Profile Community Members

1. Roopesh Rai:

Roopesh is our founder and mentor. His ideas always have a fine blend of social equity and business both and that’s what makes his endeavors sustainable. He has this uncanny ability to understand future trends and come up with ideas which are in sync with time. He is also one of the founders of an impact organization – The Green People. This organization has successfully been able to bring meaningful and positive changes in the lives of some villages in Garwahl as well as Kumaon regions of the State of Uttarakhand.

He was one of the pre-opening team members of Taj Safari – a safari product offered by Taj group of hotels in Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh. He has worked with Intercontinental Hotels, Taj Group Hotels and Thomas Cook in senior sales and marketing positions.

Roopesh believes that there’s always an ‘idea’ in ‘idealism’ and he wears his idealism on his sleeves without fear or apology. Deeply affected by the scenes of death and destruction after the cloudburst at Kedarnath, he walked away from his‘working life’ — at Taj Hotels and Thomas Cook (India) — “to do something pro-climate, pro-people, and for profit”. But although his initial experiments of creating a brand of local goats' cheese ran aground in Uttarakhand — now infamous for outmigration, with over 1,800 ‘ghost villages’ — he didn’t stop looking for a “social engineering solution that also made good business sense”. Somewhere along the way, he started a company that now runs community-friendly farm retreats and homestays in eight Goat Villages, helped revive the traditional, climate-proof koti banal architecture, and began selling farm products under the ‘Bakri Chaap’ label. But what caught the imagination of young urban travellers in particular, was our Pay As You Like model, and the curious invitation to a Bakri Swayamvar (or a call for suitors for nanny goats). But that’s a story for another day!

Roopesh is a resident of Noida and keeps travelling to Uattarakhand quite often.

2. Mani Mahesh Aurora:

Mani started his career as a radio jockey having been a voice of 92.7 BIG FM and All India Radio. His journey with The Green People started as a trekker, followed by boarding as a volunteer and eventually transforming into a co-founder.

Mani has been quite innovative in his marketing ideas and has been a focused professional. You will never miss his sense of affection and concern towards his people.

Mani is a disciplined practitioner of meditation and has got a spiritual bent of mind. No wonder he is currently based in Rishikesh – the yoga capital of the world.Though he has a quite and calm demeanor his passion speaks louder. Mani has also worked with the Time of India in Delhi.

3. Rachna Dushyant Singh:

Rachna has done her M.Phil in linguistics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.She has travelled to Hongkng for her teaching assignments at Baptist College which is affiliated to University of Hongkong. She writes on cultural and women’s issues on travel magazines. She has delivered lectures on communication skills at Ministry Tourism, Government of India.

While studying in JNU she worked with children in slums and this experience made her realize importance of education. In 2000 she started a rural women’s organization ‘The Agency for Non- Konventional Urban Rural Initiatives – ANKURI’ – www.ankuri.org. ANKURI was started as an informal village women’s group, within a year ANKURI became a catalyst to seven self-help groups felicitating micro credits and lending for community members. Through ANKURI rural women are trained in different skills like knitting ,weaving, spinning, embroidery, quilting, tie and dye, batik, paper making, hand block printing etc. Some of the key objectives of ANKURI are skill development, employment generation, creating artisans, rural education, promotion of organic farming, animal husbandry etc.

Rachna also runs a homestay in Dehradun and has keen interest in the English language.

4. Sanjeev Kamdar:

Sanjeev Kamdar is a renowned Chartered Accountant from Mumbai and is a senior partner in Kamdar, Patil and Desai – a notable chartered accountancy firm in the financial capital of India.

Though he practices chartered accountancy for living his heart and soul always lives in hills. He owns a small little quaint homestay by the name of Seegreen Birding Lodge at a place called Hathipano near Mussoorie in Uttarakhand. He often escapes to this place to fix his nature deficit disorder. His love for nature and cleanliness makes him participate in various cleanliness and anti-plastic drives in the hills.

He is the missing link of the Mad House to Mud House gang – he is our financial engineer. His vast knowledge of company affairs and corporate governance gives us a peace of mind with matters regards to company law and compliance.

5. Ishaan Sharma:

Ishan likes to call himself ‘an accidental Mechanical Engineer’. He runs a group of enthusiastic bikers in Noida known as Royal Enfield Club Noida. During last 5 years he and his gang have explored various terrains of Northern India on their Royal Enfield bikes. Ishan is a keen learner of sustainability and is quite to eager to contribute. Through the virtue of his family owned business he has been an entrepreneur too.

Ishan is one of our young turks.

6. Abhinav Singh: Abhinav is an Environmental Engineer from mind and Environmental Conservationist from heart.

He secured his Masters from BIT Mesra in 2011 and started working in the fields of Renewable Energy in the upper Himalyan region. After getting a call from IIT Delhi he worked there as a Project Associate and soon was elavated as as an Assistant Professor job in an University in Delhi NCR.

