A note from your host
“Hospitality is just opening your home the same way you open up your heart”
Our dream was to open our world, our ancestral home, to the world. Life in the Sethumadai village had a rhythm and flow to it that was closely linked to nature and the environs around it. After many years of living outside India, in the teeming cities of the world, we decided to return back to look at our precious heritage and restore it to its glory. This dream is now a reality.
Welcome to our home, step back in time.
We and the Laksem Farm Stay offer you an unforgettable experience away from the noise and bustle of city life. Drive through the beautifully lined coconut trees and step into the mud road leading you to the farm. Leave the memory of the tar roads and the concrete jungle and enter a 40 acre home in harmony with nature.
We hope you enjoy your stay and return rejuvenated and restored.
- Ram Mohan
The Architecture
“Architecture is made of memory. The slope of a roof, the shape of a window, the colour of a door, contain the record of the minds that conceived them and the hands that crafted them”
The Walls
One very interesting material used for building the walls is earth cob.
The walls are made using a cob technique that uses a mixture of earth with lime and water. The earth balls are stacked to make a wall and then smoothened to a nice finish. Excessive use of sand is avoided (almost 50%) while plastering the walls.
It's the perfect eco-friendly substance. It's sustainable, cheap, and you get raw material from the garden. It's easy to work with as well. These mud walls are of 2 feet thickness ensuring durability and strength of the structure. These massive walls breathe through its tiny pores and keep the air fresh and healthy. The thermal properties of cob regulate the temperature indoors and thus makes it energy efficient.
The walls are then plastered with mud that further enhances energy efficiency by regulating temperature, humidity and improving air quality. The toxins emitted by use of paint and its derivatives are completely avoided. The mud plaster accentuates the aesthetically built structure with earthy shades, complementing the surroundings.
The Roof
Indigenous palm trees are extensively used for roofing. These abundantly available, sturdy, hard stemmed trees are flexible, resilient and have been known for their age-old participation in the process of construction. Trees aged above 50 years with their high fibrous strength have been carefully chosen.
The Flooring
Oxide, over the years, has significantly contributed in providing luring texture and finishing for surfaces. The warmth and the ambience of this raw material urges one to reconnect with its uniqueness and it also brings an old-world charm to the ambience. The floor and the wall up to the sill have been enhanced with a combination of red and black oxide for the bedroom and a tinge of orange for the bathroom. The lintel has been ornamented with stone, restricting the conventional use of concrete. The combined use of mud and oxide has helped us explore various patterns, colours and imprints while maintaining its elegance.
The Furniture
Our design follows the principles of minimalism by constructing furniture seamlessly along with the wall structure increasing the usability of available space. The intent to build on a landscape by harmlessly refashioning it by sculpting and assembling has resulted in a beautiful and pleasing product that honours life and its surroundings.
The shelves are made of wood. Tanjore paintings adorn the walls. Antique art pieces find a place on the shelves. There are small open lamp size cavities built into the wall bringing the traditional ‘maada villakuu’ back into existence.
