This unique Indian village with 500 people has no kitchen due to a rare tradition, it is located in...

Among the basic needs of a home is its kitchen, as it is a place to prepare food to feed everyone in the family. However, can one imagine a house without a kitchen? This is exactly how every house is in a village in Gujarat. The western Indian state has a unique village which has homes sans kitchens. So now the question arises, how do villagers here feed their stomachs? Well, the answer is really surprising. The village of Chandanki has a unique culture of shared values, as people here have close ties and are community driven.

Why is Chandanki village unique?

In Chandanki, a village in Gujarat, none of the families cook in their own homes and it is due to a tradition which every family in Chandanki follows. All the families come together for community meals. They sit and eat together variety of Gujarati traditional dishes. All the people of the village come together to a place and eat their food. This system has been developed due to another unique feature of the village. Chandanki has a largely elderly population as the younger generation left the village for better job opportunities in other cities or abroad.

Here rural communities face the challenge of supporting their senior citizen population. Mostly, citizens aged between 55 and 85 populate the village due to the mass exodus of youth. According to a report by Times of India, Chandanki was a bustling village with 1,100 residents at one time, but it now houses a robust community of around 500 people, most of whom are elderly persons.

How do people in Chandanki have meals?

The villagers can consume two meals of the day for nominal charges. The meals are cooked by cooks which the youth of the village have arranged so that the elderly women, who might be suffering with illnesses, do not take the burden of cooking. The arrangement also helps in combating the lonliness which plagues the village. At least 35-40 villagers eat meals in a solar-powered AC community hall.