Sustainability In Tourism A Rural Tourism Model

a Review Report September 2008

Incredible India

The
*

project consists of

distinct

outputs

A Review Report

A Film and
A Dossier

Review Team
Aditi

Chanchanl
Pati

Anuradha

Rosemary Vjswanadi Samar Bosu Mullick Shweta Gaur

Advisory
Nina Rao
Praf

Team

Arvind Lodaya

KVRaju

Film

Team

Chandrasekhar Reddy

Design and Layout

Shashwati B

Illustrations

Vishakha Chanchani

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India/ UNDP India

2G08.

All

rights reserved.

equations
EQUATIONS
to Eocal
is

a research and advocacy organisation working since

in

1985

on the impacts of tourism, particularly

communities.

terms of

rights

and benefits

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1

Sustainability In Tourism
A
Rural Tourism Model

a Review Report EQUATIONS, September 2008

Table of Contents
1.

(Click

on section

title

to view)

Introduction
Contextualising The Endogenous Tourism Project Within Community-based Rural Tourism

01
01 02 03 05

Objectives

And Characteristics

Initial Stages Approach To Implemention

2.

Review Process
Background
Objectives

07
07 07 07 11 12 12

Approach And Methodology Timeframe Challenges And Limitations

Chapter Outline

3.

Tourism
3.1

13
13 13 16

Tourism Context And Development

Site Selection

Expectations Of The Community Linked To Tourists And To Tourism

3.2

Tourism Product, Infrastructure Development And Marketing

18
18 25

The Tourism Product: Creating an Experience - Unique Selling Proposition (USP) Imaging, Competitive Advantage And Tourist Profiles Infrastructure Development
Business Plans
Promotion And Marketing
3.3

36
37

Tourism Impacts Economic Impacts Socio-cultural Impacts

And Environmental Impacts Mechanisms To Assess And Mitigate Tourism Impacts

Ecological

40 40 44 45
47

4. Equity,

Empowerment, Social Justice And Development

And Equity

49
51 52

Social Justice

Empowerment Of Women
Children

And Youth And

Conflicts

Ownership Of The Tourism Project - Community Engagement

Social Tensions

54 55 59

5.

Institution Building
Processes Involved
Structures And Legal Frameworks

63
63 64 66 66 68 68

Roles And Responsibilities

Rules And Regulations

Parallel Institutions

Sustainability of

The

Institutions

6.

Capacity Building
Entry Point Strategy

69
70 70
71

Awareness On Tourism And Development Issues Tourism Linked Skills And Livelihood
Alternative Livelihood Skills
Institutional

Management Skills
Development And Capacity Building Synergies

72 73
76

Infrastructure

7.

Project

Management
& Management

79
80 83 83 84 85 88 89

Institutions - Coordination

Role of District Collector

Convergence Funds And Funds Flow System Role of Implementing Agencies

Role Of Architects
Monitoring, Review, Reflection

8.

Recommendations And Guidelines

Annexures

91
107
107

9.

Annexure 1 Review Framework Annexure 2

List

of Discussions

&

Interviews at various sites

112 115
117

Annexure 3 Tourism Perspective Plan Annexure 4 ETP-baseline-framework Annexure 5 Questionnaire For

Institution Building

124

Annexure 6 Questionnaire For Sustainable Tourism Annexure 7 Questionnaire

-

126 129

Site

Readiness

10.

Acronyms & Abbreviations

130

Introduction

Contextualising The Endogenous Tourism (ETP) Project Within Community-based Rural Tourism
Within the context of community based rural
tourism, the

or invested

in

infrastructure such as schools,

roads,

and

clinics (Spenceley,

2008) 2

Broadly the costs associated with community

Endogenous Tourism
-

Project- Rural
in

based tourism projects includethatthey generate

Tourism

Scheme 1 (ETP-RTS
for

henceforth

the document referred to as ETP) has created

an

opportunity

developing
critical

an

may not be feasible, new conflicts may arise as marginal groups become more empowered while elites gain
high expectations which

overall

components in conceptualising, implementing and managing

understanding of the
tourism projects
Globally,
in rural

greater benefits through networks.

In

addition,
to

despite attempts to

empower communities

areas.
is

benefit from tourism, they are frequently unable

to provide the

standard of service the tourists

community based tourism (CBT)

receiving
attention
of

require (Spenceley, 2008).

It

increasingly
initiatives

as

tourism
is

combine

aspects

community
cultural
itself

noted that the

development,
heritage,

poverty

benefits
alleviation,

level and distribution of depends on many factors including

and conservation. CBT lends

as

the attractiveness of the tourism asset, the

type of operation, the nature and degree of

a window to achieving broader development goals at national, regional and local levels.

community involvement, and whether earnings

become
Community involvement
widely
in

private

income or are

partly or wholly

tourism has been

essential
for

channelled into community projects or other

benefit-spreading mechanisms.

supported
It

as

being

sustainability.

is

emphasised from
business
of

equity,

developmental
perspectives.

and

management
this

The

positives

form

of

tourism are
security,

community ownership,
leakages

livelihood

minimal

&

backward

assessing the broad objectives and methods adopted for CBT initiatives across the world and drawing parallels of it to the ETP, a number of similarities can be observed. In many
While

linkages, efficient conflict resolution, increases

in

ways the ETP

the local population social carrying capacity,

and

improved

conservation.

Revenue
is

from

more ambitious in terms of its developmental goals as compared to many community based tourism projects.
is

tourism reaching the communities

by them,
either split
in

distributed

Firstly,

the ETP
in

is

an innovative response to the

accordance with
all

their

wishes;

agenda

the National Tourism Policy

rural tourism.

2002

between

the inhabitants equally,

towards developing

The Ministry

The Endogenous Tourism Project-Rural Tourism Scheme (ETP-RTS) is a joint project of Government of India-Ministry of Tourism and United Nations Development Programme (Gol-UNDP) to support the rural tourism initiatives of the Gol which would serve to create sustainable livelihood opportunities among low income communities living in rural areas. 2. Spenceley, Dr. Anna (2008), Practical initiatives to responsible tourism in destinations: Community and nature based tourism in South Africa, Presented at the 2nd International Responsible Tourism Conference at Kochi (Kerala), 21-24 March 08.
1.

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

of Tourism

and Culture (MoT) defines

culture

rural

Tourism (National Tourism Policy of 2002) was

tourism as, 'any form of tourism that showcases

the
rural rural
life,

supplemented by United Nations Development

art,

and

heritage

at

Programme

(UNDP)

in

the

spirit

of

the

locations,

thereby

benefiting

the

local

Millennium Development Goals of sustainable

community economically and

and the
locals for a
.

socially

as well

as enabling interaction between the tourists

human development and the elimination of human poverty and inequalities 4 While the
.

more enriching tourism

Leena

primary objective of the project was to focus

experience' 3

According to

Nandan,
Culture,
is

on sustainable livelihoods,

it

extended beyond

Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism

and

the achievement of mere economic objective

of

Government
to

of India, "the

primary objective

employment and
it

income

augmentation,

ensure that the benefits of tourism reach every

putting

on a much larger canvas of community

strata of society- people

who

live in

the rural

based action. This lead the project to aim

at a

areas,

in villages

that have a

USP

for tourism,

convergence of issues

like

sustainable
of

so that the socio-economic benefits of tourism

are received by people
in

livelihoods,

gender

equality,

empowerment

who are not

directly

women, youth and other disadvantaged

of the
sensitivity

section

the framework of tourism. Another aspect

community, and working towards cultural

of rural

tourism

is

what the Ministry

It

calls

and environmental
the

sustainability.

responsible tourism.

is

responsible from the

perspective of the environment; benefits go

to

To

take

endogenous tourism
into

initiative

the community,

of preservation
arts, crafts

and from the point of view and development of traditional

which might otherwise
in

forward,

Government of India,

Ministry of Tourism
in 2003. component

and UNDP came

The MoT was
Tourism

an agreement

and

cultures,

to fund the 'hardware'

have languished
Further, the to the

the remote rural areas."

project

(infrastructure) of the

ETP through the Rural

Scheme

(RTS) and

UNDP

to fund the

Gol-UNDP

document
in

refers

'software'
its

component

(capacity building) under

embedding
2002,
"to

of the
in

ETP

the following

Sustainable Livelihoods programme.

principles articulated
Policy

the National Tourism

synthesise the elements of

civic

Objectives and Characteristics

culture, tourism

and

governance so as

to
...

