Professors Quit Japan to Teach Cheesemaking in Himalayas

Devanshe Chauhan Lidgley and Michael Lidgley spent years teaching at universities in Japan, but their email conversations kept circling back to apples, orchards, and a shared dream of working with their hands in nature.

In 2016, they made the leap. The couple left their professor positions and moved to Devanshe's ancestral property in Rukhla village, Himachal Pradesh, transforming the 75-year-old home into Himalayan Orchard, a homestay where guests learn artisanal cheesemaking amid pine forests and fruit trees.

Michael grew up in Britain telling his father he wanted to be a farmer. His dad was upset, so Michael became a teacher instead, spending decades in classrooms across Spain, Italy, North Africa, the Middle East, and Japan. Devanshe grew up spending winter vacations at this very property, playing board games by firelight when the electricity went out for days.

Their paths crossed in Japan, where conversations about Devanshe's inherited apple orchards sparked something deeper. Both realized they'd been dreaming of the same life, one rooted in soil and seasons rather than syllabi.

Today, guests at Himalayan Orchard wake to birdsong from blue whistling thrushes and Himalayan bulbuls. The property grows apples, pears, plums, apricots, and cherries. Everything served at breakfast comes from the land: milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, jams, and even small-batch wines and cider.

The main attraction is a two-day cheesemaking workshop taught by François Laederich, a French artisan who trained in Aurillac before moving to India. Guests learn fermentation, salting, brining, and creating starter cultures. They craft their own batches of gouda, feta, and Himalayan blue cheese, getting their hands into the practical work of caseiculture.

The restoration honored the home's history. The old chullah kitchen became an ensuite bathroom. The hay loft transformed into guest bedrooms. The couple used traditional building methods, keeping the structure's 75-year-old character while making it comfortable for the 12 guests they can host at a time.

Why This Inspires

Devanshe and Michael's story proves it's never too late to choose the life you actually want. They didn't just quit their jobs for a vague dream. They combined Devanshe's inherited land with Michael's lifelong farming aspirations and created something that teaches others while honoring the past.

Their homestay doesn't just offer a vacation. It offers a glimpse into what happens when two people stop talking about their dreams and start planting them, one apple tree and cheese wheel at a time.

Standing amid his orchards today, Michael finally gets to call himself what he always wanted to be: a farmer.