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Connecting the Dots: How a Dubai IT Career Became Forest Side Farm
- joshihemanshu
- Mar 14, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 22
"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards." Steve Jobs' words resonate deeply as I reflect on the journey of Forest Side Farm — a story of unexpected turns, unwavering faith, and the serendipitous connections that shaped both my life and this place.
A Phone Call From My Sister, 2011
In 2011, I was living a comfortable life in Dubai, immersed in the world of IT. Owning a sprawling piece of land — let alone becoming a farmer — was as distant as the stars. But life had other plans. One afternoon, my sister Meeta called from India, her voice filled with excitement. She was passing through a picturesque area called Kotabagh, and a beautiful parcel of land was for sale.
I'd never seriously considered land ownership beyond an investment apartment in Delhi-NCR. But something in her voice resonated. "If you think it's good," I told her, "let's buy it." In my mother's name, we acquired the land — a simple decision, made without any grand plan. Just a dot, scattered on the canvas of my life.
The Moment Everything Changed, 2015
Fast forward to December 2015. I arrived in Haldwani after a long journey from Muscat, eager to see my parents. Within hours, my father collapsed, unconscious. The shock was immense — we rushed him to
the hospital, where he was diagnosed with appendicitis and a minor blood clot in his brain. Watching him recover, a realization dawned on me: I needed to be closer to my family.
I returned to Oman, resigned from my established IT career, and moved back to India in February 2016. I initially pursued consultancy in business process and project management, but the response was slow. In the meantime, I found myself drawn back to the land in Kotabagh — a sanctuary amid the uncertainty. I decided to dedicate six months to farming, to explore its possibilities. If it didn't work, I'd return to corporate life.
Learning to Farm From Scratch
I began as a complete novice. I fenced the land, and in July 2017 planted mustard across 14 bighas
(roughly 95,000 sq ft), with no idea about sowing, watering, or harvesting — relying on laborers brought in daily from Haldwani. The harvest arrived in November and sold for a mere ₹12,000. It was humbling. I couldn't fathom how farming families survived on such meager returns. The next two or three seasons yielded similarly thin results.
Driven to understand why, I immersed myself in research — organic farming, permaculture, regenerative agriculture. I found Gopal Upreti ji, an apple orchard owner near Ranikhet, who told me plainly: "Hemanshu, have you ever seen money growing on trees? Go to Himachal Pradesh, where apple farmers thrive." His words sparked a new direction — if apples couldn't grow in Kotabagh's climate, what could?
Building Uttarakhand's First Commercial Avocado Orchard
We decided to establish the first commercial avocado orchard in Uttarakhand. My father's former student, Dr. B.P. Srinivas at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Bangalore, connected me to Dr.
Karunakaran at the Indian Horticulture Research Institute, who in turn introduced me to Mr. Sekhar Nagarajan in Tamil Nadu. In October 2017, I traveled to Kodaikanal and purchased 180 avocado plants of a local variety, TKD 1. My inexperience slowed their growth, but the guava trees I'd also planted thrived — a glimmer of hope.
I found the Facebook groups "Seed to Soil" and "Permaculture India," which became invaluable — a community of people sailing the same boat, united by a shared passion for clean food and a sustainable life. From those experiences, one philosophy took hold: diversification. Rather than betting on a single crop, I began building a portfolio of complementary plants and practices.
What the Farm Has Grown Into
Forest Side Farm today has over 600 trees across 30 fruit varieties, providing a year-round harvest, alongside pulses and spices like turmeric, ginger, and coriander, and herbs including chamomile and lemongrass. Turmeric, chamomile, and honey from our own hives are the farm's cash crops today.
To build a genuinely sustainable ecosystem around all of this, we introduced a farm stay for guests seeking a quieter pace amid nature — since recognized by Condé Nast Traveller and The Better India as a place worth visiting near Jim Corbett.
The dots, once scattered, have connected into something we didn't originally plan for — proof, mostly, that trusting your gut and following through is usually enough. The decision to actually leave corporate life behind is its own separate story — this one is about how the land itself came to be, years before that decision was made.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Forest Side Farm start?
Answer: It began in 2011 when the founder's sister spotted a parcel of land for sale in Kotabagh, Uttarakhand, while he was working in IT in Dubai. The land sat mostly dormant until 2016, when a family health emergency prompted a permanent move back to India and a shift toward farming it directly.
What was the first crop grown at Forest Side Farm?
Answer: Mustard, planted across 14 bighas in July 2017 — the harvest sold for approximately ₹12,000, a humbling early result that pushed a deeper search for a more sustainable approach to farming the land.
Is Forest Side Farm known for a specific crop?
Answer: Yes — it's home to one of Uttarakhand's first commercial avocado orchards, alongside over 600 fruit trees across 30 varieties, turmeric, chamomile, and its own honey.
When did Forest Side Farm become a homestay?
Answer: The farm stay was introduced after the farm itself had developed into a diversified, sustainable ecosystem, as a way to share the land and its produce with visitors seeking a quieter pace.
If a place shaped by this many small, unplanned decisions sounds worth experiencing, get in touch — we're always glad to share more of the story in person.
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