The

principal objective of the

rural
in

ETP has been

to

achieve greater synergies on

"eliminating poverty, creating
opportunities,

all fronts" and more employment empowering women and other

support the

tourism initiatives of the Gol,

its

as articulated

National Tourism
of

Policy,

2002, through the setting up

alternative

weaker sections, creating new

cultural

skills,

preserving

models

of tourism

which would serve to create

heritage

facilitating

more importantly growth of a more just and fair

It

and

sustainable livelihood opportunities

among

low

income communities
As stated
Gol-UNDP:
in

living in rural areas.

social

order".

went on
fulfil

to

suggest that

if

the project document (2003) of

tourism

was

to

its

promise of being a

transformative agent capable of changing the

"The design of the ETP

is

intended

to validate

minds, values and behaviour of the tourists

number

of hypotheses about the feasibility

and

and the

local

citizen

alike

as well as of

sustainability of

implementing an alternative,
conventional

providing a broad impetus to local

economies
"

transformative model of endogenous tourism

throughout

India,

then tourism needed to be

running parallel
oriented'

to

the

'export

radically altered in design

and concept".
rural

model

that would provide inputs to

The plan

of

promoting

tourism

as a
of

feed into national and state policies on tourism

primary tourism

product by the

Ministry

3. http://tourism.gov.in/ 4. United

accessed on 24

April

2008 2003

Nations Development Programme Project Document of the Government of India,

INTRODUCTION

and provide a framework

in

to

guide investments

disadvantaged

sections
of

of

the community
options

the tourism sector to ensure that they are

through the creation

livelihood

pro-poor,

pro-community and pro-environment".

and managerial
Develop,

responsibilities

produce and market endogenous

The ETP also

guide this
1. Build

clearly defines the objectives that

tourism products that valorise local cultures

initiative:

and
local
level

traditions
local skills

capacity at the

through

Develop
up,

and capacities and

for setting

the establishment of tourism circuits and

involving

running,

managing,

marketing

some

twenty

communities

at
of

alternate tourist enterprises

specific sites

where an

alternative

model

New

entrepreneurial
benefits

arrangements
locally

that
co-

endogenous, community-based sustainable

tourism,
involving

distribute

through

both

domestic

and

operatives and other collaborative

Protect

schemes

international tourists, would be set up on a

pilot

and

preserve

the

environment

basis and then tested and evaluated.

and ecological balance of the country and

ecologically sustainable

2.

Experiment with location specific models of

community
in

tourism
of

enterprise,

engaging
from

Effect a

change

in visitor

and host community

as
a
tourist

gamut

activities

ranging

perceptions
destination

about

India

construction to operation and

marketing,

starting from the core funds of the project

Promote
local

tourism

volunteers
create

from

the
for

and thereby expanding and tourism revenue.

3. Build

visitor stay

duration

areas

and

networks

future nationwide extension

for

strong community-private partnership

through

an enabling environment
of local

the

While the objectives of the ETP clearly focus

dynamic participation
artisans,
local/

communities/

on tourism they are equally linked to social

state

authorities,
in

NGO
up

and

economic

development.

The

Gol-UNDP

and

private

entrepreneurs
efforts
in

setting

Project

Document

clearly locates this project in

and sustaining
in India.

the tourism sector

contextof developmentandsocialjustice, ethics,

sustainable

human development,

elimination of
inequities.

4.

Supportinnovativeand promisingruraltourism
initiatives

poverty, addressing inequalities

and

through the establishment of an

Thus a unique feature and indeed core

of the
links

principle

incentive fund to encourage experimentation,

replication,

ETP

is

to

examine and take further the

conflicting, they

and dissemination

of

experiences
of a Register

between tourism and development. While

are

and

practices;

and a compilation

these twin goals are not

definitely distinct.

of Innovations.
5. Provide inputs to national

They require specific strategies

and state tourism

for

each of them as well as architecting specific

links

policies

based on the detailed evaluation of

strategies for building the

and bridges
In fact,

the
this

feasibility

and

sustainability of extending

between tourism and development.

ETP attempted

the

system nationwide.
with

to test the hypothesis of

whether
in rural

tourism would contribute to development

Backed

these
the

objectives,

the

chief

areas.

characteristics,

ETP

model

would
Initial

encompass were:

Stages
focus of the MoT, through the Rural

Community-led and community-controlled

Create

The

initial

employment opportunities through

and
craft

Tourism

Scheme was on

developing tourism-

rural culture

based

skills

related infrastructure for the local

of local

community

Enhance the value and

resources and
skills

utilisation

that would help promote tourism. However, key

questions were raised on

how the community

Empowerment

of

women, youth and other

was going

to

be assured of benefits through

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

the
built

infrastructure
for

them?

It

that was going to be was recognised that rural

limited

It

was understood broadly

certain
attributes
of

that each site should

have a USP to offer with regard to tourism

-

communities

having

understanding
lack the skills
Further,

culture
for

which
tourist

could

and and and

control of tourism,

often
to

become an experience
benefit the

the

and

resources

to

link

tourism.

interventions linked to capacity development

local

community by means of employment opportunities. Based on primary and secondary

information, the
locations;

institution
if

strengthening would

be

ETP was
(in

initiated first at

31

important
to those

benefits from tourism had to flow

in

Anegundi

Karnataka) was the

most
the

need. Through the course of

linked

32nd and 4 more spice

later
5
.

circuit sites

were added

the

ETP,

tourism

infrastructure

By 2006, the tally stood at 36 sites spread

developed

was
by

supplemented
building

and

across 20 states (as against 20 sites as planned

initially).

complemented
to tourism. This
local

&

strengthening

Out of the 36

sites,

there were 14 sites

capacities of the communities to link themselves

(like

Pochampalli, Jageshwar and Raghurajpur)

was planned through developing

which were already being funded under the RTS

institutions to

manage & take

control,

and where the infrastructure work had been

initiated.

providingopportunitiestoimplementingagencies
to build their capacities,

These

sites

were also then included by

and bringing together

UNDP

as a part of the ETP.

identifying agencies /

specialists

who could

advise and assist on areas

such as appropriate infrastructure development,

use
of
local

The next phase involved

materials,

institution

building,

organisations which would be able to support/

waste management and business plans. As a part of conceptualising the work on

tourism,
rural

hand-hold the community

ETP.

in

implementing the

The

criteria

adopted by

UNDP

for selection

of the

implementing agencies included:

the

MoT conducted

secondary

research study which helped identify possible

circuits

Prior

experience

of

social

community

and
of

sites

which had the potential

identification
sites,

for

mobilisation

rural tourism.

