Manvendra Singh Shekhawat

Manvendra is a quintessential explorer and a creator at heart. His pursuits lie in experiential tourism, culture conservation, social entrepreneurship, and ecological restoration. His generational thinking, systems approach, creative mindset and perseverance have enabled him and his teams to bring ambitious ideas to life. His hotel ventures - Suryagarh, Jaisalmer, Narendra Bhawan, Bikaner and Mary Budden Estate, Binsar are outliers and have been instrumental in putting these destinations on the luxury tourism map of India. He is currently working on the restoration of forts and palaces with a vision to transform these historical sites into a network of cultural hubs housing multiple cultural enterprises. Manvendra’s family's humble beginnings and entrepreneurial journey have given him many unique perspectives and experiences that allow him to think globally and act at the grassroots level. As a community leader, he has founded and spearheaded The I Love Foundation which forms alliances with local communities to address systemic problems and has undertaken over 60 community projects. These include Jaisalmer's largest cleanliness and conservation drive and launching India's first citizen-airline partnership to strengthen the regional tourism ecosystem. Manvendra's greatest quest now is to innovate the future of livability by designing regenerative habitats that maximize human potential. He spends most of his time on the site of his sandbox project, Dhun, where he is designing a regenerative habitat for 8,500 people. Over the last 11 years, he and his team have transformed 500 acres of barren land into a thriving ecosphere. The land that had less than 30 trees and no water in 2013 now remains transformed with over 300,000 trees including 4 regenerative food forests that grow 60 types of vegetables, fruits and rain-fed crops, and attract 180 types of native and migratory bird species. The land is currently thriving with its newfound water system that can harvest 550 million litres of rainwater, annually. The team is now building an ecosystem of creative enterprises that leverage culture, nature, creativity and technology to create new developmental narratives that bring self-sufficiency and equality of opportunities in the developing world.