‘All We Saw Was Cactus’: How a Couple Turned 2.5 Acres Into a Homestay Growing Its Own Food

A homestay offers visitors accommodation in a home-like setting, often with a closer connection to the hosts and local culture. Devra fits that idea because Jyoti Jasol dreamed of creating a homestay, not simply a lodging business. It matters because the property links hospitality with farming, heritage, and village life.

Devra began with three rooms and was built with Rajasthani stone. Guests can join Jyoti’s heritage cooking classes, visit nearby villages, and experience local life. Much of the food served there comes from the property’s own land, which also grows wheat, vegetables, jowar, methi, and fruit.

Today, Devra is a 10-bedroom heritage homestay. Its identity comes from the land, local craftspeople, home-grown food, and the couple’s long effort to restore a barren plot. That makes it different from a conventional hotel focused mainly on rooms and standard services. Devra offers accommodation as part of a wider cultural and farming experience.

The couple’s original property measured 2.5 acres in Udaipur’s Aravalli hills. Its size gave them room to imagine both a home and a working landscape. The remarkable change is that the land began as a cactus-covered plot but eventually supported fields, fruit trees, and a growing hospitality business.

Devra first welcomed guests in 2004 with three rooms. Local craftspeople helped build the home, including Shivji, who helped construct the structure. The couple also brought loamy soil from Pichola Lake when it dried in summer. They used it to improve the land and plant trees, gradually making the property more productive.

Devra now has 10 bedrooms and is described as a heritage homestay built with Rajasthani stone. Its growth was not just an expansion of rooms. It combined construction, local skills, soil improvement, farming, and Jyoti’s long effort to build relationships with craftspeople. The original acreage became both a guesthouse and a productive home landscape.

The land initially looked barren because cactus was the only visible plant that could grow there. Jyoti recalls that the couple saw cactus when they first visited, while the land did not support the growth of anything else. This explains why turning the property into a garden and farm was such a difficult starting point.

The article does not give a precise scientific reason for the condition. It does not name a particular soil deficiency, erosion process, or climate cause. It only establishes that the plot was poor enough to support cactus but not other plants. Any more specific explanation would go beyond the information provided.

The couple responded by changing the land rather than abandoning the project. They brought nutrient-rich loamy soil from Pichola Lake when it dried in summer. With that soil, they began planting trees and gradually improved the once-barren plot. The result was land that could support crops, vegetables, and fruit for Devra.

Loamy soil helped because it was described as nutrient-rich and gave the barren plot material that could support new plant growth. The article presents this as a practical turning point. Instead of accepting the land’s original condition, the couple added soil and began rebuilding its capacity to grow plants.

They collected the soil from Pichola Lake when the lake dried in summer. After bringing it to the property, they began planting trees. The article does not describe laboratory measurements or a precise farming formula. It shows a gradual process: add better soil, establish trees, and improve the plot over time.

That process changed Devra’s land from a cactus-dominated space into a productive landscape. It now grows wheat, seasonal vegetables, jowar, methi, and fruit, including chikoo. Much of the homestay’s food comes from its own land. The transformation shows how patient soil improvement and planting can support both farming and hospitality.

Devra now produces a varied range of food rather than relying only on purchased supplies. Its crops include wheat, seasonal vegetables, jowar, and methi. The property also grows several fruits and harvests chikoo. This variety reflects how far the land has come from its original condition, when it supported little besides cactus.

The farm is closely tied to the homestay’s kitchen. The article says much of the homestay’s food comes from its own land. That means the property’s restored fields and trees help supply meals for guests, while the land itself becomes part of the visitor experience.

No exact share or percentage is provided, so the amount cannot be measured more precisely from the article. Still, “much” indicates a substantial contribution. Devra combines accommodation with farming, and its home-grown produce can strengthen that connection. Guests can also learn about local food through Jyoti’s heritage cooking classes.

Local people were central to Devra’s creation and continuing operation. Their role went beyond supplying labor for a building. They helped transform Jyoti’s homestay idea into a real home and connected the project with the surrounding community. This made local knowledge and relationships part of Devra’s foundation.

Shivji helped build the structure, while his wife, Rupa Bai, remains part of Devra’s staff. Jyoti also spent years travelling between Delhi and the land, building ties with local craftspeople before Devra welcomed guests in 2004. Their contributions supported both construction and daily hospitality.

Rupa Bai has witnessed how the homestay and the city have changed. Devra’s present form reflects this continuing village connection: a 10-bedroom heritage homestay built with Rajasthani stone, supported by local workers and linked to nearby villages. Guests can visit those villages and experience local life, keeping community relationships central to the stay.

Fertile soil is soil capable of supporting healthy plant growth. The article links Devra’s recovery to adding nutrient-rich loamy soil, planting trees, and gradually improving the once-barren plot. These steps mattered because the original land supported cactus but little else. Restoring soil made the couple’s farming and homestay plans possible.

The clearest example is Pichola Lake soil. When the lake dried in summer, the couple brought its loamy soil to the property. They used it to begin planting trees. Over time, the land also came to grow wheat, seasonal vegetables, jowar, methi, and fruits such as chikoo. The article does not explain every biological process involved.

The current result is a productive landscape that supplies much of Devra’s food. Growing several kinds of crops gives the land a broader role than a single harvest. It supports the kitchen, strengthens the homestay’s connection with farming, and gives guests a direct view of how the property developed.