Hindu-inspired eco-village reimagines spiritual life in North Carolina
(RNS) — Businessman Prakash Buchireddy grew up in small villages near Tirupati, India, a hillside pilgrimage site surrounded by lush green mountains and a Hindu temple once known to give potted plants as prasad, or sacred offerings. These self-sustaining villages of his childhood — where cows, chickens, greenhouses and vegetable and fruit gardens provided communities with the nourishment they needed — inspired Buchireddy to start one of his own for the modern American era. He had planned to build his sustainable development company, Sustaino LLC, in his home country but came to a realization in 2021. “Rather than in India, it’s more needed here,” he told RNS. Having lived in the United States for more than 20 years, Buchireddy noticed grocery stores increasingly saturated with what he called “slow poison” — ultraprocessed foods with chemicals and preservatives that can be linked to health issues, he said. As an alternative, Sustaino’s upcoming residential campus in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Vedic Village, aims to provide a lifestyle for those who are craving a slower pace, homegrown food and …