Soon he realized that publishing papers is not helping him in healing the mother earth so quit the job to pursue his passion where he can " Create an ecosystem where nothing goes waste".He believes that permaculture is the quintessence not only for the rejuvenation of environment but also for the bonding of one's soul with mother nature.

Abhinav brings a different energy to this group. He is the second notable youg turk of the group and one of the founders actually. Abhinav is based out of Lucknow.

7. Meenam Malhotra:

Based out of New Delhi. Army family background. A Science Post Graduate. Profession wise, served in managerial positions in a leading nationalized bank (BOI) for over two decades.Post early retirement, worked in the area of Public Relations and as Volunteer with various NGO's and other organizations.Presently dedicated full time to taking forward the cause of MHMH.

Her Skills highlights are Management, Liasoning, Public Relations, Communications and Social Networking. She believes she is a People's Person, having their welfare at heart, always.

Meenam is an ardent traveler, nature lover, photographer and takes pride in the diverse cultures and heritage of Rural India, therefore so much in tune with the Mission and Vision of MHMH.

She believes that travel enriches and empowers people and interacting with different kinds of people enriches and empowers life.

8. Ravi Singh:

Ravi is a passionately creative hospitality professional & ecopreneur with keen business acumen. He holds 20 years of rich experience across sales, operation, hotel pre-opening and management functions. He is an innovative, hands on practitioner & always leads from the front to deliver across management needs. Adept at strategic planning with team management expertise he is a real peoples pilot. His motivation, training skills and HR management skills converge to add sales and marketing edge. He is a hyper networker and has worked across hotels like Inter Continental Hotel Group, Royal Orchid Hotels, Sarovar Hotels and Resorts, Marriott & Taj Hotels.He has got a certification in Hospitality Business Acumen.

Ravi is also a passionate educationist, social worker & yoga enthusiast.

9. Gaurav Tiwari:

Gaurav is an IIT BHU (B. Tech) & Warwick Business School (MBA) alumni, residing and working in the UK. He is a keen & purposeful traveler, having experienced culture & humanity of 20 countries across 4 continents. He patronizes financially-inclusive & sustainable business models that bring joy to all stakeholders & provide the best value to shareholders.

10. Kunal Mehra:

Kunal has been a passionate traveler and loves to explore. He claims to have seen life from both ends of the spectrum. He has been a thrill seeker and "where to next' is his funda in life. So, it goes without saying that he is always busy planning the next trip. He has been grateful to life for all it has given him till today. Focusing on positives rather than negatives is his attitude. He believes every failure has an opportunity in it. He has been an ardent follower of Sadguru and practices Yoga religiously.

Professionally Kunal belongs to Hotel and Travel Industry. As a millennial he has always been motivated to take up new challenges. He has managed the operations of a resort in the village of Nathua Khan (Uttarakhand) which is at the foothills of Panchachuli Peaks. This organization’s aim was to generate employment, creating learning experiences and opportunities and driving the culture of hospitality amongst the locals. He has also worked with different organizations like Kuoni, Sita travels (Logistics Manager Sita) LPTI, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Imperial Hotel and Radisson Malhipalpur. In 2017 he formed his own venture called 3B Travels. Kunal has also been helping NASA in their expedition called Spaceword Bound in Ladhakh.

Trust based relationships and customer delight are his focus and he wants to share the joy of travelling with the rest of the world.

11. Amrita Mangat:

Amrita comes from the land five rivers – Punjab. Her love for farms and agriculture is natural given her Punjab connection. She has been a catalyst to a few renowned farmers collectives in Punjab. We think her initiatives can make an उड़तापंजाब a जुड़तापजं ाब.. The most fascinating initiative of Amrita is a movement in Punjab called millet movement. This movement has been conducting millet awareness programs across Punjab for farmers as well as consumers and has been impactful.

She keeps hopping between Punjab and Canada because she is also an Indian representative of many Canadian Universities.

12. Ankur Rastogi:

Ankur has been one of the finest professionals in India in luxury segment of hospitality sales and marketing. He can easily be rated as one of the finest brains in this country in this field. He has worked with some of the finest hospitality brands in the USA and Australia. After the incident of 9/11 he had to return to India. After his repatriation he has successfully turned around many dead hospitality products in Goa. He has been credited of morphing Alila Diva from a non descript property without a beach to most sought after destination wedding address in Goa. Presently he has been working with Hyatt International in a senior sales and marketing position.

13. Meenaxi Mense:

Meenaxi is a proud grand-daughter of a devoted Gandhian from Belgaum and she herself has volunteered at Gandhiji's Sevagram Ashram at Vardha a few times. Her grandfather's teachings have had a deep impact on her and she wants to take his legacy forward. A freedom fighter and a farmer who her grandfather was - always taught her that 'one should learn to grow his own food'. Meenaxi believes in this idea and is keen on farming. She has worked in their farms during her childhood. She is quite conscious about environment and believes in one of Gandhiji's quotes 'earth has enough to cater for man's need but not man's greed'. She is an ex NCC cadet too. Giving back to the society is in genes of Meenaxi due to the teachings she has got from her ‘Annai’.e. her grandfather.