On

and narrowing

Experience of work on livelihoods

Possible
projects

down
in

these

the

MoT and UNDP,

knowledge and work on tourism

2003, organized a one day conference of

District Collectors

60

(DCs) during which they

were introduced
increase

to different

models
in

of tourism

At sites,

where there were many organisations,

In

which could be implemented

villages so

as to
for

theconsultantstookthehelpofthe DC.

places

employment
In

opportunities
follow-up
of to

where the DC
to

didn't

have much information, a

the

community.

the

the
-

direct interaction with the organisation

conference,

teams

consultants
officials

judge their capabilities. Also at

was held some sites

architects, conservationists,

and

from

where there were no NGO's that met with the

required
criteria,

UNDP were
certain

constituted.

The teams
to

visited

the Panchayats were chosen for

(e.g. in

places which had been identified by

implementation
in

Lachen

- the

Dzumsa,

the

DCs

as

having
local

potential,

initiate

Kumbalangi

- the Panchayat).

discussions

with

communities

as

to

whether they would

through a project.

like to

engage with tourism

After selection of the site

and the implementing

with the

agency, an agreement

was signed

MoT

5.

ETP sites in the country: Pochampally, SriKalahasti, (Andhra Pradesh), Durgapur, Sualkuchi (Assam), Nepura (Bihar), Chitrakote, Naggarnar (Chattisgarh), Hodka (Gujarat), Jyotisar (Haryana), Naggar (Himachal Pradesh), Banvasi, Anegundi (Karnataka), Aranmula, Kumbalanghi, Kalady, Anakkara (Kerala), Chaugan, Pranpur (Madhya Pradesh), Sulibhanjan (Maharashtra), Pipli, Raghurajpur (Orissa), Rajasansi (Punjab), Neemrana, Samode, Haldighati (Rajasthan), Lachen (Sikkim), Karaikudi, Kazugumala, Kombai, Thadiyankudisai, (Tamilnadu), Kamlasagar (Tripura), Mana, Jageshwar, (Uttarakhand), Bhaguvala (Uttar Pradesh), Ballabhpur Danga, Mukutmanipur (West Bengal).

INTRODUCTION

to of

come up with
activities

a tentative work plan comprising

to

in

order to facilitate more decentralised and

related

capacity building for

for the

localised decisions. Other departures from the

budgets
area to
totalling

totalling

20 lakhs and

DC

of the

usual

mode were
at the
(for
lists

-the willingness to
District
level
in

change

come up with infrastructure work plan 50 lakhs. The implementing agencies

like

guidelines
rate

terms of

infrastructure,

construction) to
local

were given a broad framework (developed with

the help of a few organisations

encourage vernacular architecture and

KMVS,
to

BAIF) for the baseline survey that

DHAN, was

knowledge and the emphasis on

innovation based on

flexibility

and

community consultations.
be a significant departure

be conducted as an entry point strategy to

Thus the ETP aimed

from the usual
projects
in

to

engage with the community.

mode of implementing tourism many ways and at the heart of this

participation.

A two-day

orientation

workshop

was then

shift

was community

conducted highlighting aspects that would then

form the key components of the software work
plan. Firstly, sufficient

According to the

MoT & UNDP,

the
spirit

the ETP was

both parties

amount

of time

and

effort

conceived as a

pilot project, with

in

was
in

to

be spent

in

organizing the social capital

approaching
idea
to

it

of learning.

The

the village (formation of groups, awareness of

was

to

adopt a 'bottom up' approach

this
project.

tourism). Secondly, once resources, constraints

implement

A number

of the

and needs were

identified, to

take up activities

activities

planned were open-ended so as to

flexibility for

which would convert the resources to assets

leading to livelihood options (through capacity
building programmes). Thirdly, to concentrate

have the

change and

to incorporate

diversions.

According to

Poverty Unit, UNDP, "earlier what

on marketing.

broad principles
controlled.

like

Approach to Implementation
The approach and almost
of the

ETP has been innovative

Amitabh Kant who was
Ministry of Tourism
initiated in

We didn't how we should proceed. It was only from the review meetings that we proceeded further.
Every review meeting would
try to

Prema Gera, Head, we had were community owned and have any structure as to

radical.

review the past

Joint Secretary Tourism,

proceedings and deal with the new challenges

that were emerging. Initially

and Culture, Gol when the ETP was

2003, said that
rural

we were

looking at

tourism was a response

the challenges within the

community then we
level".

to the growing global trend of tourists wanting

moved on

to

the challenges at the district

experiences.TheETPprojectdesigninmanyways
has been a
projects
total shift

Depending on the challenges and dilemmas that

from the standard tourism

MoT and UNDP were

about changes

faced with, they brought

implemented by the Ministry that were

- mainly additional

components

infrastructure-centric
It

and infrastructure-heavy.
is

to the existing structure.

has an overall framework which

ambitious,

emphasising processes rather than products,

and placing
tourism.

at the centre the notion of local

to

communities taking the decisions related

In

order to genuinely

facilitate,

this

many key decisions were taken in the way the ETP was administered. Key among these was
the idea of the focal point being the District
Collector instead
of the

MoT

at the centre,

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

The following table indicates how these components evolved

Review Process

Background
This project 'Sustainability
in

Through the above, to provide a

implementers and
tourism.
policy

tool

for

Tourism - a Rural
Review'

makers

of

rural

Tourism

Model:

Documentation and
to

was conceptualised as a process

of the ETP.

document

and review the various phases and learnings

EQUATIONS' engagement with the
ETP began with the 2nd National Workshop on
Rural Tourism
in

Approach and Methodology Setting up of Teams

I.

Three key teams were set

in

place for the

New

Delhi

in

June 2006 where

implementation of the project. They included

the review team, filming team and the advisory

we presented
Issues
in

a paper on 'Sustainable Tourism',

'Critical

followed by facilitating a workshop on

team.
a.

Tourism' at the
in

Institute

of

Rural

Management (IRMA) Anand

to

September 2006.
implementing

Review Team
of

The Review team comprised 10

These events gave EQUATIONS an opportunity

interact

4 people with specialised backgrounds.

agencies,

some members of
with

This
of

team

carried out the review of the

the

identified sites-

Durgapur (Assam), Chitrakote

the

village

tourism
(Chattisgarh),

committees
in

and

local

community
ETP.

Hodka

(Gujarat),

Naggar

involved

EQUATIONS then submitted a proposal to UNDP to document and review the ETP. EQUATIONS felt that this was an essential step to be undertaken before
implementing the
the close of the project
in

(Himachal Pradesh), Banavasi (Karnataka),

Chaugan
(Orissa),

(Madhya

Pradesh),

Raghurajpur

Neemrana

(Rajasthan),

Lachen

(Sikkim)

&

Karaikudi (Tamilnadu).

2008 as
tourism

the ETP
to

Members

of the

Review Team:
Associated
with

model would probably be adopted by MoT

scale

Anuradha

Pati:

Oxfam,

up and replicate

rural

in

the

Gujarat, as a

programme

officer,

worked
UNNATI-

country. This review process could be a potential

as a senior project

officer with

learning

and

re-strategising

space

for

the
local

Organisation for Development Education,

concerned

Departments, agencies and

in

Ahmedabad
Ecological

and

with

Foundation

for

communities

their

attempts to implement
in

Security.

