Once a vibrant land teeming with life, now scarred by the ravages of progress, Godwar stands as a cautionary tale. Unsustainable tourism, rampant deforestation, industrialisation, and a burgeoning human population have left their mark on this once-thriving region. Yet, amidst the despair, one woman refuses to surrender.
Padmaja Rathore calls Bagheera’s Camp home, nestled amidst the granite outcrops and scrub forests of Jawai in Rajasthan’s Godwar Belt. Unlike most camps in the area, it’s not a typical luxury safari experience carried out at the expense of local life. Instead, it’s a haven dedicated to rewilding and fostering a renewed connection between humans and nature.
A wildlife conservationist and hotelier, Padmaja’s journey into conservation began at an early age, inspired by her parents’ lessons about the lengths people would go to protect their land. Set up in 2009, she started Bagheera’s Camp as a Wildlife Social Enterprise & Community Reserve — a unique fusion of hospitality, learning, and community engagement. This organic wellness camp and homestay serves as a base for skill development courses, employing tribal and low-income groups.
But Padmaja soon realised that merely building a sustainable homestay would not be enough to address the larger issues caused by tourism and industrialisation in the area. “The locals respect the ecosystem; they even worship parts of it. It’s the tourism industry that is encroaching on the land of these animals and plants,” she shares with The Better India.
Reviving an ecosystem
Padmaja and her team started ‘Rewilding Jawai’ to fix the problems caused by drying wetlands. They dug holes in the ground to help keep water underground during dry times. Padmaja’s father, an expert in water management, helped them figure out how to do it right. .
After over a decade of work, Padmaja shares that they have successfully recharged the groundwater levels in Jawai. Studying the local water channels to identify runoff areas, the camp was strategically located on higher ground, with Kishor Sagar lake one level below and Jawai Dam one level lower. The lake, which used to dry up just before summer, now retains water year-round. “Even if it is just a puddle sometimes, it is clear that what we were doing works,” Padmaja says.
Her approach inevitably included soil conservation, wildlife protection, and the promotion of indigenous practices while engaging and empowering local communities. “When people ask me what I do, I say I live,” she reflects, her identity deeply intertwined with her mission.
One of Jawai’s concerns has been the alarming decline of native flora and fauna, including the Indian Bustard, with only a couple of hundred remaining, and a staggering 60% drop in camel populations since 1995. Padmaja understood early on that addressing these critical issues required a multifaceted approach — one that not only conserved wildlife but also restored entire ecosystems.
Healing the land through collaboration
The grasslands, once overrun with invasive plants, were replanted with native species. The region’s revival included the reintroduction of crucial native plants like Rohida, the state plant of Rajasthan, known for its healing properties and federally protected from cutting. Other plants such as Palaash, a natural mosquito repellent, and medicinal trees like Kumatiyo and neem were also replanted to restore the land’s balance.
“These efforts are not about human intervention for intervention’s sake, but rather about allowing nature to heal itself,” she emphasises, with human involvement only when absolutely necessary.
At the heart of this approach lies a collaborative spirit. “The idea comes when you’re alone,” Padmaja says, “but when you start talking to people, they might think you’re mad for taking on something like this. Yet, you’ll find others just as mad, if not more, ready to help you realise a dream.” This sentiment of shared responsibility is reflected in the Raika community’s brave stance during the Godwar Chipko Movement, where they opposed the mining lobby in Rajasthan — an act of defiance in a region where such resistance is rare.
The project also focuses on the preservation of the Indian Sloth Bears and hyenas by practising safe tourism activities along with replantation to help maintain their habitat. Leopards, the only big cat to survive the savannah of Rajasthan, standing on what Padmaja calls the “last green western frontier of India,” are worshipped by the locals. “Man needs to respect the wild first,” she asserts, “because nature knows nothing but respect.”
Bagheera’s Camp itself is a testament to sustainable living. Locally sourced materials and traditional architecture blend seamlessly with the landscape. No invasive flora is introduced in the name of “beautification,” and even the safaris are conducted with a deep respect for nature’s boundaries. Whether it be strict rules around water usage and bright lights or meals made entirely of locally sourced ingredients, a visitor lives just as a local does. “I can not give my guests buckets and buckets of water, because we simply don’t have it,” shares Padmaja.
