KENWOODS FARMSTAY: AN INTERVIEW WITH DESIREE GONSALVES

We sat down with Desiree Gonsalves, entrepreneur and owner of Kenwoods Farmstay, to discuss what goes into creating a homestay business and her advice for others who want to do the same.

HI DESIREE, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF?

My formal career started and ended as an Associate Professor in St. Andrew’s College, affiliated to Mumbai University. I spent 35 wonderful years teaching students business and marketing, and enjoyed the company of wonderful colleagues.

Much later, a parallel career in interior design started for a lark when a friend visited our new home and insisted I do up hers. I eventually began helping my dad with the house he built on his farm. That's where it all began.

Sadly my dad Ken passed away in 2017 and I was left with the inheritance of his farm that he so loved. With one-way spending, it certainly was a bleeding artery on the monetary front; maintaining a 3.5 acre property isn’t easy.

WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND KENWOODS?

My dad bought the property in 1981. It was a two-hour drive from Mumbai, and as a city businessman who loved the outdoors, he was extremely proud of it. Honestly, my husband and I were horrified when we first saw it. Located on a remote hamlet with just a few rural houses, it was a huge barren plot without any trees.

The area had no power, pumps or bathrooms, and so water was drawn from the nearby lake. It wasn’t an easy beginning. My dad camped on the property, building one room at a time with local help, finally finishing an entire house where we took many wonderful family trips together.

Over the years my dad painstakingly planted every conceivable tree that he could source. Chikoo, mango, bay leaf, drumstick, tamarind, jackfruit, guava, mulberry, lemon, pepper, love apple, even a sour cherry tree. He set up bokashi composting, a Japanese method of vermiculture fermentation, which helped us fertilise the farm.