Country: India

Organization: Villageways

Year the initiative began: 2005

Project Website: www.villageways.com

Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions:

• Main barrier addressed: Lack of quality assurance
• Main insight addressed: Incorporate sustainable practices

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What is the goal of your innovation?
To create a community-based sustainable tourism project which would breathe renewed economic life and environmental awareness into remote villages.

How does your approach support or embody geotourism?
We believe that we embody every element of geotourism as following: Environment: • Rubbish disposed responsibly; using filtered water reduces water bottle litter. • Guests walk in small parties, without vehicles. • Mobile phones are used on vibrate mode to maintain the silence of the sanctuary. • Solar power and efficient bokkhari stoves (a traditional fuel-efficient room heating device) reduce fuel needs. • Toilets for guests and guides, with safe disposal of effluent. • Villagers cooperate with Forest Department to reduce forest fires and poaching. Culture: Guests are informed about cultural traditions. They enjoy the experience of temporarily becoming part of the villagers’ way of life. Communities encourage this by: ? Serving only traditional cuisine. ? Local mythology & history is shared with the guests with no specific simulation or designed itinerary. Heritage: The Sanctuary is the heritage for our villages. The guests, by admiring the flora and fauna, have made villagers aware of the value of their heritage. Guesthouses were built in traditional-style to retain architectural heritage. Well being of Residents: Our guiding principle is Benefiting the Local Community. We empower villagers by providing training (as guides, house-managers, cooks, book-keepers), resulting in an economic revival, improved living standard and enhanced self-respect. New income opportunities enable many to abandon menial city jobs to return to their villages to live the life they love.

Describe your approach in detial. How is it innovative?
Our approach is founded on a true partnership between the villagers and the company. It is a Sustainable Community-Based Responsible Rural Tourism project. Walking Holidays could easily have been achieved through an external trained workforce, purchase of land and building houses: we intentionally avoided this approach. Instead, Village Ways opted for a partnership approach. Our energies focused on negotiations with communities, as self-respecting partners in the venture. They agreed to provide land and build their own guesthouses, aided by our grants and loans. Five villages around the Binsar Sanctuary agreed to join the pilot program after a year of intense dialogue. The villagers unanimously created Village Tourism Committees (Gram Paryatan Samitis – GPSs) with an average size of 8-10 members representing a majority of families in the village. The GPSs in partnership with Village Ways formalize operational procedures including community ownership of the house, responsibilities for managing accommodation, providing walking guests and contributing to a village development fund. Village Ways has given the village committees training, financial support and encouragement, as well as developing sources of potential guests. In turn, the Committees have built a traditional-style guest house in each village, which they own and manage, providing accommodation exclusively for Village Ways guests. A representation of 2-3 members from each GPS formed an apex Tourism Development Committee (Paryatan Vikas Samiti – PVS) to facilitate planning, coordination and monitoring of all the GPSs. The monthly meetings of GPSs and the PVS provide a platform for an open dialogue between the village committees and the Village Ways management wherein everyone is encouraged to contribute their ideas, share their experiences and resolve problems in a participative manner. The Village Ways management involves the village committees in any policy-making for the company.

What types of partnerships or professional developement would be most beneficial in spearding your innovation?
After the success of the pilot project in Binsar, Villageways is now willing to spread the benefits from its mode of operation to more areas. Villageways seeks partnerships with individuals/ organizations that are associated with community mobilization. So that, we may introduce through example a truly community based tourism project which has succeeded. We are happy to collaborate with any such existing or prospective projects which are based on the same guiding principles of Villageways. Villageways has found that community based tourism is being driven by the guests who want holidays which benefit a community and is responsible towards its environment. To find this niche market Villageways is seeking professional development in terms of marketing.

In one sentence describe what kind of impact, change, or reform your approach is intended to achieve.
Through Community Based Responsible Rural Tourism, Villageways intends to provide sustainable economic livelihoods to the people based in the remote areas of the world.

