carbonneutraltourism.co.uk

The Watershed Organisation Trust’s (WOTR) objective is to find ways to yield more sustainable livelihood opportunities through rural-tourism and other responsible tourism activities with protection of the natural and cultural resource base.

Kohane village comprises of 778 odd residents. Their main occupation is agriculture / farming. They have their own unique way of celebrating festivities and are proud of their tribal culture. Their value system inculcated within, talks about being close to Mother Nature.

Inviting visitors to their villages is a way to not only help the local economy and contribute to raising funds for cultural and conservation activities, but also to raise community esteem for these assets.

Tribal culture can often lose its meaning to tourism; the sacredness of many rituals and dances are abused for the consumption of tourists and religious festivals are made more ostentatious to impress outsiders.

WOTR aims to strengthen transparent and democratic decision-making and co-operation in and between the villages, and aim to foster cross-cultural understanding by facilitating discussions between locals and outside visitors. The very presence of tourists is an affirmation for local people that their older tribal culture is of value, and worth preserving.

You arrive at your chosen destination and approach the place you’ll call “home”. Immediately, you’re greeted by the local host who takes you on a quick tour of the facility and finally to your mud house/tent - a spacious, one-room cabin amongst the indigenous foliage. The room has been constructed out of a mixture of local and recyclable materials with a minimal impact on the environment.

There are solar powered lights, composting toilet and the solar lamps just outside your room. During your stay, you dine on meals made with fresh local ingredients. In fact, one day you can spend some time working in the garden, gathering vegetables for the evening meal. Each day brings a new and rewarding experience, whether it’s trekking, traveling or studying the various flora and fauna of the ecosystems nearby.

 

 

 

tagged Accommodation, India and Watershed Organisation Trust

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 at 7:07 am and is filed under Accommodation, India. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.