Meenaxi is a science graduate and her specialization were physics and electronics. She has worked in organisations like JP Morgan Chase and Ocwen Financial Solutions. She currently resides in Belgaum in Karnataka. She has lived in cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.

She also likes to make things from waste material and this hobby of hers matches with our principle of minimalism. She is fond of cooking, traveling, reading and writing.

14. Dr. Vikas Porwal:

Dr. Vikas Porwal has done his PhD in Physics and currently has been working as a scientist with Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) - the prmier defence research and development organisation of the Government of India.

He is based at Dehradun and he likes to call it as his base camp for his Himalayan Voyages. Dr. Porwal has been an avid trekker and a traveler. He has travelled extensively across Himalayas and has developed a network of friends in the mountains. He calls himself 'a himalayan explorer' posseses sound knowledge of Himalayan history, geography, geology, literature (travelogues), flora (medicinal plants, herbs), pilgrimage (temple architecture and their religious / mythological significance), yoga, ayurveda, and cultural aspects (customs, traditions, fairs and festivals, folk music, songs and dances, folklores etc).

He got introduced to Mad House to Mud House through Mr. Gaurav Tiwari who has already been a member. Dr. Porwal believes that this is path breaking initiative and this idea is close to his heart. His vast knowledge of Himalayas, his army friends in the mountains and his rich travel experience are assets for us.

15. Ritu Makhija:

Ritu has been certified by GSTC (Global Sustainable Tourism Council) for attending their training in sustainable tourism. She has been currently pursuing her M.Sc. Responsible Tourism from Leeds Beckett University, UK.

Ritu comes from Travel and Tourism industry and she has handled corporate travel and events too. Her last full time assignment was with The British School, helping organize and budget travel and events. She has also worked sell Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart for 3 consecutive years. She has been currently working with NPO- Toftigers – whose prime focus is to bring awareness about sustainable tourism through their certification campaigns, workshops and events in the travel community.

Ritu is a versatile professional and has the knack of handling functions ranging from business development to destination management. She believes in the concept of Mad House to Mud House and thinks that this concept is walking the talk of being closer to nature and sustainable rural tourism.

16. Pradeep Tripathi:

He is the founder of Green Yatra| Nature Mentors.

He has created Mumbai’s 1st man made urban dense forest. So far, he and his team has protected and saved over millions of trees and planted over half million trees including 10+ Urban Forests PAN India with 90%+ survival rate. Currently he is dedicated to #10CroreTREESby2025 across India along with & Ecosystem (Air, Water, Soil) Rejuvenation.

He has been awarded with under 40 inspirational environmentalist in India by The New Indian Express in 2019, Rex Karmaveer Chakra Award, World CSR Congress: 51 GLOBAL GREEN LEADER, Green Hero by Nargis Dutt Foundation, CWAT, ECOMO and I Love Mumbai.

Pradeep is a new generation Naturepreneur and environmental consultant, working with a dream to make rural India, the economic hub of of our country. He believes and practices modern technologies and innovation with Indian ancient wisdom and methodologies in the field of agriculture, farming, plantation and agro-farming. He practices chemical Free Plantation, Agriculture and Natural farming e.g. Miyawaki Urban Forestation, all Season Fruits Forest, Backyard Tiny Forest and Multi-Layer Fruits Forest, Cluster & Trench Plantation, Low cost Agroforestry, Urban Farming, Multilayer Natural & Cash crops Farming and Revival of #Degraded land and Water Bodies.

Pradeep is an avid reader, spiritual & motivational speaker, traveller, spiritual/truth seeker. He is a passionate Nature and animal lover and loves to explore art, culture, music and less travelled places

He is trying to make this beautiful Earth sustainable, GREENER and better place to live for all. His all ventures are focused on creating a better and sustainable world. Pradeep keeps travelling across India and currently lives at a place called Bhayandar near Mumbai.

17. Sachin Aphale:

Sachin has studied commerce, management, marketing and journalism. Currently he has been working as a freelancing digital marketing consultant. He has been managing business development of a digital marketing company. Professionally Sachin likes to call himself as a customers’ partner. Customer service, customer relations management and marketing are Sachin’s area of work and interest. In his previous assignments he has successfully handled projects to improve customer satisfaction scores of a telecom customer service and has helped in customer retentions too.

Sachin has been associated with Mad House to Mud House because it has the potential to create social equity and can be beneficial to people in rural India. He has a strong sense of social responsibility and so volunteers in different endeavors. Rural Education is the field which interests Sachin most and he wants to see quality education and skill based traininng being imparted in children from villages.

