most basic survival mechanism for our species.

The onset of the summer season reminds us to switch on our ACs and reduce the thermostat setting to 18 deg C, lower our blinds and switch on lights, increase the fan setting to max etc. It also reminds us to take out our fancy pair of sunglasses and apply multiple layers of high SPF sunscreen and sun blocks to protect our skin from the harmful UV rays.

At Organo, our consistent endeavor is to provide a holistic living experience of which food is a cornerstone. As a part of this, we have started social impact initiatives that help forge a connection between the producer and the consumer (residents of Organo’s eco-habitats) in the village of Antharam.

The word rurban (rural+urban) refers to a geographic territory or a landscape which possesses the economic characteristics and lifestyles of an Urban area while retaining its essential Rural area features

Controlling odour is one of the most important and yet most challenging aspects of a sewage treatment plant. Foul smells are often a source of igniting objections from the neighbor's. However, as levied from the Telangana govt it is mandatory to install STP in a housing community with an area of more than 10,000sqm.

Typically, in a Real Estate investment in cities, more than 50% of the cost is spent in land acquisition. The other components such as shelter, and infrastructure depreciate over time. Not only this but the natural resources such as groundwater table, flora and fauna are also depleted and destroyed.

“I love the Rurban way of living in Naandi. Having grown up in a village, this is the perfect place that I have found to reconnect with my roots. My home at Naandi has all the amenities of modern living that I can look for. In fact, I would say that it is more modern than my house in the city! Yet, the rural way of life blends in so seamlessly here.

Organic food has been a rage for health-conscious consumers over the past decade. But one question that lingers in everyone who looks to buy “Organic”

“The only little compromise that we’ve had to make was the distance. Yes, Naandi is a little away from the city, but come to think of it, hardly so. It simply comes down to starting the day a few minutes or even an hour earlier than otherwise to be able to reach my workplace on time. That, in my opinion, is hardly a compromise for the life that we live here.

Bio-pools are wonderful to swim in. But as the name suggests, it is a biological environment which has ecosystems thriving in it. Depending on the season and aquatic life, there will be algae blooming in the

At Rurban Nest, the families have started harvesting their own safe and witnessed food.

On World Water Day, 22 March, during an event organized by Dr Reddy's Lab and Confederation of India Industry (CII), I enjoyed being one of the speakers to talk about the value of water.

we also love Naandi for the sporting facilities it offers. We are all sports enthusiasts and cannot wait for the weekends to enjoy a game of badminton or basketball.

According to the Global Status Report, 2017, the building and construction sector is responsible for 39% of all carbon emissions globally

Over the years, experiential learning has proven to have a wide range of benefits that contribute to a child's development.

Visiting our home at Naandi every weekend is a special experience for all of us in the family. Buying a home here has been one of the best decisions of our life. ‍

At Naandi, one of the goals was tocreate a water-balanced community. This means that the annual water consumption must be less than the total yearly rainfall falling on the community.

It was a warm Sunday morning, 31st January 2021; Organo Et School welcomed residents of Rurban Nest Community, Nizamabad who were all excited to attend the Isha Yoga workshop. Despite their hectic schedule these residents woke up earlier, rolled their mats, carried their bottle of water, and lots of energy to the venue. It was a pleasure to have Francesco Marelli and Deepa certified Hatha Yoga Teacher from Isha Yoga Centre to introduce all our inquisitive participants the basic of Isha Yoga. The session began with Francesco talking about how by practicing yoga every day one can experience a profound sense of harmony both within oneself and the world around.

At Organo, we build natural swimming ponds and not chlorinated pools. These pools are closer to diving into a freshwater lake than into a typical pool. the advantage is that after a refreshing swim, we do not have to worry about taking a bath to wash the chlorine away from the body and it does not leave you with itchy red eyes or dry skin. Along with creating a chemical-free environment, the ponds also act as a habitat for flora and fauna.

being self-sufficient and the importance of sustainable living is crucial among the many things that this pandemic taught us. A conducive environment to achieve any of these has become difficult in an urban space where there is hardly any space left to breathe. Taking positive advantage of the ‘work-from-home possibility, people are moving beyond the city limits, to the suburbs that offer better residential spaces. There may arise a debate on preserving the ecosystem with the crowds shifting but luckily, times have changed with alternate design approaches that embrace both preserving the ecology and sustainable human existence. 

