"Everyone come visit our village... extensively decorated with trees and vines"
- From the Santhal tribal song Ale Atu Do
Dularia is surrounded by Santhal 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. In this one-of-a-kind immersion, you will get a vivid taste of this vibrant culture through an enjoyable hands-on learning experience guided by Dularia's village team. This experiential retreat will begin with the unique Santhal tribal flower "Baha" festival, and conclude with the celebration of Holi, the festival of colours.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
CRAFTING WITH THE 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.
PLAYING WITH MUD AND BAMBOO
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 or bamboo building, taught by our local Santhal tribal experts.
VISITING VILLAGES
& MUSEUM
We'll visit the Santhal tribal villages surrounding Dularia, learn about their unique lifestyle and natural building methods, as well as visit an informative museum of Santhal culture nestled within a village.
GATHERING WILD EDIBLE GREENS
Santhals have a centuries long tradition of gathering edible greens that have a variety of medicinal properties. Many of these greens are considered as "weeds" and are totally overlooked in modern society. We'll learn which seasonal wild greens to gather and make delicious and nutritious meals with them under the guidance of our knowledgeable Santhali team members.
LEARNING SANTHALI SONG & DANCE
Santhali culture has a rich tradition of songs and dances, most of them telling stories of their nature-connected lives. We'll learn songs and participate in dances accompanied by drums, flute, and traditional Santhali dancers. We'll also be able to celebrate the Santhali Baha festival- the festival of flowers, towards the beginning of the experience.
ENJOYING 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.
CELEBRATING 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!
This immersive experience will be facilitated by our Dularia village team, Saraswati Murmu Baski, Iti Malo, and Jithu Baski (pictures from left to right). All of them are from surrounding villages and two out of three are from the Santhal tribe. Read more about each of them here.
The Tribal 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!
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As each day of the Tribal 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. We serve two big meals plus fruit, tea and snacks to keep you well-fed and energized for the tasks of the day.
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 fees 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 18,000/-
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 (4 spots available): 2100/-
-
Shared stay in our Earthhome (only 4 spots available, first-come, first serve basis): 6,000/-
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For homestays outside Dularia, please enquire with them directly.​​
All inclusive prices, including food and accommodation:
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In a tent: 25,500/-
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In our Earthhome: 29,400/-
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In the homestay of your choice: 23,400/- 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