He lives at a place called Vasai near Mumbai. Sachin loves to travel, read, write and listen to music.

18. Neeraj: Neeraj completed his schooling in the beautiful town of Nainital of Kumaon region in the state of Uttarakhand. He has been an engineering graduate and has done masters in HR and Finance. Hailing from one of the most beautiful places in Kumaon hills, Neeraj has travelled extensively across India .

Neeraj has a compassionate heart and he is on a mission to improve and uplift the lives of people in the Kumaon region. He has also been keen to adopt a remote village in Kumaon to improve the quality of lives of habitants through education and enhancing their agro products. Neeraj also organizes camps to educate rural children with his friends and he wants to see quality education being imparted into rural India. He does believe that Mad House to Mud House has potential to bring about sustainable growth in rural India and he aspires to become catalyst to this development. With his friendships across Kumaon, his lovefor the region and his passion for their well-being, he naturally becomes a key felicitator of Mad House to Mud House in Kumaon. Neeraj also owns a piece of land in there and he has been developing dwellings too. On agricultural land he wants to grow kiwis and organic products in future.

It goes without saying that he has been passionate about nature, flora and fauna. Neeraj has also been an avid reader and writer.

19. Dr. Col.(Retd.) Narendra Kumar:

Hailing from Jabalpur, Col Narendra Kumar, chose to settle down in Greater Noida (NCR) permanently. His father was in the Army, so his schooling spread over six different cities of north and central India. This second generation veteran, had illustrious career with the Indian Army of 31 long years. He was a ground soldier who firmly believed in leading from the front, hence completed his command mostly in the field areas. He worked in 3 top Defence communication projects of national importance. It mainly involved fielding of state-of-the-art communication and Data networks from IB to the hinterlands. As Network Advisor, he automated the functioning of Ordinance Depots as part of Materials Management project (SAP implementation of whole supply chain).

Apart from ground soldiering, Col. Narendra Kumar has an impressive track record as academician. He is an alumnus of GEC Jabalpur, PAU Ludhiana, IIT Madras and IMA Dehradun. He holds a Ph.D. in digital computer communications. During M.Tech. at IIT Madras, his cell-design for Microprocessor was so photo sensitive that it was adopted for space application. After superannuation, he has been Director of 4 elite University / Engineering Institutes, besides 5 teaching tenures of graduate & PG courses & 3 research & development assignments mentoring scholars of prestigious higher educational institutions.

Though electronic communications is this scholar- soldier's core area of expertise he also has very keen interest in civil works and has an expertise in building dwellings using material sourced locally. He holds expertise in design & development of clean, green, low cost & energy efficient houses, Accelerated growth & better yield of farm produce and materials management & SAP implementation.

He has been inspired by the work of our founders and has associated himself with Mad House to Mud House, because he wants to help create means of livelihood in rural India and improve the ecology of the region. These endeavors - he believes - will help him in his self-actualization goals. His hobbies include Reading, Writing, Cooking & Transcendental meditation.

20. Sachin Vaish:

Sachin Vaish has done his MBA in Marketing and Finance and has worked for 20 years with different telecom companies in India. He was one of the instrumental professionals who looked after the launch of Tata Docomo and Reliance Jio telecom networks in India. Sachin's core expertise lies in managing large projects and operations. He believes that customers must be provided the same quality and level ofservice which we as customers expect from an enterprise.

Sachin has lived in Mumbai and recently has shifted to Noida. Though he has been living in a metro city his heart beats for rural India. In fact, his primary education happened in a village. He believes that there is enough potential in India in agriculture, eco-tourism, medicinal plants and flowers. Sachin has interest in rural development and has some implementable ideas which can make a rural citizen self-reliant through business opportunities and training. After corporate career of 20 long years Sachin has realized that now he should follow his heart and the desire to contribute towards rural India makes him join Mad House to Mud House.

Sachin also has great interest in fashion, art and cultural heritage.

21. Bharat Kinger:

Bharat was born and brought up in Delhi and he resides in Delhi too. His father was employed by the department of tourism and that helped him shape his career and life. Bharat in fact says that 'tourism' has been a buzzword in his family. In 1996 Bharat became an accredited regional level tour guide for northern India. Bharat has done post-graduation in population stastics and social welfare. He has also studied history and political sciences as personal endeavors with great zeal. Bharat Says "So if my dad's career shaped my life, I took it to the next level of understanding by embracing the cultural, social, ethnic and spiritual magnificence of my country. The magic of India is unparalleled, with her most amazing natural beauty as well as history of more than 5000 years; the linguistic richness, the exuberance of festivals and varied heritage".

Bharat believes that next phase of tourism will be long term holidays with sustainability and he believes that rural tourism is the next big phenomena. Bharat has vast reservoir of experience and a large network of tourists across the world. He has worked withorganizations like Imperial Hotels, en Tours , Luxe India LPTI, A& K , Banyan, Mikato , TCI Distant Frontiers. Bharat thinks that by leveraging his contacts across different countries he can showcase Madhouse to Mudhouse at global stage and make our reputation international.