Describe the degree of success of your approach to date. Clearly define how you measure quantitative and qualitative impact in terms of how your approach contributes to the sustainability or enhancement of local culture, environment, heritage, or aesthetics? How does your approach minimize negative impacts?
Uniting and revitalising isolated communities in five villages by developing a Walking Holiday product. By motivating tourism committees, establishing eco guest-houses and assuring a flow of guests, we have successfully encouraged communities to cooperate, share experiences, generate new income and develop pride in their heritage. They now have common interests in conserving their own environment and culture, and appreciate the value of conserving bio-diversity in the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary. Some of the measures that define our success are: • Since Oct 2006, about 150 guests visited the villages and we already have advance bookings extending to April 2009.Many past guests have even made repeat bookings. • By providing a source of sustainable income, Villageways prevented the abandoning of village and relocation to town for Village Saatri inhabitants. • Sources of employment were created as guides (12 senior guides+ 10 in-trainings and application forms waiting), house managers (15x 5 villages), book-keepers (2 x 5 villages), etc. Elders in the villages are vocal about their praise for Villageways to have brought their children back from cities. • Warden of Forest department at one of our PVS meetings said-“Wildlife has increased and wood smuggling has declined.” He thanked Villageways for improving liaison between his department and the villagers which has helped in increasing the awareness levels. We also try to minimize the negative impact of rapid economic growth by educating them during the PVS meetings with financial advice. Village Development Fund is a village specific fund owned by the respective GPSs and the source of this fund is a fixed percentage of the per guest income earned by the GPS. This initiative of developing a fund reflects their understanding towards judicious use of money.

How does your program promote traveler enthusiasm, satisfaction, and engagement with the locale?
Our holidays appeal to a segment of people who seek a holiday that benefits local communities. Although our publicity articles introduce the concepts of Villageways to guests, their interaction with villagers reassures them of the project’s community involvement - the driving force behind their commitment to this kind of holiday. All guests admire our concept, whereby they directly interact with communities and witness the walks being managed by villagers at every level. The GPS using villagers for different functions on rotation basis for maximum participation and for equity in benefit. The guests appreciate that the holiday price does benefit the local people. Our guests are enthused and usually emotionally charged by their engagement with the local people.

In what ways are local residents actively involved in your innovation, including participation and community input? How has the community responded to or benefited from your approach?
Communities are the foundation of Villageways’ operations; they supported the project from inception. Village Development Committees (GPSs), represented by members of each family, manage activities in partner villages: • Constructing guesthouses • Assisting neighbouring villages with carpenters, masons, etc. • Hiring guesthouse staff (cooks, porters, book-keepers, etc) • Maintaining walking trails. • Managing Guest stays. • Managing Village Development Funds. A Tourism Development Committee (PVS), represented by members of each GPS, resolves policy issues at monthly meetings. Local Guides are the face of Villageways, confidently walking with guests, explaining their culture and sharing their knowledge of the flora and fauna.

Describe how your innovation helps travelers and local residents better understand the value of the area's cultural and natural heritage, and educates them on local environmental issues. How do you motivate them to act responsibly in their future travel decisions?
The travellers at the time of confirming the booking are sent a comprehensive guidance booklet which describes the cultural sentiments of the people and the traditions of the area. They are also suggested about how they should respect the values and some specific practices which might hurt their sentiments and should be avoided. By benefiting from the Villageways’ Walking Holidays, the villagers have realized the value of Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary. Through various discussions with the guides, GPSs and Villageways self-realization of the value of the environment in which they live and a keen sense of wanting to preserve its pristine beauty so that they may sustain the beauty of these walking holidays for future generations. The entire holiday experience with the villagers at close quarters is so satisfying and enriching that they find that their future choice of holiday would follow the same trend.

Is your initiative financially and organizationally sustainable? If not, what is required to make it so? What is the potential demand for your innovation?
Financial Sustainability: a. Apart from the profits earned in our first year, the forecasts for 08-09 also seem to be very positive. b. Though we are supporting two expansion sites with the current profits but if in future we adopt an aggressive growth strategy we shall then invite more like-minded investors. Organizational Sustainability: a. The framework at Binsar has been stable and well sustainable over the last two years. b. The set up of GPS and PVS promotes a sense of team responsibility and combined ownership towards the project With alarming stress levels in fast city lives, people are increasingly opting for holidays that bring them back to nature, give them peace and also help in channelling a part of their earnings in community development. Hence, we foresee a huge potential demand for our product worldwide.

