Village Ways – New Approaches to Sustainable Tourism in Rural India

Village Ways concept of Sustainable Tourism is based on low-impact tourism that supports existing patterns of local village work and life, benefitting the wider community. Sustainability is paramount, with ownership in the hands of local communities and where both the tourists and the villagers are the beneficiaries. Slightly different from the homestay concept where an individual family is involved, Village Ways helps fund the establishment of community-owned and run guesthouses in villages where there is a need for additional income. The village owns and runs the enterprises by forming a village tourism committee. We put cultural exchange and understanding at the heart of the experience. We offer guests the opportunity to visit village homes, work with villagers in their fields, learn local recipes, and explore the villages. A local, trained guide explains the culture, myths, and religion. We encourage the communities to profile their culture. So the actual holiday experience is ‘A privileged opportunity to be part of the lives of the rural communities.

The risk of cultural ‘damage’ is mitigated by our low-key approach – our guest numbers are purposely small, with each community homestay having a capacity of 4 to 8 guests, and guests reservations are rotated so that no one community receives too many.

• We work in villages and communities where the cultural heritage lies largely in the traditions and lifestyles of the people. By encouraging people to remain with their communities, and by helping them find work that allows them to remain there, these communities, with their simple places of worship, and their humble homes, can continue to be communities into the future.
• We started our work in a wildlife-protected area in Binsar. Through Tourism initiatives, we observed a positive change in the attitude of the community towards its surroundings. A sense of pride and protection for the environment has developed in local guides and the committee members, as they now understand the importance of their natural assets, these being appreciated by guests.

Our guests have experienced very satisfying holidays whilst traveling and staying within the careful parameters of responsible tourism in all our villages. The village communities have gained an important new income stream without detriment to their traditional way of life. Both guests and hosts have benefitted and appreciated valuable social contact, which makes this sustainable tourism model a hit among both local and international tourists.

Village Ways, founded in 2006, is a social enterprise focused on developing responsible tourism in partnership with poorer rural communities, in order to sustain village life and culture, improve livelihoods in remote rural areas and reduce the need of outward migration.

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Village Ways works with villages where mainly the following criteria are met:

• There is responsible tourism potential and a market can be identified for it.
• An additional income stream is required in the village communities to enhance livelihoods and reduce poverty.
• Each village community is enthusiastic and able to engage in genuine partnership with Village Ways to achieve mutually agreed objectives and is able to take responsibility at community level in an inclusive and equitable way.

The social purpose of Village Ways play an important commercial role in differentiating the company from other tourism enterprises and in securing public relations and market advantage. The sustainable tourism model helps the communities associated with us and we keep on working to make their livelihood better.

To ensure that the business activities of Village Ways do not move away from the social aims, we set up an advisory council which includes the Founders and is chaired by Dr. Harold Goodwin (Professor Emeritus and  Responsible Tourism Director at the Institute of Place Management at Manchester Metropolitan University, Managing Director of the Responsible Tourism Partnership and adviser to the World Travel Market on its Responsible Tourism programme at WTM London).