The First Living Forest Campus of TodoForest
Ṛtavan.
Canacona, South Goa.
The permanent record of the first campus — the land, the forest, the school, and what is being built here over time.
The Campus
Ṛtavan is five acres of riverfront land in Canacona, South Goa. It is the first Living Forest Campus developed by TodoForest — a place where ecological restoration, classical yoga education, food culture, and community life are being built together on the same ground, as part of the same long-term intention.
This page is the documentary record of the campus. It describes what was here before the work began, what is being developed, what is already active, and how the place is intended to evolve. It will be updated as the campus does.
The Land We Inherited
When Ṛtavan took responsibility for this five-acre site in South Goa, the land was not empty.
It came with over two hundred coconut palms — some planted decades ago — mature mango trees that fruit seasonally, cashew trees that have belonged to this landscape for generations, and a river boundary that brings tidal water to the eastern edge of the property. The soil had been cultivated. The canopy had developed. Birds, insects, and soil organisms had been building their relationships without interruption.
The restoration work at Ṛtavan does not begin with a blank canvas. It begins with an existing ecosystem — one that already has structure, already has relationships, already has a logic. The Miyawaki planting works with and deepens that existing structure, rather than replacing it.
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200+ Coconut Palms
Established coconut trees, some decades old, forming the upper canopy layer and providing the structural foundation for restoration work beneath.
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Mature Mango & Cashew
Fruiting trees that have been part of this land for generations. Integrated into the food forest system. Their root networks contribute to existing soil health.
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River Ecosystem
A tidal river borders the eastern edge — bringing seasonal water, supporting riverside ecology, and connecting the land to a larger hydrological system that shapes what grows here.
We did not create this land.
We inherited responsibility for it.
That distinction shapes everything we do here.
The River
The eastern boundary
is tidal.
The river that runs along the eastern edge of the property is not incidental to the ecology of Ṛtavan — it is constitutive of it. Tidal at this point, it brings seasonal water, fluctuating salinity, and the biology of a connected waterway into the edge of the land.
The riverside vegetation — grasses, riverine shrubs, and the lower canopy of palms that lean toward the water — is being maintained and extended. The river is the eastern teacher. It sets rhythms the campus does not control, and that the campus is not attempting to control.
The Land We Are Becoming
From what exists,
what is being developed.
The development of Ṛtavan works with the land's existing character — deepening what is already present, adding what is missing, and building the infrastructure that makes learning, community, and ecological restoration possible on the same site.
Dense native species planting in designated areas
30,000+ native Goan species per hectare, planted within the existing coconut and fruit tree landscape. A two-year intensive tending period, then left to self-organise. By 2028, the Miyawaki zone becomes self-sustaining — a forest that no longer requires human maintenance to persist.
Expanding existing productive species into a designed system
Existing mango, cashew, and coconut trees are being supplemented with banana, papaya, jackfruit, moringa, turmeric, and native medicinals. Designed for permanence and biodiversity, not commercial production. Food that supplies Gaonfornia Café and the community living here.
Permanent home of Dakshinamurti Yoga School
The yoga shala is operational — integrated into the landscape, designed for daily practice, intensive programs, and teacher training. Open-air and semi-open spaces allow practice in direct contact with the surrounding ecology. The school does not bring nature in as decoration. The school is built within it.
Kitchen, gathering space, and cultural infrastructure
Permanent kitchen and dining facilities using produce from the food forest and within a 20km sourcing radius. The social and cultural centre of Ṛtavan — open to the wider community as well as residents and students. The long table where the campus becomes a community.
Community Spaces
In Development
Living spaces for residents, students, and long-term visitors
Simple, permanent living structures designed for weeks or months of residence — not overnight tourism. Facilities that allow practitioners, restoration workers, and community members to be genuinely present on the land over time, not passing through it.
What Is Already Happening
The campus is
already alive.
Ṛtavan is not a future project. It is a place where things are already underway. The following documents what exists and what is active as of 2026.
Dakshinamurti Yoga School
Daily yoga practice sessions — morning and evening, available to residents and visitors
200-hour teacher training programs — immersive, residential, grounded in classical tradition
Pranayama and philosophy intensives — focused programs within the Hatha and Advaita frameworks
One-on-one instruction — individual practice guidance for serious students
Long-term student residencies — students who stay for months, not days
Seasonal workshops — focused programs in asana, breath, and classical philosophy
The Campus
Food forest actively developing — existing species being extended with native plantings
Miyawaki restoration zone planned and mapped — planting commencing 2026
Riverfront ecology maintained — tidal boundary actively stewarded
Gaonfornia Café under development — kitchen and gathering infrastructure being built
Community stewardship active — volunteers and residents contributing to land care seasonally
Community gatherings — regular events for students, residents, and the wider local community
Why We Believe This Can Work
Three reasons
the project is grounded.
The question every serious visitor should ask is: why should this project succeed when so many similar ones have not? Three answers.
I
An operating school, not a concept.
Dakshinamurti Yoga School has been teaching for years. It has students. It has completed programs. It has a curriculum grounded in a documented classical lineage. We are not proposing to build a yoga school at Ṛtavan. We have brought an existing one here. The track record belongs to Dakshinamurti — and it now anchors the campus.
II
A landscape that already has life.
The land at Ṛtavan was not bare when stewardship began. Two hundred coconut palms. Mature fruiting trees. A river ecosystem. Established soil biology. The Miyawaki restoration is not creating life from nothing — it is deepening life that is already present. The ecological conditions are favourable. The starting point is strong.
III
A method with a documented track record.
Miyawaki reforestation has been implemented across forty million trees in fifteen countries over five decades. Forest campus models — from Schumacher College to Auroville to established monastic institutions — have demonstrated that ecology, education, and community can share the same land over generations. We are adapting proven approaches to a specific piece of land in South Goa. This is not invention. It is application.
Current Phase · 2026–2028
The founding phase.
The work that comes first.
The founding phase of Ṛtavan is the work that must happen before anything else can. This page will be updated as each element is completed.
✦Land Secured
Five acres of riverside land in Canacona, South Goa. Stewardship confirmed. Active.
✦School Operating
Dakshinamurti Yoga School now operating from its permanent campus. Programs active.
✦Food Forest Active
Existing mango, cashew, and coconut systems being extended with native species integration.
◯Gaonfornia Opening
Permanent kitchen and gathering space under development. Opening 2026.
◯Miyawaki Planting
Native forest zone planned and mapped. Dense planting commencing 2026. Self-sustaining by 2028.
◯Community Infrastructure
Living spaces for residents and long-term students. In development.
✦ active or complete · ◯ in development or planned · this record will be updated as the campus develops