The evolution, growth, and development of any city is the aggregate of a set of processes that have been effective in that area over a period of time. The problems created by the unsystematic and unrestricted extension of a city give rise to issues like unhygienic slums, polluted environment, uncoordinated development of residential, industrial,

There were many issues during the execution of the Earth Air Tunnel Draft than what we had anticipated. Adding to it, there was a gap in our marketing communication, which created an unrealistic expectation. We realized that we we’re not specific that the Earth Air Tunnel Draft lowers temperature considerably but does not function as a replacement to an air conditioner.

I love everything about Organo. We had a whole lot of family visiting us during the housewarming and after. And everyone had only good things to say about our new home at Naandi that we moved into six months ago.

We were driving by one day and came across this place. We simply fell in love with the place and the more we explored and learned about life at Naandi, the more eager we were to move out of our city apartment.

Organo Et School’s purpose is nurturing a learning environment for all stakeholders where inclusive holistic eco-living is celebrated. 

More than 80% of electricity in India is generated by thermal power plants which include fossil fuel, biomass and nuclear energy.

Nizamabad’ first eco-community, Rurban Nest is shaping up well with the construction work going on in full swing. Multiple level activities are going on simultaneously through the hands of skilled personnel.

Most of the households in the cities are equipped with conventional geysers. However, an increasing number of eco-conscious & wallet-conscious households are installing solar hot water systems on their rooftops. 

As a family, we decided to buy a villa at Naandi, right on our first visit. We could not help it and it felt like love at first sight!

Initially, we were a bit apprehensive about moving to Hyderabad and to Organo, since I have always lived in cantonments, coming from a complete fauji background.

Organo Naandi has been featured in a film made for Organo as part of “Building a Better Future", a series of films presented by the World Green Building Council and produced by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions

I have never had any previous knowledge about gardening or farming. In fact, I don’t remember growing any plants in my balcony or terrace, in the previous apartment that we lived at.

Locals fondly call the village Antaram. Ananthavaram, as it was known once upon a time, is the history of that particular village.

At Naandi, we have created a water-balanced community. This means that the annual water budget is below the total amount of rainfall falling on the land.

I have never considered this to be a problem because it is not a very insubstantial amount of money as a percentage of what I earn.

Initially, when I moved into Naandi, I thought I would have to make a lot of adjustments, lifestyle-wise.

Organo Et School’s purpose is nurturing a learning environment for all stakeholders where inclusive holistic eco-living is celebrated

Rurban communities put forward infinite chances for people, the adults, to unwind and rejuvenate their mind and body, and introduces them to a slow-paced life outside the concrete piles.

Indrasen Reddy Bollampally is an active Naandian and a fulfilled Organo's eco-habitat resident.

Often people mistake Organo as a real estate developer company. But we, at Organo strongly refute that statement as we believe that we are integrators of eco-habitats and not a real estate company.

I grew up in Allahabad and the Allahabad of my childhood was a city full of green open spaces. After I moved to Africa, I lived in similar environs amid lush greenery and abundant nature, over the forty or so years that I was abroad. 

There is a world that we are oblivious to most of the time, where more life thrives than anywhere else on the planet.

Responsible weddings make them more memorable to you and the environment. The big fat Indian wedding is an overwhelming affair, with the glitziest of decorations and the fanciest of food.

Every day when I go out for my walks, I see snakes and scorpions. There are plenty of other creatures as well.

Organo believes every person on this earth, be it rich or the poor, are basically environmentally conscious in their own way.

Social isolation and lack of access to nature can be termed as the most unfortunate outcome of modern life, especially for young ones.

Manoj Vaddineni is an active Naandian and a fulfilled Organo's eco-habitat resident.

Fast-paced, technology-assisted, rapidly growing urban settings are considered a prospective place to live in this digital era.

Considering the benefits that we enjoy at Naandi, the adjustments that we had to make were hardly any. Before we moved here, we were living in Banjara Hills, which is right in the heart of the city and we had a set lifestyle with our routines and house help.

As we, humans, increase our presence and reach, on this planet, human-animal interaction is becoming increasingly restricted to pets and livestock as wild animals, being hostile, pose a threat to our increasingly urban civilisations.

I have had quite a modern and upscale life all along. After I was diagnosed with cancer, there was always a deep desire to return to my roots.

Organo Et School conducted a workshop on “how to grow your own microgreens” with Students of grade 5, Sloka Waldorf School that had 31 students participate in each session

In our effort to design and manifest eco-habitats, we come across this question, often from clients and sometimes from collaborators: why are you developing a community so far away from the city?

