For nearly a decade, Abhishek Shirsat has lived a peripatetic life. Rescuing snakes and researching their behaviour gave the 27-year-old purpose; so did living close to nature, says the former Mumbaikar. In 2018, on one of his travels, he happened to meet Corrie, a tattoo artist from London, who was visiting India for the first time. “I met Abhishek within 10 days of arriving here,” she recalls in a telephonic interview. The connection, they say, was instant. Where Corrie introduced Abhishek to the arts and helped him discover his creative side, he drew her into the wild, exploring the forests and habitat around it. “I didn’t just fall in love with him, but also India,” says the 30-year-old. It’s perhaps around this time that they decided to further their interests together. But, nothing came of it until last year, when Corrie returned from the UK after a brief separation due to the pandemic-induced lockdowns. The two married soon after, moving into an abandoned home in Jangamwadi, a village 45 minutes from Chiplun in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. This is where they built Pehli Kutia, meaning ‘first house,’ which now functions as the Red Earth Commune, a space where people can “live, collaborate, and create”.

The idea of starting a commune came about while they were redoing the house they had moved into, in December last year. “We always wanted to do something with land—a place where we could build ecological homes, live simply, and have people come over to explore their art practices,” says Corrie. The house in Jangamwadi belongs to Abhishek’s school friend. “Since none of his family members had lived there in 20 years, he offered us the place,” says Abhishek, adding, “The house was in a state of ruin. It had four walls, and the plaster was coming off. There was no electricity either. So, we had to start from scratch.”