Areas of expertise:

sustainable rural tourism projects

the future.

livelihoods, institution building

and

project

management.
Objectives

To

critically

observe/ review the Endogenous

Samar

Bosu

Mullick:

Coordinator

of

Tourism Project so as to strengthen this as a

sustainable rural tourism model for future

Jharkhand
(Jharkhand

Jungle

Bachhao

Aandolan

Save the Forest Campaign)

Peoples and
Forest

endeavours on

rural

tourism

in India.

and associated with the National Forum

of

Systematic
of

& comprehensive documentation

processes
film)

Forest

Workers

the

through
written

visual

(NFFPFW). Areas of expertise: social justice,

(documentary
report

and

media (review

development and

sustainability.

and

dossier).

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

EQUATIONS:
Gaur.

Aditi

Chanchani and Shweta

expertise:

framework

to collect information on

all

36

sites

Areas

of

tourism

during a meeting organised with

officials

from

sustainability

and impacts.

UNDP, and the national consultant

to the ETP.

The information from the

b.

indicator matrix

was

Filming

team

Chandrashekar Reddy, a
in

then analysed.

Using a representative set of

freelance film maker, based

Mumbai was

issues (geographical coverage, type of tourism,

chosen to produce (direct/shoot/edit) the

audio/ visual documentation for the project.

the stage at which the site

life

is

within the tourism

cycle, different

approaches adopted while

ETP,
etc),

Based
script,

on

specific

requirements such

as

implementing the

10

sites

were

sound, editing, and camera, additional

in.

selected. Six sites were chosen from the Gol-

resources were brought

c.

UNDP's 15
are
in

sites ready for

marketing as they
life

an advanced stage within the project

Advisory

team
of

The

advisory
to

group
overall

cycle,

and 4 from the remaining

project

sites.

comprised
direction

experts

give

and guidance

to the project.

This

also

chose two
by local

non-ETP sites

that are

initiatives

communities or
for the study.
It

Members

of the Advisory

Team

funded through other sources

Arvind Lodaya: Academic and consultant

in

was

felt

this

would

help

bring
in

about

the area of strategic design

products,

cross-learning

and comparison The

two

ways and
initiatives

communications, environments, services

approaches
rural

of

developing community based

and systems
of Art, Design
India,

privileging

the end-user

tourism.

non-ETP
(West

perspective. Teaches at the Srishti School

chosen had
of

were
strong

Sunderbans
focus
Choti

Bengal)

& Technology

in

Bangalore,

and Choti Haldwani (Uttarakhand). Sunderbans

a

and

his

work experience spans the

on

community-private

corporate, activist

and academic

sectors.

partnership
in

and

Haldwani
tourism

was

part
in

Nina Rao:
the
field of

Researcher and consultant

tourism.

community-based
it

project

Has

written extensively

2001-2004 and
ongoing
long

was

felt

that as both were

on tourism

policy, planning,

sociology and

ventures

the

aspect
could

of

anthropology of tourism,
issues issues
critical

wildlife tourism,

term
explored.

sustainability

also
factors

of
in

indigenous

peoples,

gender

be

However
linked
to

the

tourism policy and management,

and frameworks
different

these were quite

it

theory and tourism education. Nina

a visiting professor at the Centre

from those of the ETP and so

Rao

is

for Jawaharlal

Nehru Studies, Jamia

Milia

was not them in

two

very useful to include examples from

this analysis.

Case studies on these

Islamia University,

New

Delhi
at the Institute

sites are published in the dossier (another

output of this project).

Prof

K V

Raju:

Academic

of Rural

Management Anand,

Gujarat and

has also been associated with the ETP as

an advisor on
II.

institution building.

Selection of Sites

As the review process could not be conducted on

all

36

sites,

a sample selection of 10 sites

was

undertaken. An indicator matrix was prepared

drawing from the aims and objectives of the

ETP and from EQUATIONS' own experiences &

insights of tourism. This matrix

was used as the

REVIEW PROCESS

The table

lists

the 10 ETP sites chosen for review and the agencies responsible for implementing the

infrastructure (hardware)

work plan and the capacity building (software) work

plan.

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

III.

Sites chosen as part of this review project

(matrix)

Environmental

Concerns:

issues

of

Criteria

adopted

for

the

selection

pollution, dealing with issues of

waste
of the

of the sites

management,
-

sanitation

facilities,

conservation and
a.

management

Location features (existing)

Natural

Geographical
Connectivity,

environment
Interpretation

Location,

Resources,

Centre:

Presence
its

of

Infrastructural Facilities

Interpretation Centre

and

services

b.

Capacity Building (Software)

as shops
Panchayats /

for selling of craft, availability

of theatre for cultural

performances by

Implementing

Agency:

local artists, functions

State Tourism Departments/

NGO
Other
Infrastructural
internal
Facilities:
in

Solar

new livelihood optionsforthe local community guides, local cuisine, handicrafts and
Livelihood Options: development of

lightings,

roads

the village

and any other new constructions

e. Project

performing arts, strengthening old ones

Management

Issues

Approach and

Capacity Building Programs: training

in

design of the ETP, various institutions involved,

handicraft/ guides/ cuisine/ marketing,

etc

convergence, funds and funds flow system and

monitoring, review, reflection processes.

Village Tourism

Committees: Whether
its

IV.

Developing the Review Framework

functional, formed, or non-existent,

role -

Before

commencement
sites

of field of

visits

to the
film

members,
in

participation, decision

selected

the

team
of

reviewers,

making
project

the implementation of the

and select members

advisory team

and
for

EQUATIONS met
with other

to

work out a framework

1).

Participation of local community, special

the review (Annexure

This

was

also shared

emphasis on women, youth and other

marginalized groups

members

of the advisory

team and

feedback sought from them. The contours of

Conservation and Revival of art

cultural traditions

&

craft/

the review framework comprised of 5 broad

categories:
a.
b.

Tourism impacts, codes/ charters

-

Tourism
Infrastructure Development, Capacity building

c.

Marketing Strategy
marketing

Whether the
not?

site

is

&
c.

Synergies
Justice,

How has the site being promoted, what are the means of promotion and positioning of the site? What is
ready for
or

Social

Community

Engagement,

Women and
d. Institutions
e.

Conflicts

and

Institution Building

and

the VTC's and the NGO's role

site

in

marketing of the

Project

Management

as

rural

tourism destination. Where are the

V. a.

sites in

terms of tourism perspective plans and

Data Collection
Primary Data

business plans?
d.

At

each

site

range of stakeholders were

discussions
In

Infrastructure

Development (Hardware)
identified
Facility:

and
2).

held

with

them
review

Accommodation

whether the
or
not,

(Annexure

the

process,

the

accommodation is available nature of accommodation, i.e.

team also meet

realised

that

while
it

meeting the
critical to

central/

stakeholders was important,

was as

home

stays

vernacular architecture
is

with the so called 'non-stakeholders' as

Livelihood Options:

the infrastructure

the views of people

of the project

who were

not included /part

being created a source of livelihood for

the local population

were as important. Very often the

implementation could

conflicts/ disruptions in

10

REVIEW PROCESS

be understood only after takingtheir perceptions

by them
help
in

in

the course of the project as this would

and positions
efforts

into

account of the ETP. Special

to

giving the review

team a background

of

were made

meet the women and the

the work completed, reporting norms and help

in

marginalised sections of the community. During the

with
field
all

analysis.