Bharat is an avid yoga practitioner and has attended a few workshops of Isha Foundation. He will be a certified Yoga trainer soon too. He has been associated with many NGOs dedicated to environment, child welfare and elderly care.

22. Varun Dhand:

Varun is an enterprising millennial based in Dehradun and his presence brings a different energy to our group altogether. Varun was born and brought up in Dehradun. Post school, he relocated to Mumbai to study Hospitality and graduated from IHMCTAN, Mumbai in Bsc. in Hospitality and Hotel Administration. During his three years in Mumbai, he literally explored the city on foot. Everybody has their own set of teachers in life. One of his most prominent teachers has been traveling. He ventured into solo travels a couple of times which in turn made him curious for unknown things and instilled an absence of fear which is a great attribute to have.

Post graduation, he came back to Dehradun to fulfil his father's ambition to build a high performance banquet resort which is unique and best in class. He says, “I have strived, cried, laughed and bled (not literally).”

He entered HVS South Asia as a consultant and started working at their head office based out of Gurgaon. There he learnt about the nuances of consulting and valuation. Worked on a couple of feasibility studies for major hotels throughout India. He continued his journey to work for one of the biggest names in Indian Hospitality Industry. A person named Deepika Arora who has taken up leadership roles in one of the biggest hotel chains in the world. As her associate he started helping her in all sorts of tasks related to a new hospitality startup named Rosakue that she co-founded. I worked on business development projects, market study, operational audit amongst other things.

Currently he is working at his own banquet resort, actively volunteering at Green People (Involved in multiple spheres), he has launched a cheesemaking start-up called Happy Goats which makes and sells goat and cow cheeses, planning to launch a venture along with his girl-friend which develops and markets environmentally sustainable products.

On the personal development front, he learnt the art and discipline of meditation from a 10-day Vipassanna course he attended last year. He loves to do camping (takes his dogs along with him), biking and exercising.

23. Sunita Kudle:

She’s the Inn Keeper of La Villa Bethany, a multiple award winning boutique home stay in the Himalaya.

She’s a postgraduate in Hospitality Management along with a MBA in Marketing and Green belt in Six Sigma, having a total of 23 years of Hoteliering Experience. She has worked within the government as well as the private sector. While working with ITDC, Sunita’s had the good fortune of serving three Prime Ministers and two Royals as their personal valet. She was part of the opening team of the ITC Grand Maratha Sheraton Hotel, Mumbai where she managed three F&B outlets.

At ITC Maurya, Sunita managed the 72 room premium block of ITC One rooms as well as the two roof top restaurants. She then moved to Sales & Marketing and worked with Corporates, Airlines, Government Concerns as well as Inbound and Domestic Leisure Segments. Her last assignment with ITC Hotels was with International Marketing Division taking care of in-bound leisure tourists.

In 2010, Sunita and her husband moved to Landour permanently and run one of on India’s most awarded sustainable boutique home stay called La Villa Bethany. After the Uttarakhand floods of 2013, Sunita & her husband Amarjeet, through the generous contribution of their guests, worked extensively in the Thatyur Area near Mussoorie and impacted the lives of several hundred families. They ensured long term sustainable livelihood for these villagers by distributing live stock, sewing machines, solar cookers and teaching them organic farming, seed banking, contour trenching and livestock management.

Sunita is currently the Secretary of KEEN, an NGO which is at the forefront of waste management in the town of Mussoorie and Landour taking care of door to door garbage collection, segregation and disposal for the entire town. KEEN currently employs over 140 people and works hand in hand with Nagar Palika Parishad, Mussoorie. She also works closely with the Forest Department to ensure that the Department is a safe work place for Women and is part of the Committee to check Sexual Harassment at Work in the Mussoorie Forest Department.

Sunita is a recipient of the prestigious REX Karmaveer Jyoti Puraskar which is awarded by the International Confederation of NGOs in association with the United Nations.

She is passionate about History, gardening and making a difference.

24. Sommaya Singh:

Sommaya aspire to have his own organic and sustainable farm stay in near future in Uttarakhand. Being born in Roorkee and raised in areas around Roorkee, he always had a bias towards Uttarakhand but more so towards the simple life of villages as he come from a family of farmers. Passively, he is still farming his lands in his paternal village in UP.

To align his professional goals with his personal goals, he has moved from completing his Masters in Wine from Brodeux to starting his own wine imports venture in Karnataka to building one of India's biggest online movie & events ticketing platform for Paytm to building innovative cashless payment solutions for events industry to organizing multiple international cricket tournaments, IPL seasons, multiple events/concerts of international and national repute to finally aligning himself in travel industry with India's biggest travel firm MakeMyTrip as a Product Manager for Holidays business where he is managing & making strategy for India, Nepal, Bhutan & Sri Lanka.

