"Everyone come visit our village... extensively decorated with trees and vines"
- From the Santhal tribal song Ale Atu Do
Dularia is surrounded by Santhal and Kora tribal villages, which have a unique nature-connected culture, with seasonal festivals, beautiful handicrafts, a tradition of foraging for food, an ancient system of herbal medicine, and rhythmic songs and dances. It is also centrally located in the land of Birbhum, which is home to many Baul spiritual practitioners known for their deep spiritual practice, melodious songs, and simple lives treading softly on the planet. In this one-of-a-kind immersion, you will get a vivid taste of this vibrant culture through deep-sharing of stories, songs, and enjoyable hands-on learning experiences. This immersion will conclude with the celebration of Holi, the festival of colours, in the traditional way, using all-natural colours made in Dularia.
IN THIS IMMERSION YOU WILL
LEARN ABOUT RICH ADIVASI CULTURES
You'll learn in depth about the Santhal and Kora indigenous tribal cultures surrounding Dularia from Dr. Boro Baski, who grew up in a village just a kilometer away from Dularia, and is an erudite speaker and author on Adivasi communities in India. You'll be able to ask him questions in an interactive manner, listen to him share stories and songs from his culture, and also speak about the effects of colonisation on Adivasi communities.
CRAFT WITH YOUR HANDS
Typical Santhali homes are full of beautiful objects such as brooms, mats, and baskets made from natural materials such as grasses and bamboo. Our Santhal tribal team will teach you the basics of making these handicrafts for a fun and immersive learning experience.
PLAY WITH MUD
Santhali homes are handcrafted with great skill using all natural, local materials such as mud, straw, and bamboo. For those interested, we'll include fun activities of mud plastering taught by our local Santhal tribal experts.
TOUCH UPON THE MYSTICAL BAUL TRADITION
Like Santhal tribal culture, the Baul tradition of Bengal precedes the classical Brahmanical dominance, and worship nature and the body as their sacred temple. Baul is a deeply spiritual path of "sahaj", a simple, spontaneous, natural, path, where song, dance, and walking lightly on the Earth lead to inner realisation. You'll receive a soul-touching introduction to the Baul tradition through songs and deep-sharing with Mahamaya and Tarpan, a spiritual Baul couple.
ENJOY TRIBAL DELICACIES
Each day we'll enjoy delicacies unique to the Santhal tribal culture, cooked outdoors on a wood-fired stove for extra flavour. We'll eat foods you cannot find in any restaurant and have probably never tasted before. We'll join our team in cooking and learn these unique recipes from them.
CELEBRATE HOLI THE NATURAL WAY
We'll wrap up our time together by celebrating Holi, the festival of colours. We'll learn how to make natural colours using plant materials we collect, and then play Holi with self-made colours!
YOUR FACILITATORS
Dr. Boro Baski
Boro Baski works for the community-based organization Ghosaldanga Adibasi Seva Sangha, who are neighbours and long-time collaborators of Dularia. He is co-founder of a non-formal Santhal school, Rolf Schoembs Vidyashram, which takes an innovative approach to the learning needs of economically disadvantaged Santhal village children through play, music, arts, and native language. He is also the founder of the Museum of Santhal Culture, a community museum based in his village Bishnubati. He has a PhD in Social Work, has translated several books, and has written articles on Santhal culture in Indian and international journals. He is a naturally gifted musician and public speaker.
Mahamaya and Tarpan Baul
Mahamaya and Tarpan are a spiritual couple of the Baul tradition, who have an Akhara (practice space) called Sahaj Sanniddya just a couple Kilometres away from Dularia. They are walking a committed path of Baul since the last 14 years. Their Siksha and Diksha Gurus are Sadhan Das Bairagya and Maki Kazumi. Their Sannyas and Siksha Guru is Parboti Baul. They share and teach about the Baul path in their Akhara, which they founded a couple years ago.
Dularia's village team
Dularia's naturally gifted village team represent the cultures of Santiniketan, Santhal, and Kora tribes, and all of them were born and brought up in villages surrounding Dularia. Our members Iti Malo, Ratan Kisku, Fulkoli Mardi, and Dayal Kora will give you a lived, hands-on experience of their culture through village visits, mud plastering, handicrafts, food, and stories.
The Immersion at Dularia was an amazing experience. The warmth and depth of Santhali culture was incredible. We participated in the traditional crafts, cooking weaving, farming, village life in an integrated way. We also heard an inspiring presentation from a local Santhali scholar who even played music for us! I highly recommend the immersion to anyone wanting to learn about connection to place, to land, and to oneself.