The baseline survey document, the

performance and financial

visits

attempts were

made
if it

to

stakeholders groups, and

meet was not

(group)

quarterly program

review reports, various presentations

made

at

possible to
1-2

meet them

in

groups, then at least

institution

the workshops, were the bulk of the secondary

material

members from each

received

from

the

implementing

created were met. The stakeholders,

review

who

the

agencies.

We also received information regarding

perspective plans, business plans,
etc.

team met, can be broadly

classified as:

some tourism
vision

Implementation agencies
Village Tourism

documentfortourism, charters,

UNDP

Committee (VTC)
Village

shared the newsletters that they have brought

out as well as

Panchayat,

Development

the

some conceptual documents and MoT shared the circulars and minutes of the

Committees

regional meetings held.

District

Collector /
officers

Magistrate,

Block

Development

Timeframe
-

State Tourism

Board

Chhattisgarh

The timeframe
within 5 months.

for the

overall

project

was 8

(who were responsible

for infrastructure

months, with the review process to be completed

development work
it

in

Chitrakote before
- Jagdalpur)

was

given to the

DC

Women,
and the

As a part
Youth,
local

of the

review process, convenient

Marginalised

groups
dates

community
institutions

were

sought from

the

implementing

agencies as to when the review team could

Members
theatre, etc

of

formed

visit to

have discussions and hear from the

artisan, craft guides, cuisine, hospitality,

various groups

who have been

involved with the

site

implementation of the project. At each

review

the

The review team also interacted Leena Nandan,

Joint Secretary,

team spent two days

interacting with the

Ministry of Tourism

and with

various stakeholders of the project.

Amitabh Kant, former

of Tourism,

Joint Secretary, Ministry

The schedule
below:

of field visits

undertaken

is

given

to understand the project from

the perspective of the

MoT

their objectives for

conceptualising a project of this nature and

how

Round 1
08):

Field Visit

1 (4th - 23rd Feb

Chitrakote,

Chougan, Neemrana,

they plan to take this forward

in

relation to policy

and implementation. A discussion was also held

with officials from

Karaikudi and Banavasi

UNDP

Poverty

Unit),

John

Prema Gera (Head, Borgoyary (Programme

-

Round 1

Field Visit

2 (3rd - 19th Mar 08): Durgapur

Raghurajpur,

Sunderbans,

Manager-ICT) and R. K. Anil (Project Officer-ETP)

and Lachen

and with KabirVajpeyi&Anjun Mitra (empanelled

architects),

Round 1
and
Delhi

Field Visit

3 (30th Mar

- 9th

&

Prof K.VRaju (advisor / resource

Apr 08): Hodka, Choti Haldwani, Naggar

person for institution building).

Round 2
- 19th -

Field Visit

1 and 2 (Film round

-

All

interviews were recorded and transcribed.

26th Apr, 30th Apr

Jun
08):

11th May

b.

Secondary Data
site,

& 24th
Anand,

Chitrakote,

Hodka,

Apart from the primary data collected on

Delhi, Karaikudi,

Durgapur and

the implementing agencies were also requested

to share with us the

Raghurajpur.

secondary data generated

11

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Challenges and Limitations

The
tight

Chapter Outline
The members
broad
"responsible"
project
of the review

time schedules to complete travel and

report writing have been a constraint, as the

areas that each

for.

team had delineated of them would be

team members had limited time between the field visits and report writing. Thus time for reflection and detailed discussions to capture the learnings and experiences of the project
review

However, the areas of this

interconnect

and overlap with each

is

other. Thus, this report

all

the combined effort of

the reviewers.
for the review report

was limited. Also while two days were sufficient at most sites we visited, in some places like Karaikudi and Hodka the team felt that more interaction time was required. A key stakeholder in this project is the touristfrom whom the team was unable to get many inputs.
While

The chapter outline followed

is

detailed below:

Chapter 1 - Introduction Chapter 2 - Review process Chapter 3 - Tourism

Section
3.1
-

Tourism

Context

and

many
in in

of the sites have

been receiving

Development
Section 3.2 - Tourism Product, Infrastructure

tourists
is still

the past, the contribution of the ETP the nascent stage and therefore the

Development and Marketing

Section 3.3 - Tourism Impacts

interaction with the tourists

has been

limited.

Chapter 4 - Equity, Empowerment, Social Justice

Communication, at times, was a constraint.

While at most sites the team did have adequate

and Development
Chapter 5 Chapter 6
Institution Building

language
Banavasi

skills to

engage

directly, in Karaikudi,

- Capacity Building

and

Durgapur

we

relied

on

the

Chapter 7 - Project Management Chapter 8 - Recommendations and Guidelines

implementing agencies
In

for translations.

Lachen, the review team was unable to meet

key stakeholders of the project as the
with
its

EQUATIONS as the coordinating organisation

had the responsibility
together.
of

with

putting the

report

community was busy

annual Dzumsa

draft of the report

(Local Self Governing Institution) election.

consultation where

was shared in a members of the review team

officials

was in regard to the voluminous primary and secondary data that the team needed to analyse. Due to constraints of time, we were unable to do complete transcriptions and therefore adopted the approach of listening to the audios and working with key, relevant information. The possibility that some information was not captured or not
Another
challenge
interpreted accurately remains.

presented their findings to

from MoT,

UNDP and
possible.

the advisory panel. Suggestions and

feedback was sought and incorporated wherever

12

Main Menu

TOURISM

3 - Tourism

This series of 3 sub-chapters attempts to review

the ETP from the perspective of sustainable,

equitable

and

people-centred

tourism.

This

section attempts to capture and analyse key

findings

and learnings
in

in

relation to the selection

of the sites of the

a tourism context and expectations

linked to tourists

community

and tourism.

3.1 Tourism Context And Development

Site Selection

The core
for the

criteria

for the
firstly

selection
its

of a

site

ETP were

that

focus should
i.e.

essentially be on the

endogenous

'tourism

resources from within'

(tradition, culture, crafts,

environment and
knowledge).

wildlife, skills

and indigenous
proximity
to

Secondly to
tourist circuit

have

an existing
it

so as to draw from
activity.

and

to

spread tourism

This

was

seen

to contribute also to

minimize reliance

on pockets of existing high intensity tourism.

Thirdly, to

have basic provisions of infrastructure

place

already

in

(access

to

roads,

power,

water supply,
that

etc). Fourthly,
is

and most important,

capacity
in

there

interest

and

the

community to adopt and run the desired models

endogenous tourism 1 Another key criteria was also the availability of appropriate support
of
.

structures

(NGOs, CBOs

&

willing

district

administration)
Baani Craft, Hodka

1.

These

criteria

are derived both from the United Nations Development

interviews with

Programme

Project

Document

of the

Government

of India,

2003 and from

UNDP

officials.

13

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

In

the opinion

of the

review team the site

is

selection criteria
for success.

and process

critical

factor

Where these have been

is

diluted

or short circuited the impacts on the form

and

progress of the project

evident.

The actual
a

process

of

site

selection

followed

more

sequential process rather than ensuring that a

site

simultaneously

fulfilled

the basic

criteria. In
it

addition to the factors mentioned above,

critical to

seems

criteria

add two more as non-negotiable/ core - the interest and willingness of the DC to and the competence and
in
Tribal culture,

play a facilitative role

ability to

Chougan, Source

NIWCYD

make

linkages for capacity building

relevant areas by the implementing agency.