Whether you grew up in a village, a suburb, or in a big city, you probably spent a lot of time playing outside, getting dirty, and coming home happy.

My wife’s native village is a small place called Ulavapadu in Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh. Although her side of the family has moved to Hyderabad a long time ago, her grandmother from her father’s side still lives there.

A rich old farmer, who felt that he had not many more days to live, called his sons to his bedside.

Growing water needs of humans led to rapid extraction of surface and groundwater. This put pressure on the traditional systems and they started disappearing.

I moved to Organo Naandi three years ago and love everything about the place. I do not feel very comfortable when I see a snake, though. I have seen a few in the community and that makes me quite uncomfortable. However, I do accept it as part of living with nature.

Only 33% of the energy that goes into power plants – coal, hydro, geothermal, etc.is converted to a useful form of electricity that is supplied to homes. This means 2/3rd of the entire energy is either lost in the power plants or in transmission. This is in the U.S. In India, I am guessing the statistic is at least as bad and most probably much worse. 

Ensuring 100% construction in the community well before the launch of the community is the pivotal aspect of ensuring green living from day one at the Rurban Nest Living community.

Planet Earth not only binds us all together but is also the source of our sustenance. If we’re not mindful of our actions, we’re doing ourselves and our future generations great disservice. So, why not start early? Why not inculcate the sense of responsibility towards our surroundings in our young ones?

Our discovery of Organo Naandi was rather accidental. We were here for a massage therapy session for me, one weekend. The moment we stepped into Naandi, it was love at first sight.

Ageing is a natural process where we go through physical, cognitive, social and familial losses and experience disabilities that leads towards assistance for activities of daily living. The physical well-being of older people has always received a lot of emphasis for this very reason.

While private properties, lands, titles and rights secure a good foundation for the future generations to prosper, is this enough? In a world that is changing rapidly, is there something else that must be inherited by children to make sure they are happy and content.

The right time to move from our Gachibowli home in the city was when our son passed out of high school and we were on the lookout for a new property, a few months ago. Unlike the many other cookie-cutter kinds of villa projects in the city that we saw, Organo Naandi appealed to me for the wide-open spaces, great infrastructure, cleaner air amongst a host of other healthy benefits. 

Tiruchengode in Tamil Nadu is called the borewell rig capital of India. With up to 20,000 borewell rigs digging originating from this area and travelling as far as Rajasthan, and digging anywhere between 1000 feet to 1400 feet daily for many months of the year across India, the amount of water being pumped from deep aquifers in the Earth is unimaginable

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours. “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.

Our primary motivation to take up a place at Organo Naandi was for the organic farming that it is centered around. As a family, we have always enjoyed the idea of having our own vegetable garden and using our own produce for lunch and dinner.

What are the three most essential things in real estate? Location, location, location! - a mantra often repeated in the real estate industry. However, Covid-19 has brought focus on the need for us to relook at the mantra.

We, as a race, are social beings. Regardless of where we live in the world, we feel belonged only when we are a part of society. As such, we all have a responsibility to help others and improve the state of the community and world that we live in. 

With a population that increases every minute, the food supply is hardly sufficient to meet the rising demand. In order to increase the yield to meet the supply, farmers are resorting to using dangerously high amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Consequently, quantity comes at the cost of quality.

The interpretation of the term ‘Water Management’ today is not what it used to be 5 or 10 years ago. Population expansion and rapid urban development increased the demand for water supply which in turn depleted our water resources like never before.

With the advent of COVID19, our lifestyles have undergone huge changes. For many of us modern professionals, working from home was a privilege that our respective firms offer once in a while. But with this being our reality now, working from home seems to have a high list of benefits that sway the argument of “Work from Home vs Work from Office” in its favour.

As the word suggests, slow food is in every way opposite to fast food. The slow food movement started in the 1980s in Rome, when a group of protestors gathered outside the newly opened franchise of McDonald’s fast-food restaurant and started chanting the slogans “We don’t want fast food, we want slow food.” Soon, the slow food manifesto was signed to escape from the “tediousness” of fast food and give time to enjoying the richness and aromas of local cuisines.

The concept of Rurban Living evolved with the growing need for developing and living in an environment devoid of all the negative aspects of Urban Life

The feeling of our mind settling into a state of calm when we listen to the flowing water in a stream, leaves rustling in the wind or the chirping of birds has been scientifically proven to have a curative effect on our psyche. 

