The headquarters of SEARCH has been named ‘Shodh-gram’ (village of quest). It is located in the forest 17 km from the town of Gadchiroli. Shodhgram is a beautiful medley of Mahatma Gandhi’s Sevagram Ashram and a tribal village. Established in 1993, after extensive consultations with the local Gond tribal community, it incorporates and expands on design traditions displaying a unique architecture and ambience. The muddy coloured walls of the buildings are plastered with hand marks, similar to the early tribal houses of the Gond tribe. A temple of Maa Danteshwari, the supreme Goddess of the tribe, stands at the entrance, without whose blessings the tribals consider healing impossible.
Shodhgram spreads over 45 acres distinguished into a 20 bedded hospital, office, residential and agricultural area. The campus also includes guest houses, a research centre, training centre, museum, award hall, training hostel, mess and a full-fledged library of more than 10,000 books and magazines, and has complete WiFi access. The residential complex of 56 houses accommodates a close-knit community of around 100 people. There are two playgrounds for young children and youth for physical activities and a gymnasium.
One of the spectacular attractions of Shodhgram is Padmaja, a pond for ground water conservation. It not only adds to recreation and aesthetics but also supports organic farming carried out in the agricultural area for self sustenance.