The review team

felt

that for communities that

knew little about tourism, gauging the interest and capacity of the local community to engage
in

a project of this nature after supposedly

its
It

assessing
feasible.

pros and cons,

was not

really

was important that a system be

would
for
Kazlranga National park,
In

developed
help
in

prior to finalization of a site that

criteria

understanding the social

and

the community to

make an "informed

choice"

the vicinity of Durgapur

on whether they wish to engage on a project of

this nature. Also key questions like

what kind

of

institutions already exist, their functions, quality

of processes,

degree of decision-making, whether

the community

was

divided / fragmented on

lines of religion,

caste, class,

what were the

other kinds of inequalities and inequities, were

Pattachitra craft, Raghurajpur

3\
Chettlnad Mansion, Karalkudl

TOURISM

there more pressing development issues that

needed
health,
to water,
cultural

to

be addressed

poverty, education,

indebtedness, sanitation

and access
of

what were the occupational patterns,

traditions
-

and

sensitivities

the
of

community,
this

these and

other questions

nature must be discussed and debated amongst the community, with the process being

facilitated by

an implementing agency and the

is

DC

before a site

selected for a tourism project

to

of this nature.

The reason
is

do

this

ground work
is
Streets of Lachen

before selection
facilitated to
it

that

firstly,

the community

take ownership of a process and

basis of their right even to say

becomes the

no

to tourism. Secondly, only

in

when

certain basic

'other' factors are

place are the chances

higherfortourism to function smoothly. However

this

might imply that that

many under developed

It

villages that get deprived of considering tourism

as one of the livelihood options.

developed

can be argued

that health, education, sanitation etc. can be

through

convergence

with

other

schemes. However
of the project,

this will

depend on the scale

of different
Neemrana
Fort Palace

and the willingness

agencies to work together.

Tassaduk, Executive Director, NEST, (Durgapur)
of the opinion that "the selection of
is

Durgapur as

a site to implement the

This
is

ETP was
...

inappropriate.

a migrated village

internal cohesion
is

amongst the community members

It

very less.

is

good

to

do a weaving/

craft

development

project but not ETP".

Emerging from the

site selection criteria

there
Chita rkote falls

seem
for

to

be three 'entry points' linked to tourism

site.

each

The

site either

has at

its

core

A tourism

attraction or a potential attraction,

but a clear "draw factor" that

was worked on
circuit,

and developed, or

There
or

is

a linked proximity to an existing

It

is

a site that already has existing tourism

to

and now aims

share of the
It

expand the communities'

pie.

was also observed that

at two sites

(Chougan

and

Karaikudi), the implementing agencies have

View of the Himalayas, Naggar

consciously worked to develop and strengthen

strong links to alternative livelihoods leading to

socio-economic development, and direct tourism

linked interventions are planned later.

15

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

TOURISM

around the temple and

trekking, music, etc.

river

bank, stalls near the

like

In

Durgapur,

when
funds

the

first

tranche
by

of

temple, and entertainment

In

parks, boating,

infrastructure

were

released

the
to
in

Karaikudi, foreign tourists

DC,
build

the community wished

and decided
to

are interested
crafts.

in

the huge mansions, arts and

an entrance gateway

the village

They are attracted towards the Chettinad

the

RCC

(reinforced

cement concrete)

style

cuisine. Interacting with the artisan

is

community

of construction. This,

while appealing to the

another attraction and

is

living in

the majestic

community

is

not 'aesthetically' appealing to the

Chettinad mansions

a different experience for

them. Though they

everyone
thinking
it

like

Chettinad food, almost

initially,

is

afraid of tasting the food

spicy,

would be

was the
in

opinion of a

NEST while speaking on the marketing efforts says, "... we also have had some interaction with Government of Assam, some tourist operators came and they said they
tour operator! Tassaduk,

member from
clean toilet
visit.

the implementing agency. A neat,

required

do not want
after they

their tourists to

come

to

the village

facility is

the places of

saw

the Gate".

Entrance Gate, Durgapur

Hodka also used a feedback mechanism

learn

to
led

about

tourists'

expectations.

This

to the decision to build a conference facility

and conduct focused

craft

workshops. The
of the view

community
have always

in

Hodka were

initially

that the tourists

may

like

concrete buildings. 'We

lived in

we go
the

to

the cities

concrete building.

structures, but when we look forward to living in a So we should treat our guests
like to

mud

way we would This was a very

be treated ourselves".

interesting perspective from

in

which Hunnarshala (who had been brought

by the District Administration to work with the

community to help implement the

part
of

infrastructure

the

project)

and the implementing

on what the

Engagement

of the

communities with the idea

-

of

agency,

KMVS

initiated a discussion

tourism also differed

This could be attributed

-

expectations of the tourists are. Kiran Vaghela,

Jt
in

both to intrinsic factors

historical, social

and

Managing

Director,

Hunnarshala,

involved

economic background, entrepreneurial

in

skills

Hodka, explains the step by step process of

-

the community, as well as,

in

some
in

cases,

dialogue with the communities

their

the communities being familiar with tourism.

listening to

thoughts,

limitations

and

expectations

Hodka
In

in

Gujarat and

Raghurajpur

Orissa

and then coming

started
in

to a conclusion.
briefly

"When we

demonstrated
Durgapur
in

traditional entrepreneurial skills.

Hodka we

discussed what

Assam,

in

spite of skilled

weavers

come - the baseline and what they like. When we sat with the community with whom we have a long
the resort could be -

why

and other craftsmen

pace
to of

like

bamboo

artisans, the

tourists

capacity building of the community

working relationship during the earthquake they were a

little

community
nature
live

engage with tourism was very slow as the is not very entrepreneurial and by
a slow-paced
life.

sceptical

because from

their

point of view they want pucca (permanent), low

maintenance structures. This process led also

over what the tourist preferred, with
of consequences".

In

Chitrakote, Banavasi,

Neemrana and Naggar

idea
of

to

the community's aspirations getting the priority

its

which have been tourist destinations for several

years,

own

set

communicating the

tourism
for the

and the economic impacts were easier

community

to

engage

with.

17

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

The

approach

of

Dhan
in

Foundation,

the

on how tourism can benefit the community and

to

implementing agency
different.

Karaikudi has been

what extent the community

to

is

willing to

accept

The organisation has focussed on

of certain sections to

tourists.

From the perspective

is

of the tourists,
willing

building
of the

economic capacities

the question
to

what extent they are

realities,

community (women weavers)

make

acknowledge community

needs and

them more self reliant before they engaged more directly with tourism.
The extent
of
of

boundaries when seeking a pleasurable touristic

experience.
role of
It

is

at points like these that the

is

the implementing agencies

extremely

exposure of the community to

critical to facilitate

the exploration and dialogue.

of who

the outer world also determines the degree

Asfarasthe question

determines whether
it

acceptance of a new idea. NIWYCD the

(a tribal village)

tourism should be the way forward or not goes,

is

implementing agency in Chougan

did not find
it

hoped that
of the

in all

cases the decision

lies in

the

easy

in

the beginning to get the

hands

community.

community to understand the concept of tourism

and
interest

them

in hospitality,

accommodation

services and cuisine preparation for tourists.