Children have a tendency to hoard, that may include all forms of plastics. Think of the last birthday party you attended. I bet all you can think of are plastic cups and plates, glitter wrapping paper, toys, wasted food, and one or two garbage bags filled with disposable plastic cutlery, none of which are recyclable.

At Organo, sustainability is based on a simple principle: Everything we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. To pursue sustainability is to create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support the present and future generations.

Organo Naandi is the manifestation of Organo’s efforts towards creating a Rurban Eco-habitat based on triple-bottom-line principles. Situated 17km from Hyderabad, Organo Naandi offers sustainable living space, conscious community and opportunities to work with nature and experience a combination of urban refinement and rural ethnicity.

Children and technology – love it or hate it, smart devices are in your children’s lives and they’re here to stay. Offering many great opportunities for more engaged learning, technology helps a child’s progression in subjects that traditionally have had a reputation for struggling to engross pupils, such as math or physics. However, technology has other shameful perks. 

As we are nearing the lockdown period, I have realized that I have suffered a terrible affliction - Nature-Deficit Disorder, which is a phrase coined by Richard Louv to indicate problems arising from restricted access to nature and the lure of electronic devices. It is during times like these, that eco-habitats can confer benefits to its residents which can help maintain physiological and psychological well-being. 

Food miles essentially refers to the distance travelled by our food to reach our plate from the producers. It also refers to the impact it has on the environment by utilising the fossil fuels needed for transportation of the product to reach our retailer. Are there ways through which we could reduce food miles? These are some of the practices that could help us achieve this: 

Covid-19 pandemic has brought to prominence indications that there are higher infection rates per capita in urban areas in comparison to less dense or rural areas. As we can see from various news articles and Covid-19 statistics, high-density metros appear to have higher incidences of Covid-19 when compared to less density or rural areas.

Covid-19 pandemic has brought to prominence the indications that there are higher infection rates per capita in urban areas in comparison to less dense or rural areas. In this case, there is a large body of evidence that shows urban environments have a significant impact on our health. Hence it is more crucial that we relook at Urban environments and Rural environments from sustainability and well-being perspectives apart from the economic perspective. 

Nature forced us to live Life.On.A.Slow.Track and to appreciate simple moments in life. Now is an excellent time to pause and reflect on what we can do better and how we can be better, both as businesses as well as people.

We were living in the heart of the city before moving to Organo Naandi. Almost 10 years of city living as a family. Life in the city was fun too since we were part of a huge community there. And the apparent city comforts, social life, and accessibility to everything made it a cakewalk.

Organo Naandi community members continue to demonstrate the spirit of sustainability. And this is what inspired us to continue building more eco-habitats and create physical infrastructure for families wanting to live more responsibly.

Amenities in a community or neighbourhood are important parts of the social infrastructure. The conveniences are the little details that not only make our life comfortable & healthy but also help in preserving nature and improving social bonding.

After staying in a bustling city filled with smoke, traffic, and pollution for years, an evolved group of doctors had decided to create an ecosystem that produces food and shelter for the residents without resource depletion

Organo took up the challenge of developing eco-habitats in harmony with nature. With the idea of combining the benefits of urban and rural, we created the ‘Rurban’ way of living.

Every home generates both organic and inorganic waste and managing this waste on a daily basis calls for some planning as collection and disposal are integral parts of its management. Waste poses a threat to public health and the environment if it is not stored, collected, and disposed of properly. The perception of waste as an unwanted material with no intrinsic value has dominated attitudes towards disposal.

Sustainability, Biodiversity, Harnessing Natural Resources and Organic Living are the driving principles of Organo. However, it's not just within the community, but Organo has made an impact on the neighboring villages - Aziznagar, Yenkepally and Bakaram - as well.

Two weeks of lockdown have gone past. Most people have been struggling with restricted environments, but I’m quite enjoying this rejuvenating period at home. And the one and only reason for this is that my home is within the eco-habitat we co-created! I dread to imagine how it would have been, had we been living in the dense city! 

The doctors from Nizamabad, who were inspired by the concept of Organo, wanted to have their own nest which could reflect the Rurban life. Rapid urbanisation and loss of safe & green surroundings for their children to grow made them relook at the way they were living. And their search ended at finding Organo that completely mirrored their desires. 

The most interesting synchronism has been Rurban Nest. A group of doctors in Nizamabad was looking out for an organisation that could help build a sustainable community, which essentially is an eco-habitat. As Rumi said, what you seek is seeking you; they reached out to Organo after their intensive search. Now, we are mentoring them to reach their objectives.