Baramati Agritourism Centre:A Fruitful Excursion

Agritourism is a new concept.It serves to educate urban people about agriculture and also provides jobs and education to rural people.The Baramati Agritourism Centre is located in Malegaon village near Baramati.My uncle Sujit Das told us about the place.It is a 3 hr drive from Pune and is managed by Pandurang Taware and promoted by the Pawar family.It's a wonderful place for an excursion as it takes us back to nature.


This centre has introduced new concepts such as biological method of insect control as shown above, Green House(Israeli technology) to help maximum production from agriculture,Sugarcane planting by tissue culture method and plantation of Rosa glandulifera to counteract cancer

When we arrived we were seated in the cool area below coconut trees and served Poha which was soft,savory and filling.Birds chirped in the background while we took our bites.Some days they serve upma or sheera.



Maharashtrian food is served.For lunch there was jowar or bajra bhakri, chapattis, rice, varan, pickle, papad, bhaji, thecha, wangiche bharit, jhunka/ pitla, green vegetable and sprouts or usal.This you can have while sitting on the ground on "paats" or on stools.

The centre has a goat farm

and a sheep farm...

and cows which are Holstein Frezien and Jersey as well as crossbreeds.Dairy farming is taught to farmers and milking of cows explained to us.

Emus are bred as they are healthier in terms of their fat content.
Emu eggs are large!
We went on tractor rides and bullock cart rides

That way one sees the fruit plantations such as grapes,chikoos,mangoes,lemons,figs and coconut

Maize,sugarcane and wheat is grown.

The drip irrigation method is used and percolation tanks serve to store water.

There is a mulberry plantation on which silk worms produce silk

The whole procress of making a silk saree is explained.

This is a great place to take children too.At an impressionable age,they can learn about fruits,vegetables and grains and this can help inculcate healthy eating habits and also encourage them to be outdoors in the sunshine rather than in front of television or video games.

In winter this place organises "Hurda picking" tours for which luxury buses are organized from Pune to Baramati.Hurda are corn cobs.They also have village folk dances,music and games such as Kabaddi,Gotya and Vili Danda.We went to a sugarcane factory close by and saw the process by which this daily ingredient is made.We had to skip the Jaggery making unit tour as we had no time.They do have simple accomodation to stay in,overnight.One can also view schools there and have a look at the Gram Panchayat system.

It was truly a learning experience.Back to nature for sustenance! A taste of the village life!!

Agri Tourism Development Corporation,Karnik Heritage,FC Road,Deccan Gymkhana,Pune 4
Telephone:02025535599