“It started with a thought that people should be aware of their surroundings and respect all beings around them,” says Ankita Kankriya, who worked with Bagheera’s camp in its early days. “The goal was not to give the tourists a ‘100% ‘experience.’ Instead it was about informing them and educating them about why certain things can be done or why boundaries need to be observed in nature.”
Nurturing the next generation of environmental champions
Padmaja has created a space where luxury resides in the melodies of birdsong and the thrill of spotting a leopard in its natural habitat. In addition to her conservation work, she runs the Raj Dadisa Badan Kanwar School of Self Study, which offers skill training in various fields, including construction, hotel operations, wilderness experiences like birdwatching, photography, and filmmaking.
“While villages have their schools, it’s the hamlets and tribal communities that I’m concerned about,” she says. By focusing on imparting hospitality skills along with basic education to the tribal people and families living below the poverty line, she equips them with the knowledge and skills to become stewards of their environment. It is a reciprocal learning experience, where Padmaja and her team learn from the ancient wisdom of the tribal people, the true custodians of the land for generations.
Murli Menon, author of Environmentally Friendly Poetry, who stayed at Bhagheera’s Camp for an extended period of a month, says, “It was not only an ideal place to write poetry and connect with nature, but also inspiring to see a camp that is so self-sufficient.” Since his visit in 2017, he has been a regular participant in the annual reforestation work at the camp, joining other dedicated environmentalists in their mission to rewild Jawai.
A journey of community engagement and empowerment
In 2018, Padmaja was a TEDx speaker at Bodhi International School, Jodhpur. During her talk, she shared the realities of depleting habitats. The students ended up planting 325 trees, which are now cared for by Rewilding Jawai, under Bagheera’s Camp. “Working with kids and young people is incredibly inspiring because they understand the importance of active participation. This allows people like us, a non governmental, not for profit organisation, to continue doing what we do,” Padmaja shares.
She has worked with over 500 tribal people and has been widely recognised for her efforts. In 2017, Bagheera’s Camp was nominated for the Outlook Responsible Travel Awards and the 14th UNWTO Awards for Innovation in Tourism.
The road hasn’t been easy. There were initial hiccups with funding and the struggle to find a niche in the tourism industry, which often has set expectations of luxury. But Padmaja is a force of nature herself. Remembering the early days when a travel agent asked her why there weren’t any floodlights, attached bathrooms, and ACs blowing in every room, she responded by emphasising that this isn’t a resort but a jungle camp.
Through her projects that employ 99% tribal workers, Padmaja ensures that local communities are not only engaged in but also benefit from conservation activities. “Every penny goes to the tribal people,” she says. Women, in particular, have become leaders in the fight against poaching. Whether it be exercising their right of civic arrest or taking to the streets to protest against the mining lobby, Padmaja describes how women rally together to protect their environment, offsetting the traditional gender dynamics in rural Rajasthan. By employing these women in the camp, teaching them self defence, and educating them, Bhagheera’s camp serves as a means of confidence building and economic empowerment. It provides women with the tools and knowledge to take on leadership roles in conservation and fosters a sense of agency that benefits both wildlife and the broader community.
The story of Bagheera’s Camp is not one of instant gratification; it is about slow and steady work, akin to the patient nurturing of a young sapling. Padmaja’s dream is a contagious one. It is a call to listen to the whispers of the wind through the trees, to feel the cool earth beneath our feet. It’s a call to remember that we are not separate from nature, but integral to it.
As Padmaja herself says, citing the wisdom of her ancestors, “I am greatly inspired by the water conservation systems of Marwar, of Mehrangarh Fort (Jodhpur). Our ancestors managed to carve out a water catchment in a place called ‘Marudhar,’ meaning the land of the dead. They made it livable. We can do it too.” And under the watchful gaze of the Aravalli Hills, Jawai is slowly but surely coming back to life.
Edited by Arunava Banerjee, All images courtesy Padmaja Rathore
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