Our Story

Holy Cow was fuelled by a vision that takes its inspiration from travelling in India, many hours sipping chai at festival chai tents and a love of creating decorative opulent spaces.

With a formal background in art/design, vivid imaginations and more time than money we handcrafted the first chai tent over 8months. Around the turn of the century Holy Cow Chai Tent with its exotic trimmings, lavish furnishings and full flavoured chai served freshly brewed emerged – establishing what has become a focal point of many festivals.  We pride ourselves in the environment that we create and in serving a natural authentic full bodied Chai.

Purple, yellow and red are our trade mark colours – symbolising the holistic mergence of the spiritual, intellectual and physical elements. Holy Cow was chosen for its affiliation with India without specific religious ties. In India the cow is revered by all symbolising the nurturing, maternal properties of the mother providing for all in a multitude of ways.  This paralleled with our vision to not only serve Chai but to create a space that is engaging on many levels. The comfort of carpet and cushions nestled amongst a decorative environment of flowing drapes and soft lighting beckons. The aroma of our freshly brewed Chai and home baked delicacies along with the hum of grinding coffee beans is irresistible and the social and musical spontaneity that evolves engages all within its boundaries.

Our commitment to brewing Chai, creating opulent spaces and chasing our dream never faltered and in 2006 we travelled again to India this time to have our second marquee crafted. Its influence like the first drew elements from the bright and highly decorative Rajasthani ceremonial tents. The natural progression in 2007 into hiring marquees has enabled the experience of these highly decorative dwellings to be experienced and enjoyed by a wider range of people. Over the next few years we travelled back to India and to Bali to source materials and to add to our tent and decorative hire repertoire. We now proudly offer for hire several marquees with individual styles and embellishments.

The festival circuit has remained our main focus with established events and supportive connections. From the beginnings at Earthcore the space has evolved and matured to provide a uniquely colourful haven. The inaugural Holy Cow Cabaret, an initiative of talented and enthusiastic staff, began at RSF in 2011. It showcased a diverse array of talent and has grown with the addition of a stage and the emergence of our carnival design. In 2012 we commissioned The Carnival Tent, a red and blue marquee featuring circus elements and lending itself more to the growth of our interest in supporting carnival style performance within the tent.

We are now downsizing after 25 years and returning to our original roots with just operating a Chai Tent