How is your initiative currently financed? If available, provide information on your finances and organization that could help others. Please list: Annual budget, annual revenue generated, size of part-time, full-time and volunteer staff.
Villageways started with a seed capital of INR 25 Lacs contributed by its seven founder members. The Walking Holiday concept required a traditional style house in each village and to start their construction, • 60% Loan and 40% Grant was given to the GPS from Villageways • MoUs between Villageways and Village committees bind both parties with their responsibilities towards the project. • The villagers invested shramdan/ Voluntary Labour in development of the project. • Annual Revenue Generated (07-08)- INR 64 Lacs Villageways’ Team- FULL-TIME STAFF MEMBERS • Directors- 7 • Employed Staff- 5; Managing Director, Manager - Community Development, Manager- Finance, Managers - Delhi and Binsar Office. • Guides- (12 senior guides+ 10 in-training and application forms waiting) • Office Peons-2 PART-TIME MEMBERS • Public Relations- 1 • Website management-1 Organization • Drivers- About 6 • 4 Volunteers PARTNER VILLAGERS’ TEAM GPS (Village Tourism Committees): Members per village (5 Villages) • President-1 • Vice President-1 • Book-Keeper-1 • House management teams- Two to three groups of 5 members each per village PVS (Tourism Development Committee) • Secretary-1 (Village Ways Staff member) • PVS President-1 • Members- 15+ (fromGPSs)

What is your plan to expand your approach? Please indicate where/how you would like to grow or enhance your innovation, or have others do so.
A successful pilot project has made it easier to make inroads into new areas since we have an established example in place. Recently, we have begun expansions in the Saryu valley of Uttarakhand where the villages were invited on an exposure visit to Binsar to understand the concept. The PVS hosted them with great enthusiasm speaking of the benefits of CBRT. Other lateral expansions have taken us to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and internationally to Ethopia and Thailand. While adopting expansions, Villageways would like to adhere to its guiding principles of benefiting the remote areas of the world through Walking Holidays.

What are the main barriers you encounter in managing, implementing, or replicating your innovation? What barriers keep your program from having greater impact?
Opening dialogue with villagers initially was a hurdle, requiring a year of patient negotiations to gain their trust. Identification of land for leasing to the GPSs was met with suspicion from the owners but though persuasion by the GPS members, the issues were resolved. Committee Formations- Inter-caste dynamics, reluctance to involve women in decision-making and role assignment were the challenges faced initially but were solved through the institutional strength of the GPSs and PVS. Whereas construction of the houses was a physical challenge, the real test remained in maintaining motivational levels over the long gestation period between construction and guest arrivals. The GPSs supported us because we evolved the project with them. Guides are the link between our guests and a world previously unknown to them. Initially, few people volunteered for training as a guide, because they risked leaving employment in the city in the ‘hope’ that a new opportunity would arise at their door-step. Now we have a proficient team of guides: young boys and retired men, with two girls in training. Local youths have put their hearts into rigorous trainings, turning them into efficient guides who not only speak to the guests in English (if required) but also explain to them how proud they are of their villages and the Sanctuary. We strongly believe in our project and the power of communication, which enabled us to motivate communities to understand this concept. There maybe barriers but none insurmountable.

