Meet the team

Ashwani Kumar

Skilled artisan and chef, specializing in earthen work.

Bhagpati Devi

Helps prepare delicious meals; gardener and natural builder.

Hariyali Devi

Gardener, skilled artisan and mason, knowledgeable about local flora and fauna.

Pushpa Lata Thakur

Manages the kitchen and prepares delicious plant-based meals.

Surveer ('Gilla')

All-rounder member of the building team.

Raj Kumar

Specializes in earthen building, particularly renders and finishing.

Manisha

Prepares nourishing plant-based meals and herbal concoctions

Tanya Ginwala

Psychologist & adventure / nature-based therapist

Tanya (she/her) is a psychologist, experiential educator and adventure and nature-based therapist living in the lower Himalayas of Dharamshala, India. Her prior professional experience ranges from rehabilitation for substance abuse to facilitating inclusive outdoor adventure experiences for persons with disability. She is passionate about the interaction between adventure, nature and mental health and decolonizing understandings of mental health. She is the Co-chair of the International Association of Adventure & Nature-based Therapy. In 2023 she was awarded the Karl Rohnke Creativity Award by the Association for Experiential Education, USA for her efforts in adapting the field of outdoor therapy to the Indian context.

Binita Modi

Psychotherapist & clinical supervisor

Binita (she/her) is a mental health professional holding a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling from Columbia University and brings over a decade of experience working as a psychotherapist and clinical supervisor in the USA, India, and Bangladesh. Anchoring her work in trauma-informed therapy, somatic, arts and nature-based practices, and group facilitation, she has worked with NGOs, schools, and private organisations on issues such as gender-based violence, disaster management, and severe mental health conditions. In addition to her therapeutic work, she currently holds individual and group supervision spaces for mental health professionals, integrating creative reflection, somatic inquiry, and embodied, relational ways of working. Passionate about the outdoors, adventure sports and influenced by Ubuntu philosophy, she blends humour, play and her love for nature in her practice. She enjoys running, hugging trees, exploring new skills, and connecting deeply with children and diverse cultures.

Vipul Shaha

Psychotherapist & nature experience facilitator

Vipul (he/him) is the creator of Mindful Being, a space for holistic education and wellbeing. Vipul is a Psychotherapist, a Yoga-Mindfulness Trainer, an Educator-Facilitator, a Gap-Year Coach, a Youth Mentor and a Nature Experience Facilitator. For over a decade, Vipul has engaged with wide-ranging populations around the world in diverse contexts and capacities. He has worked with Just Being Center, Global Citizen Year, Teach for India and Krishnamurti Foundation. He is a certified Yoga instructor and a regular Vipassana practitioner. Vipul has a master’s degree in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard and an undergraduate degree in Business from Symbiosis.

Tanvi Sehgal

Psychologist

Tanvi (she/her) is a psychologist with a Master’s in Psychoanalytic Developmental Psychology. She has over 10 years of experience working with children and adults. If her work were a river, the tributaries and soil that feed and nourish it would include psychodynamic approaches, a deep commitment to neuroaffirming practices and social justice, as well as movement, art- and play-based therapies, and, of course, our relationship with nature. She currently runs a private practice in Delhi. Tanvi loves the mountains, nature walks with her sister that often end in befriending new creatures, rock climbing, and slowly re-wilding herself. She has found her time in the outdoors to be deeply transformative, and hopes to continue exploring and sharing that with others.

Batul Hussain

Psychologist, Admin & communication support

Batul grew up in Nagpur but her family’s keen love for the forest, horses and being outdoors has shaped how much she enjoys doing all sorts of adventurous things as a grown up. She has completed her masters in Counselling Psychology and is passionate about working in the field from a holistic lens with nature as a co-therapist. She currently practices as a therapist and does offline group events in Nagpur. In her free time, Batul enjoys spending time with her horses, hosting a games night at her place, playing some sports outdoors or trying out new bakeries in town.

Anant Dayal

Guest facilitator

Anant is a modern-day minstrel: a colourfully queer storyteller-musician and educator presently based in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. They derive immense joy from sharing their unique brand of highly interactive musical storytelling with folks who are curious of mind and young of heart. You can usually find them travelling across the Himalayas (& beyond), singing timeless tales of hope, joy, compassion and humanity.