—Adam Forbes, Melbourne, Australia
Dularia is a unique initiative unfolding as Sharmishtha brings together people across the globe to learn from and support the age-old legacy of the Santhali people. Dularia is an inseparable part of my vision of a world that I believe is possible!
​
As each day of the Immersion passed, the conversations amongst us warmed our hearts, the handiwork fuelled our imagination and the synergy of togetherness and joy rejuvenated our spirit. We returned as family who were reunited after ages and knew we belonged!
—Reena Ginwala, Himachal, India
FOOD & ACCOMMODATION
We have 3 options for accommodation:
1
Our gorgeous Earthhome (can be shared among four people, available on a first-come, first serve basis)
2
In a tent with bedding provided, pitched in the middle of our food forest. Shared showers and toilets are available on the premises.
3
Any of the surrounding guest-houses. Two options are Panchabati Resort ( 850 m away from Dularia) or Khoai Village Resort (2.7 km away from Dularia).
Meals consist of wholesome vegetarian food containing fresh vegetables and greens harvested from our farm, and cooked on our wood-fired stove in the Santhal tribal or local Bengali tradition.
PRACTICAL DETAILS
DATES
​Mar 01-06, 2026
Arrival is suggested on Mar 01 by 4 PM latest, and departure is around 10 AM on Mar 06. Participants can choose to extend their stay if they wish on prior agreement. This can be a valuable option as the place offers an incredible array of possibilities to explore, with the UNESCO world heritage site Shantiniketan being only 10 Kilometers away. If interested, please enquire for this possibility and the extra costs it will entail.
Last date for registration: Feb 21, 2026
PARTICIPANTS
Min 4 - Max 8
We keep the groups small so that each person can receive plenty of individual attention. Book your spot soon as limited places are available!​​​
COST
100% of the income from this workshop goes to supporting the livelihood of our socio-economically disadvantaged village team members and the local village economy. It also helps us to preserve a fast-disappearing indigenous nature-connected culture.
Tuition fees: INR 20,000/-
Including materials and taxes, excluding food & accommodation. To book your spot, a non-refundable deposit of INR 5,000/- will be required. ​
​
Food: INR 5,400/-
Includes all meals. Vegetarian meals using Santhal tribal recipes will be prepared primarily using organic ingredients from the farm.​​
​​​Accommodation:
-
In a tent with bedding provided (one 2-person tent and one 3-person tent available): 2100/- per person
-
Shared stay in our Earthhome (only 4 spots available, first-come, first serve basis): 6,000/- per person
-
For homestays outside Dularia, please enquire with them directly. Panchabati resort, located a 15-minute walk from Dularia, offers private rooms with attached bathrooms for 1300/- a night as a special offer for Dularia participants. You can also stay with friends in our neighbouring village for 1200/- a night. Please enquire with us for this option if you wish for it. ​​
All inclusive prices, including food and accommodation:
-
In a tent: 27,500/-
-
In our Earthhome: 31,400/-
-
In the homestay of your choice: 25,400/- plus accommodation expenses.
DAILY SCHEDULE
8:00 - 8:30: Breakfast (optionally tea/coffee)​
9:00 - 12:30: Morning session. These sessions will cover the core content of the course. All content will be hands-on.
12:30 - 14:30: Lunch and personal time​​.
14:30 - 17:00: Afternoon session. These sessions will cover the core content of the course. All content will be hands-on. Afternoon tea & snacks will be served.
18:00 - 18: 30: Dinner
18:30 - 21:00: Bon-fire, songs, sharing, relaxation. Participation is optional.
WHERE WE'RE LOCATED
Dularia is located in a rural setting, just ten kilometers away from Shantiniketan, which has been recently recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site for its historical and cultural value. This makes it all the more attractive to visit Dularia and to take a few days extra to visit the surroundings.
HOW TO REACH US
The closest train stations to Dularia are Prantik and Bolpur stations, and the closest airport is Durgapur.
If you want to come by flight, you could fly into Kolkata airport, followed by either a train journey from Howrah/ Sealdah stations to Bolpur/Prantik stations, or take a 4-hour taxi ride directly to Dularia. Alternately, you could fly into Durgapur airport, followed by a 2-hour taxi ride to Dularia. Kolkata has several more flight options than Durgapur does, so both airports have their advantages/disadvantages.
If you want to arrive by train, you can come to Bolpur/Prantik stations, and then take an electric rickshaw (Toto) to Dularia. There are better and faster train connections to Durgapur train
