Given the current haziness of giving back to society, entrepreneurs and business owners need to know that corporate social responsibility doesn’t necessarily have to involve donating and doing charity. Instead, few businesses like Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels, are choosing to give back by supporting their local communities. To Mr. Akhil Anand, Director at Tree of Life, his employees’ dreams matter. Under his guidance, one of his employees, Chotey Lal, who started his journey as a manual worker is now a head chef at one of its properties.

Tree of Life believes in finding success while strengthening the local communities and empowering its employees. They make sure that giving back is a year-round occurrence. They not only keep their business profitable but also make their work meaningful. This makes sure their venture becomes embedded in the ecosystem, scaling deeply. Reflecting on this initiative, Mr. Anand calls it ‘growth in depth’.

“Speaking of empowering our employees, we not only help them dream big but also help them realize far-fetched dreams. This positivity trickles down motivation through our employees and reinforces Tree of Life’s core values,” says Mr. Anand.

To many entrepreneurs, it seems to be a no-win situation that would affect their bottom line. They believe in relentlessly maximizing short-term profits. The need of the hour is to understand the importance of catalyzing change, giving back to the community, caring about its growth, and creating an everlasting effect.

Chef Chotey Lal, now the head chef at Tree of Life Chhota Mahal, Amer, Jaipur started off at the age of 16 as manual worker with the brand. He hails from the small town of Kacherwala, Jaipur. Given an opportunity that later proved to be life-changing for him, he started working as a housekeeping staff which developed his interest in cooking. Soon after, under the supervision of Chef Mahinder and Chef Santosh Chaudhary, he started working as an Assistant chef at Tree of Life, from where his success has been unstoppable. He moved across the various properties of Tree of Life and learned some toothsome cuisines ranging from Continental, North Indian, Chinese, and bakery to name some.

Chef has been in working with the brand for 9 years now and his life has been full of ups and downs. While he was working at the Tree of Life Resort & Spa, Varanasi, he got married and wanted to give up the job to move to Jaipur. However, Mr. Anand gave him an opportunity to take up tandoori cookery at the property in Jaipur which Chef Chotey Lal, has never worked on. He took it as a challenge and excelled in the cuisine. Tree of Life has groomed and guided a manual worker to become a head chef to ensure they have a skill as their asset. Now apart from heading the kitchen at Tree of Life Chhota Mahal, Amer, Jaipur, Chef Chotey Lal is also investing his time in training his juniors in different cuisines and eventually helping them to learn and grow.

“We must have the courage and will to succeed. More so often, failures upset us, but we must have a strong spirit. Mr. Akhil Anand has been a guiding light for me who didn’t give up on me even when I gave up on myself.” says Chef Chotey Lal.

Chef Chotey Lal is proof that every failure and bad times can be outdone only if you keep on moving ahead with the belief that good things are just round the corner.

About Tree of Life Resorts and Hotels:

Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels is a collection of luxury getaway experiences to provide an escape from the daily hustle and bustle of life. The concept behind the chain was to have intimate and serene set ups, close to and yet away from cities. With the ideal environment to reconnect with nature and one’s inner self, Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels is the ultimate rejuvenation destination. Tourism industry legend Himmat Anand had the vision for a small boutique resort which he could also live in and make his retirement home. He spent decades making a name for himself working with industry giants and later decided to move to the slow lane. At the peak of his corporate career, Anand decided it was time to bring his dreams to life. He then set out to create what is today their flagship resort in Jaipur. Currently Tree of Life has 13 beautiful properties across Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.

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