What is the origin of your innovation? Tell your story.
The concept evolved through experiences of a team from India and the UK, involving a unique combination of expertise in rural tourism, tour operation, rural development, handicraft manufacture and hotel management. All appreciated the beauty of the Kumaon Himalayas and the affection that villagers feel for their homeland, but realized that hill communities were being by-passed by tourism developments and continued to lack economic opportunity. The villagers’ knowledge of Kumaon and traditional skills were in danger of being lost. Many picturesque, traditional-style village houses were in disrepair, being replaced by ‘concrete boxes’. We proposed an innovative approach under which a share of the benefits from tourism would feed directly to village partners. Tourism was the obvious option because the area had the exquisite beauty on offer and it could be applied to provide employment to the local community. We anticipated that this initiative would reduce the need for villagers to migrate to towns for employment, and that local tradition, social structures and the environment would be safeguarded. It was realized that activities would need to be based around a socially-sensitive, quality ‘host’ hotel. For the Binsar pilot project, Mountain Resort, located at Khali Estate in the Binsar Sanctuary near Almora, presented an obvious choice as an initial ‘host hotel’. This delightful family-run hotel has a policy of involving local communities in its operations. Following unsuccessful attempts at seeking donor funding, our team all agreed to establish a commercial company to develop and promote the project as a business venture. In May 2005, Village Ways Private Limited was born and activities commenced on the pilot stage in villages of the wooded Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary. Realising the crucial importance of marketing to ensure the future incomes of our partner villagers, we included international tourism marketing expertise in our team, developed a professional quality website and launched an intensive public relations programme through the quality press. The partnership concept and opportunities to experience village life had an immediate impact on our guests, seeing their holidays as being responsible and offering opportunities to ‘give something back’ to the communities. Our village partners became a vital part of the process, contributing their own ideas for management, monitoring, organisation and financial arrangements, with a vibrant committee system developing. The successful PVS apex body was initiated by our villagers. The villagers introduced their own innovations, such as a museum, an interesting vegetable patch with vegetables intrinsic to Kumaon and equally sharing guest house tasks among residents. Village Development Funds are accumulating, for the benefit of all villagers. The ‘family’ appeal was enhanced by engaging local youths as guides, who proved to have innate understanding of the ecology. Word-of-mouth is a valuable publicity tool. In response to suggestions from our guests, we established a network of advisors comprising former guests who volunteered to respond to queries from potential guests. Seeing the positive impacts on our partner villages, we decided to expand benefits to the wider community, by establishing a Village Ways Charitable Trust to support development initiatives in surrounding villages.

Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers' marketing material.
The Villageways concept was developed by Directors with a unique combination of rural development, hotel management and tourism skills: Keith Virgo: Community-based rural development Consultant, 16 years experience in Uttarakhand, India. Himanshu and Mrs. Manisha Pande: Owners of Mountain Resort, Binsar, a responsible tourism hotel. Richard Hearn: Ex-Chairman of AiTO UK, established InnTravel, one of the largest UK walking tourism companies, international marketing skills. Graham and Mrs. Lucy Edgeley: Agricultural Economist who worked in India. He and his wife run an outbound tourism organization, Casas Cantabricas, in UK. Ratnamala Kapur: Rural handicrafts expert with 20 year’s experience, based in Delhi.

Please write an overview of your project. This text will appear when people scroll over the icon for your entry on the Google map located on teh competition homepage.
Village Ways, a community-based responsible rural tourism company, offers walking holidays in Himalayan villages around Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary. Discerning guests stay in traditional-style guesthouses built, owned and managed by village tourism committees in partner villages. The holiday encompass walking from one village to another, staying overnight in comfort at guest houses owned and managed by village committees, enjoying local cuisine prepared by village cooks and interacting with villagers. Local guides accompany guests to explain with pride the environment and culture. A strong sense of local ownership favours sustainability. Village Ways has developed a form of tourism that builds on local resources and channels income directly into local villages, which provides positive economic upliftment, and raises their awareness of environmental and social issues. Village Ways undertakes international and domestic marketing to maintain a flow of guest. This is a crucial, requiring on-going press and web-based promotion, supplemented by word-of-mouth recommendations. A careful balance is needed: not too many guests or the level of personal service in the villages declines, but sufficient to maintain the villagers’ commitment. With the guiding principles of Villageways we wish to leave a pebble in the field of community development of remote areas.

Contact Information
Mrs. Ratnamala Kapur
Director
Villageways
5 Jaipur Estate, FF, Nizamuddin East, New Delhi
ratnamala.kapur@villageways.com