In

a project of this nature one needsto constantly

grapple with the question of expectations and

needs

of the

community
However
in
it

vis-a-vis
is

the tourist

and

vice versa.

not an either or
is

question but one

which there

a discussion

3.2 Tourism Product, Infrastructure Development

and Marketing
This

section

addresses
product, the

aspects

related

to

pricing (perceived

as value for money). Ultimately

the tourism

infrastructure

links

with the combination of the

USP and competitive

need
to learn

to tourism and

concludes by assessing the

advantage the community

will

and

marketing and promotion strategies and efforts

that have been put
in

compete
Imaging

within the
is

bounds

of the market.

place.

what
It

exists

between marketing and

The Tourism Product: Creating an Experience - Unique Selling Proposition (USP), Imaging, Competitive Advantage and
Tourist Profiles

aesthetics.

includes aspects of

Process of stereotyping/ standardising

Creating constructs and categories

The
put

politics of
in,

the process - what gets

left

The USP

is

what

attracts

and

is

unique to the

what gets

out - resulting

in

place. For creating a rural tourism experience

set of communication products

the natural, cultural,

human

or capital resources

indigenous to the rural area would have to be

attractive to tourists.
to

The recognition that the

this
is

result of

all
it

Key factors

for
it

in

relation

'consumption' and
slowly

when

competitive advantage are the attraction

its

hardened
that

moves
is

into the 'non-

(including

authenticity),

quality of service

negotiable' - which

often a process

and

facilities,

the destination's accessibility and

happens by a subtle consensus

18

TOURISM

Each

of the

sites

chosen by Gol-UNDP was

its

distinct with

respect to

tourism products

ranging from natural beauty of the place to the

culture
itself.

Raghurajpur

offered

its

unique

crafts

and
crafts

had the key attraction

of being a crafts village

with nearly every household

activity. Historically

engaged

in

the village's earliest settlers

were the
painting.

'karigar

community' associated with

Gotipua dance, Raghurajpur

Chougan offered experience

with

of tribal

culture

remains

of

several

monuments

and

temples which recalled the Gondwana kingdom

of legend.

Handmade

oil

extracting

and stone

flouring

methods are

in

use by the Baigas and

Gonds.
Chitrakote offered an experience of tribal culture,

combined with nature and

In
is

heritage.

Hodka, the village resort Shaam-e-Sarhad

the main tourist attraction
in

the backdrop of
Ruins of the

the spectacular Rann of Kutch. Hodka village

artisans sell their crafts to the tourists directly.

Gondwana kingdom, Chougan

By bringing together musicians from the

folk

village,

music presented every night (not a traditional

practise

and more tourism

led)

has also

led to

the revival of traditional music.

Karaikudi offers the Chettinad art forms such

as Kandanki saree weaving, Chettinad cuisine,

palm
from

leaf crafts
its

and Attangudi

tile

making, apart

heritage mansions.
is

Naggar

the starting point for a

number

of
Traditional

treks and offers adventure tourism activities

like para-gliding, skiing

Homes, Chitrakote

and

river rafting.

Stone

carving,

wood

carving,

artistic

wood works

basket weaving, and silver metal works are other

crafts.

Lachen located at 8800

offers

ft

above the sea

level

amazing scenic beauty as well as historical and cultural associations to Buddhism.

Banavasi attracts pilgrim tourists to the Lord

Madhukeshvara temple. The nature walk

the tourists to be part of activities
like

in

the surroundings of the village and a chance to

weaving

Shaam-e-Sarhad Resort, Hodka

19

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

and honey harvesting

rural setting.

offer experience of the

activities like milking

Even simple

the cows can be an experience for urban bred

tourists.

Lachen Monastery

Assamese weave, Durgapur

Lord

Madhukeshwara Temple, Banavasi

Stepwell (Baawri)

Neemrana

20

TOURISM

The table below explains the idea of the key tourism attractions in terms of the USP, the existing resources the site had and what was created or developed as part of the project in order to strengthen or more sharply define the USP and build competitive advantage.

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Thus "what
question.

is

the attraction"

In

some

sites the

was an important community and

knit-

We

have discussed

home

stays as part of the

implementing agency were clear - they had a

strong idea, worked with
ting". All
it

accommodation package on the section on facilities. However the idea of a home stay in some
of the destinations

and "stuck to the

would be part of the USP

critical to

the interventions, infrastructure develbuilding

and
In

in

some

others not as

the USP.
stay

opment and capacity

aimed
at building on,

programmes were expanding and innovating

uniformly choosing or promoting

this

home

as an option,

aspect

is

often not nuanced.

around the USP.

Developing appropriate

facilities,

keeping

in

mind the need

of the tourists (sanitation, health,

Hodka and Shaam-e-Sarhad

of clarity

is

an example
building clear

and

hygiene)

can

also

have

an

additional

about

their

USP and
it.

spin-off for the

community and
list

or vice-versa.

competitive advantage around

When
Hunnar-

going over the

visited, this

of sites the review

Sandip Virmani, Managing

Director,

team
and

has been a very important

shala, said, "Particularly, in the area of tourism

it

factor that has distinguished

failure.

between success

is

so important that the

built

form

is

some-

thing that links to the identity of the people. After

all

Furthertoidentifyingthe USP, what would ensure

tourists

are coming here because

is

competitive advantage

is

service quality, pricing,

they want to get a flavour of what

over here.

sense
ity

of value for

money, issues of connectivtourist expectations

And when people appreciate

sense of pride
of building.

it

they feel a great

and ensuring that basic

and their way Almost everybody comments on

in their traditions

of sanitation

and hygiene are met. Unless we

in

are able to change the way tourists perceive /

the beautiful architecture of the region, the

experience tourism

a rural scenario

all

these

safe architecture of the region because they

sit

aspects
view.

will

be

critical

from a tourist's point of

down and
back
of

talk to
to

them about mud and

Many

of

these are also aspects that should

they go

learning that material

for
to

mud

is

not
it

be basic

to people's lives- particularly basics

an
has
tions

impermanent
lot

potential

and modern

that

such as a clean environment, hygiene and sanitation.

applica-

However

it

must remembered that we

will

that

we need

learn

from

these

need

to create

an environment that
rurality
in

help him
to create

rural areas".

/her experience
to identify or

and not rush

Sites that

were not able

to

work

to

the urban comforts

that
is

a rural setting, because

the

USP tended

spread themselves too

what the

"tourist will want".

wide or too thin without clear focus. There

are

One of the core understandings of the ETP was to

create a unique rural experience for the tourists,
to

many examples

of the
built

lack

of

synergy
build-

between infrastructure
ing
point.

and capacity

move away from

infrastructure centred form

programmes conducted
In

that exemplify this

of tourism. While this outlook

doing so the competitive advantage

and recommended,

it

is

not

commendable easy to achieve. One

is

was diluted and economic sustainability lost. Neemrana is one such example - it did have
the potential given
its

proximity to the

Fort

may ask the question - can/should there be rural tourism at all? Much more thought needs to then be put in as to how one sees, builds on,
and creates opportunities
ence 'authentic'
physical that
rural

which was popular with high end foreign tourists

for tourists to experi-

and the presence

village,

of the step well (Baawri)

in

the

life in
It

a way that

it

trans-

which could potentially draw tourist to

inability to steer its infrastruc-

forms their mindsets.

will

is

often the tangible /

tourists,
will

the village. The

attract

and bring the

ture, capacities, skills,

and community engagewasted

but

it

is

the intangibles of the place that

ment around
frustration

this link led to a series of

be remembered, which makes or breaks the

tourist's experience.

interventions leading to a sense of despair

and

amongst the community.