He wants to move to his farm-stay and educate in schools of rural areas while utilizing his expertise to create suitable economic yet sustainable opportunities for the local communities in any way possible.

25. Purabi Sarkar:

Ms. Purabi Sarkar has a Masters degree in Computer Science & IT and Masters in Business Administration from Indian Institute of Management (IIM ) and possess more than 8 years of industry and consulting experience of working with organizations like Pricewaterhouse Coopers,General Electric,TCS and more. She specializes in strategy,marketing and entrepreneurship skills, techniques of alternative livelihoods and other methodologies.

She was also one of the founder directors of a pan India NGO Association of Organic Farmers which works at grassroot level with farmers, Self help groups, food value and nutrition, alternative livelihoods, organic food value, market strategy, supply chain techniques, sustainable agriculture, seed banks, education, entrepreneurship strategies and more.Her achievements includeserving inn many initiatives of reducing carbon footprints, breast cancer, eradicating malnutrition,leprosy and tribal students educational initiatives.

She also pursues teaching by being a guest faculty for strategic management, value chain analysis , microcredit, capacity building ,entrepreneurship ,leadership at various organizations NI-MSME,IIM and various other institutions. She is also part of few research and development projects.

Currently she is also pursuing consulting with State Administration of Uttarakhand, Pithoragarh to help in handholding of different self-helpgroups, establishing value chain for their products,market linkage,market research,MSP validation,quality control and thereby help in sustainable livelihoods in different remote villages.She is also trying to help in ecotourism and sustainable development over there in village homestays development, resurrecting the ancient heritage and route related to KailashMansarovar yatra .

Currently the director of Tirambhapur Askote Raj Ecosystem Pvt Ltd at Pithoragarh.

Needles to say that she has the right exposure to both grassroot and parachute i.e. urban and rural ecosystems in the capacity of management consultant. You have an important role to play in this spaceship moving towards our utopian green planet.

26. Dr Reeti:

Dr. Reeti is a medical practitioner based in Delhi and has worked in many govt and private hospitals, particularly in the development sector (NGO). She started working in NGOs and has served as Director of an international NGO and currently supports health of children orphanages across India and provides palliative care for cancer patients in Delhi. Dr Reeti and her husband also work through telemedicine in order to provide health services to patients in remote areas. We both are passionate about serving the underserved and even explored many remote areas in our zest towards our goal. They also plan to settle down in the Kumaon hills as she belongs to Almora and has been well aware that the health services in the region are poor in terms of both quality and accessibility. Hence they take keen interest in the work of Mad House to Mud House as health professionals and believe that they could play an important role in developing sustainable living in rural and hard to reach communities.

27. Rita Seth:

Her journey of life started in the midst of a lot of natural beauty, plants and trees, hills and a river bank and hence the love for nature. This community of 10,000 residents had people connected in an informal and helpful way, walking into each other’s homes, strengthened her belief in human relationships.

A Science student, with an interest in fine arts, she graduated from St. Xavier’s Mumbai. Presently settled in Gurgaon, she and her husband work in the social sector, Mental health and Tobacco control. Her son is in the hospitality industry and a fitness enthusiast. Her daughter and son-in-law live in a forest community and grow their own organic, promoting sustainable organic food chains in Canada.

Her interest in human values and human relationships and her exposure to the fact that people with mental illness, continue to live on the fringes of society, encouraged her to start working in the field, along with other families and Sambandh Health Foundation took birth. In Mental Health it works for the empowerment of people with mental illness, their families and to create mental health awareness in schools and communities. The programmes are designed by an international expert in recovery.

Her exposure to Universal Human Values or Jeevan Vidya, in Mussourie, was a life changing experience for her. The learning from this journey is what provided the fertile ground for her to take up the initiative in mental health, where people are seen not as patients but human beings with potential. Having lived in a city for so many years, MHMH to her is an opportunity to reconnect with nature and live in an eco-friendly environment again from time to time. She is preparing to facilitate the universal human values workshops which are interactive in nature. She sees both these as ways of engaging with the people friendly MHMH community.

28. P Ravi

Ravi Padmanabhan, after his stint with top travel and hospitality brands as a successful brand curator, has now shifted his entire focus to promoting rustic village hospitality. His desire to help conserve nature and empower villages with sustainability has found its anvil with the Green People and MHMH group

29. Arpita Nag

Arpita is an artisan cheesemaker & baker based in Kolkata. She makes preservative free, hand crafted cheese with farm fresh milk. She believes in clean & healthy eating and propagates the same in her cheese tasting & pairing sessions and workshops. She is inspired by the global slowfood movement, one that is an antidote to the fast food culture that has engulfed the food scenario everywhere. She believes in locally sourced ingredients and sustainable practices.

