Forget WFH. What If Your Next Office Is In The Forest?
For years, Work From Home was considered the future of work. For years, Work From Home was considered the future of work. Then came hybrid work. Then co-working spaces. Then workations and now Kerala appears to be taking the idea one step further:
Work From Forest: The Next Big Shift. What if you could work from the forest?
The Kerala Forest Development Corporation (KFDC) has introduced a workation programme at Gavi in Pathanamthitta and Suryanelli in Idukki, allowing professionals to work remotely while staying amid forests, mountains and nature. The initiative has been designed around existing forest accommodation rather than new construction and honestly, I find the idea fascinating. Not because everyone needs to escape their office.
But because it says something important about what people increasingly expect from work.
Your Office Could Have Birds Instead Of Boardrooms
The proposition is wonderfully simple. Take your laptop.
Take your meetings. take your deadlines.
And move the entire experience from a conventional office or home workspace to work from forest surroundings. At Gavi, professionals can work surrounded by evergreen forests and the Periyar landscape. Suryanelli offers a very different setting, with high-altitude surroundings, tea plantations and mountain views but this isn’t being positioned as a digital detox.
You are still expected to work. That’s the interesting part. The programme provides specialized setups to work from forest areas seamlessly, including additional power outlets, discussion spaces and outdoor connectivity. Internet connectivity is reportedly around 100 Mbps at Gavi and up to 500 Mbps at Suryanelli, with backup generators to help maintain operations.
So, theoretically, your next Zoom call could happen with a forest outside the window.
The Best Part: Work Ends, And The Forest Begins
This is where the concept becomes more than just another hotel with Wi-Fi. Once the laptop closes, the opportunity to work from forest settings transitions beautifully into guided nature walks, boating, birdwatching, wildlife trails and other outdoor experiences.
That’s a very different proposition from spending three days in a resort while answering emails from the room. The idea is essentially:
Work during the day. Experience nature after work and perhaps that is what a true work from forest experience should actually mean.
₹14,000 For Four Days: Would You Pay?
The reported introductory package is ₹14,000 per room plus applicable taxes for three nights and four days, which works out to roughly ₹7,000 per person when two people share a room to work from forest accommodations. At Gavi, four duplex rooms can accommodate up to eight people, while Suryanelli has three rooms with capacity for up to six.
For an individual freelancer, consultant or remote professional, that’s one proposition. For a company, however, I think there is a much bigger opportunity.
Imagine sending a small creative team to work from forest cabins for four days. Not for a traditional offsite where everyone sits in a conference room and fills Post-it notes.
but for a combination of: Work + brainstorming + nature + team bonding. That could be an interesting corporate offering.
I Think This Is Bigger Than A Tourism Idea Or A Work From Forest Idea
What caught my attention isn’t really the forest.
It is the change in the definition of the workplace. A workplace used to be a physical location. Then technology allowed us to work from home. Then coffee shops became offices. Then co-working spaces became offices.
Now, with reliable connectivity, the choice to work from forest environments shows that location itself is becoming almost irrelevant. Your workplace can potentially be:
- A home
- A café
- A hotel
- A beach
- A mountain
- A forest
The only things you really need to work from forest or anywhere else are connectivity, electricity and a laptop. That is a significant shift.
There Is A Marketing Lesson Here Too
From a marketing perspective, I love how clearly this product can be positioned.
It isn’t simply: “Come stay in Gavi.”
It is: “Change where you work.” That’s a completely different proposition.
The customer isn’t necessarily buying accommodation; they want to work from forest zones to get a change of environment and that distinction matters.
Hotels have traditionally marketed rooms, views, food and facilities. A product built to work from forest areas can market something more emotional:
“Escape your routine without escaping your responsibilities.” That’s a powerful proposition for freelancers, consultants, remote employees, entrepreneurs and creative professionals.
The Bigger Question: Will People Actually Work Better?
That’s something I wouldn’t claim without evidence. A choice to work from forest properties may provide a beautiful environment, but productivity depends on the individual, the type of work, connectivity, distractions and the ability to maintain boundaries. For someone doing creative work, strategic thinking or writing, the chance to work from forest settings may be appealing.
For someone attending meetings continuously from 9 AM to 7 PM, the decision to work from forest locations might simply turn the forest into a beautiful background on Microsoft Teams and that’s perfectly fine too.
Not every initiative to work from forest landscapes needs to transform productivity. Sometimes changing the environment is the benefit itself.
From Work From Home To Work From Anywhere
I think this is where work is heading. We started by asking:
“Can I work from home?” Then:
“Can I work from anywhere?”
The next question may be:
“Where would I actually like to work?”
Kerala’s Work From Forest initiative is an interesting experiment in answering that question. It combines remote work infrastructure with ecotourism and gives professionals an option that sits somewhere between a business trip and a holiday and perhaps that’s the real appeal.
You don’t have to choose between getting work done and getting away. You can take your laptop with you.
Just don’t be surprised if the forest gets more attention than your inbox.
Kerala’s Work From Forest programme at Gavi and Suryanelli
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