Arpita's motive behind joining the MhMh community, is two fold. Mountains and rural life have always fascinated her. In fact, she was quite inspired by her visit to TGV Nag Tibba, a few years ago. She aspires to work with various types of milk, found in abundance in rural areas, as milk from each area is unique, lending a unique taste, flavour & texture to the cheese made from the same. Also, engaging the local community in the same, would be her way of giving back to the society.

She has a Masters in English Literature and a B.ed. However her disillusionment with the education system, propelled her to opt for a career in food, something that she has always been passionate about.

Her hobbies include, travelling, reading, writing and story telling.

30. Saroj Dhyani Saroj Dhyani has completed Masters in environmental science, PG diploma in environmental management along with B. Ed which provides the best academic qualification to be a part of MHMH community. She therefore loves the idea to be a muddy because she believes in the philosophy of MHMH as it caters to the sustainable development of environment, rural area etc. She hails from a very small village of Pauri Garhwal, Uttrakhand & wants to contribute for the overall development of her Village so as to make it more greener and cleaner. To do this, she along with her husband have started planting tress abundantly by motivating villagers to follow in their footsteps. They are also playing a key role in motivating teens of the village to work on proper water management as water resource is a big challenge in the village.

31. Kimberely Kimberley ,is a qualified Chef & horticulturalist who lives in Spiti Valley . She has done combined degree in Asia Pacific Studies / Development Studies &a Permaculture design certificate (teaches about natural buildings). She has an experience of natural building workshops & volunteering work on same. Apart from that she is working to conserve the diverse vernacular architecture of India & helps run a small hotel in Spiti with her boyfriend Karan which gives an inside perspective/ meaningful journey through the valley. Their approach towards nature & sustainable living resonates with MHMH values. Along with this they also have a small organic shop to promote the traditional produce and handicrafts . Both are currently in the process of establishing an online presence for the local community to promote their home stays.

32. Vishnu Kumar

Vishnu Kumar hails from a village called Shimbhupura, Nagaur District, Rajasthan. He has an agricultural land which his mother manages .Farming is dependent on monsoons as water is scarce in other season. Vishnu has done LLB from Patiala.

He is conscious and very vocal about environmental and grassroots issues & therefore sees "Mad House to Mud House" project as an opportunity, for an rural environmental enthusiasts to which he can significantly contribute as he is well experienced in how to make villages a self sufficient entity.

Vishnu currently works in ONGC as an Assistant Legal Adviser at Karaikal Facility, Puducherry.He is interested in environmental laws & working for betterment of rural society (especially rural areas surrounding his own village).

33. Peridhi Bhandari

Peridhi runs a firm ‘Molyar’ which has successfully completed multiple hospitality, residential and commercial projects in Goa, Delhi and Uttrakhand.

Peridhi believes that life is all but a constant quest of expression and nothing says more about us than the spaces we occupy. Her quest of enabling people to express themselves through their spaces lead her to leave her corporate job at McKinsey and Co to pursue her passion of Interior Designing which eventually helped in forming “Sushant School of Design” .This eclectic background has helped her to understand the clients and help them “Live Your Style”.

She is environment & planet conscious & therefore adds as another feather to “Mad house to Mud house” flock.

34. Varun Chamadiya

Varun is an innovator from Satna, Madhya Pradesh His mantra in life is to empower people & believes in bringing about a holistic improvement to the lives of others. Through his venture "Proactive I", Varun has been helping people in the fields of business, personal finance, relationships, career, health and self discovery.

For the past 10 years, he has been training individuals, families and corporate professionals across India and abroad through his workshops. Over the years, he has successfully created quite a few social initiatives. A humanitarian at heart, Varun upholds the idea of a "reciprocative society". His "Proactive Foundation" is a non-profit organisation that works towards the greater good and giving back to the society at large.

35. Sachin Bajpai

Sachin is a graduate in engineering and marketer and entrepreneur by profession. He has several years of experience in the area of digital marketing. He is the co-founder of "DigitalPlus24×7.com", a tech based startup specializing in digital marketing for the healthcare and hospitality sector. Sachin has also co-founded "Smoke & Dough", a unique dining experience in Liverpool, U.K. Sachin has previously worked with brands like Red Hot and Dominos (U.K) lending his marketing expertise. Currently based out of United Kingdom, he is a passionate marathon runner and an enthusiastic traveller. His non- profit outfit ROOTS supports the education of the girl child in Uttarakhand and also aids the National Health Services, U.K.

36. Ripan Dhawan:

Ripan is a pioneer in the field of travel and tourism with a career spanning over 30 years. His company "Earthen Experiences" has been curating unconventional experiences for travellers across the Indian subcontinent. Ripan believes in showcasing the diversity of India and her neighbouring nations through the wide gamut of landscapes, cultures, cuisines, handicrafts and ethnicities. He upholds the idea of responsible tourism by generating employment for locals and collaborating with small scale rural and semi-urban artisans. An avid reader, adventurer and a foodie, Ripan is always open to experiencing new cultures.

37. Sivakumar Thulasidoss

Sivakumar is based out of Singapore. After nearly 2 decades in the tech industry , he ventured into entrepreneurship , has 2 ventures one each in business experts network and healthtech focused on providing accessible, affordable remote healthcare. Shiva and his wife - Nirupma are mountain lovers and they along with their teen daughter - Arsheya have spent a large part of their leisure in various parts of Himalayas exploring nature in its rawest , trekking and spending time with local ecosystems . They are also believers and followers of innumerable powers of nature in healing and sustainance. In their home they diligently strive to follow practices of energy conservation and plastic reduction. Their daughter drives several Environmental and service initiatives in her school ecosystem.

38. Shally Makin Shally has experience of over 9 years in Marketing and Branding Communications. She creates content for multiple brands as a consultant to build thought leadership and increase brand awareness. She has demonstrated abilities in conducting special events, marketing plans, and devising brand building activities. Her passion project involves a community called RootsVida where she consults and offers tailor-made travel experiences for group and individuals. At RootsVida, she curates travel experiences by choosing exotic locations, adventure activities, music, sharing circles to rewire the participant's brain to experience joy. In a world where people believe in having stalwart careers, she believes in being mindful of what we are. She likes travelling to live new cultures and meet people from different demographics. Her typical day goes into connecting with people, hearing their stories and understanding their unique perspectives about life. She documents her perspective and learnings through her blog on www.RootsVida.com.

39. Ashok Mehra

Ashok is a Chartered Accountant by profession with diverse experience of over four decades. He was the Senior Executive Director in Eicher and Group Chief Executive in Bausch & Lomb India and Sakata Inx Ltd. He has complete faith in the youth of the country and their ability to drive innovation and growth for the nation. Over the years he has mentored and invested in a number of starups including some tech startups. An avid reader, writer and traveller, his articles feature regularly in various journals. He has keen interest in History and environmental issues. He believes in human relationships and is constantly involved in social networking. What attracted him to MHMH is it's vision of building a pan Indian community that will work towards holistic rural development.

40. Darryl D'souza -S100 Darryl is a story that has inspired millions of people across the globe. His recuperation from fourteen years of sickness in just one year by using integreted natural therapies to a state of complete well-being is a reminder to us all, to lead healthier lives. Darryl is the author of 'Become Healthy or Extinct' on curing chronic illnesses with integreted natural therapies has a readership in close to 200 countries. He has served as the Secretary of The World United - Doctors and Healers Association for five years. He conducts disease reversal as well as spiritual workshops across India.He hosts platforms and events for doctors, healers and therapists to help them work in synergy. Darryl is also an organic farmer, an environmentalist, a TEDx speaker, founder of Earth Keepers Connect, ambassador of Vegan Nation, convener of The New Earth Summit and a speaker at The World Parliaments on Spirituality.

41. Anupama Krishnan-M100 Anupama is a graphic designer who is at the helm of a team in a leading publishing house. Weary of city life, she wishes to be a part of MHMH in order to get closer to nature. Anupama also has been a farm volunteer at The Goat Village, Nag Tibba, about 5 years ago. Her skill set includes designing, communication & team management.

42. Alan Da Silva S-100 Alan wears many a hat. He is a script writer, a producer, and a director of independent films and documentaries. With a background in English Literature and Journalism, Alan has over a decade's experience in script writing. He started his career in journalism seamlessly shifting to script writing and copywriting for ad agencies, to satiate his creative thirst. Gradually, he started making short films for corporate communications and human resource development. His production house 'Corporate Corridor' offers 360 degree communication solutions through corporate films, AVs, TV commercials, content development, product promos, etc. His clients include Godrej, Mahindra, Voltas, Saint Gobain and many more. An avid biker, Alan has ridden to various parts of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra, Spiti and Ladakh. Currently he is based out of Mumbai.

43. Chandra Bhushan Kumar- S100 Chandrabhushan is a teacher based in Kolrahiya, Muzaffarnagar, Bihar. Born into a farmer family, he could relate to the exploitation faced by small farmers and hence used his progressive farming knowledge to uplift the local economy. What prompted him to bring about this mini revolution in the agrarian community, was the mass migration of villagers from his surrounding villages due to lack of employment. Bhushanji has helped locals with canopy, compost and water management to successfully produce different varieties of mangoes. He believes that value added products from primary produce of crops can generate a huge scope for employment, thus boosting the economy in a holistic manner. With a MA in Economics and a PhD in Agricultural Marketing, he is a true visionary who became 'vocal for local' long before it became a fad. According to him, all you need to run a startup venture is an entrepreneur spirit and the readiness to take the plunge. You will eventually learn to swim, if you have the patience to keep afloat.