22

TOURISM

Arvind

Lodaya who assisted

Hodka

in

their

communication material had

gible interactions

this to say: "Expe-

and intanand processes, and gains in perceived value and meaningfulness if strung together in a coherent and imaginative way.
rience comprises various tangible

Experience occurs only inside one's consciousness,

and so

individual

make-up and

disposition

counts as
nal stimuli.
tion

much
An

for its realization

as the exterdisposiTourist activity at the Kaziranga national park

individual's

make-up and

can be substantially and positively affected

'touch-point' awareness".

by careful design. Opportunities exist right from

the very
first

Tourist profiles

The USP and competitive advantage has very

strong links to the desired tourist
profile.

How

the possible experience /product the potential tourist,

is

presented to

how

it

has been positioned

and marketed, what have been the strategies

to

ensure success

keeping these questions at

the centre of planning and implementation the

MoT,

UNDP and implementing

in

agencies had an

Tourists visiting the Chettinad mansion, Karaikudi

important role to play but unfortunately this has

not

happened

most cases.

Ways of describing a tourist are closely linked to the USP and how one defines the tourism product.
It

is critical

to

be able to define the tourist

profile,

set up a system for capturing

and

verify-

ing this data (based on

who

actually

comes) and

then feed this back into promotion, marketing

and product development.

While

many

of the sites

saw
is

tourists even before

the start of the ETP,

it

important to
in

distin-

Tourism

activity,

Naggar

guish between tourist arrivals

general and

the

manner

in

which communities linked to the

tourproj-

project could
ist arrivals.

engage with and benefit from

Even close to completion of the

ect implementation there are very few sites that

have experienced an increase

in

tourist inflow

because
yet

of the ETP.

Most

of the sites

have not

been able

to attract the 'other' set of tourists

(those

who

are sensitive,

who

will

enjoy the rural

setting, willing to experiment) or tourists

who will
Hotel built by the Public

engage with the community

nity

or

what the commu-

has to

offer.

Chitrakote gets large

numbers of

Works Department, Chitrakote

23

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

domestic tourists who come to enjoy the waterfalls.

However very few

in living

of those tourists

would

be interested

with the

community and
To bring about

experiencing the rural way of

this shift

life.

and be able to attract both types is a balancing act and a challenge. It is this aspect
into all activities, keepin

Community members in Lachen said "Tourists come and stay for one or two nights and then they go trekking. They do not go into the village and they have no interaction with the villagers. The village people are busy with their own work
thus they have no time to discuss with tourists."

which needs to be woven

ing different types of tourists

overall

mind within the

Another question

is

the links of tourist profile to

framework

of the project.
for

undesirable impacts of tourism.

'filter

How can one

out' tourists

who might have an adverse

Most

sites

have done some kind of planning

impact on the host community's culture and

values?" Could a combination of pricing, positioning

tourism and worked on a Tourism Perspective

Plan (Annexure
3).

The tourism perspective plan

and experience be designed

to narrow

was a

tool

developed by

UNDP

to help implefor tourism

the appeal to a specific tourist profile?

possibly learn from exclusive,

menting agencies to start planning

at their site.
profiling

One can membership and

offer the

However some attempt at

not

tourist

identity-based business models such as clubs

was attempted

only by Hodka, Banavasi

and timeshares

where those who

its

and Karaikudi. There

ness plans.
In

is

much evidence
and

of

experience design

content and consumer-

linking the tourist profile, positioning,

busi-

members demand
adherence
selves.

(and protect) exclusivity and

to certain

norms & values them-

Hodka, where tourism

commenced
is

with the
tourists,

project

and Chougan which

yet to
in

see

One other area

is

that

is

less explored
is

in

the ETP

are exceptions. The community

Hodka has

transforming the tourist, which

crucial to

developed a system of keeping track of the tourist

achieving the developmental objectives aimed

for.

arrivals

and now the community has reached

started projecting the

How

tourists could
in

become

active partici-

the stage

when they have

pants and partners

the process, and ways by

facilitated to

number
season.

of tourists that
In

2006

they

come in the next had 1378 daytime guests

might
figures for this

which they could be enabled and

do so are important questions.

and 998 package guests. The

year are
is

likely to

be much higher. Hodka, which

its

actively

expanding

tourism product,

is

also

therefore targeting an expanded tourist profile

from those
those

visiting

the region for the crafts, to

looking at the resort
visiting

who also are now also

as a place of relaxation with couples

the

*.

t 1

place, as well as day visitors, visiting the nearby

villages.

From the feedback they have received

plan to build a conference

they

now

room

to

cater to the growing

demands

for that

segment.
survey for

Banavasi did a quick tourist

1 week, while youth
in

profile

Raghurajpur have been

In

trained to collect tourist data.

most places
will try

they have a sense from where they

attract the tourists but

and

have

little

organised data

about who comes and what they are seeking.

This additional effort needs to be
rural

made as

in

areas the villagers do not always go up and

talk to the tourists or start a conversation.

TOURISM

Infrastructure Development Accommodation, connectivityand communication

are basic aspects of the infrastructure required
for

development of tourism.

In

rural

areas

infrastructure such as - buildings, roads, power,

telecommunications, water, sanitation are key

development issues. In a service oriented industry like tourism where provision of services depends to a large extent on the availability of infrastructure, the lack of appropriate infrastructure can prove to be a bottle neck, depending of course on what the tourist is looking for. However, in most sites the attempt was at ensuring the basic levels of infrastructure. As explained in the introductory chapter, the ETP assumed the availability of basic infrastructure in each of the sites (which was not always the case), and aimed to enhance some infrastructure with direct links to tourism particularly accommodation. It was assumed that identifying and providing key infrastructure would enable the kick starting of
tourism
in

Flatstone cobbled pathway,Lachen

these
in

sites.

Infrastructure

the ETP

fell

into three

broad
tourist
Toilet,

categories. First those that had direct links to

tourism

(accommodation,
/

restaurants,
centres),

second those geared to overall village development and indirectly benefiting tourism (toilets, pavements, footpaths, street lighting). There was a third component which is the purchase of certain
information
interpretation

Lachen

assets

like

adventure tourism equipment.

Infrastructure permissible under the

MoT

Rural Tourism

Scheme

Improvement of the surroundings of the village. This would include activities like landscaping, development of parks, fencing, compound wall
etc.

Improvements
limits.

to roads within the

Panchayat
Restaurant, Raghurajpur

This shall not include any major road

village.

which connects the

Illumination

in

the

village.
in

Providing

for

improvement

solid

waste

management and sewerage management.

Construction of Wayside Amenities.

Procurement
Eco-friendly

of

equipments

directly related to

tourism, like Water Sports, Adventure Sports,

modes

of transport for

moving

within the tourism zone.

Refurbishment
(66:33 basis, Signage.
Other
i.e.

of

the
of

Monuments.

CFA

66%)
Landscaping, Raghurajpur

Reception Centres.
work/activities
directly

related

to tourism.

Tourist

Accommodation.

25

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Renovation of the Naamghar, Durgapur

Site tor Amphitheatre,

Durgapur

Renovation of Temples, Naggar

Renovation of Gol Sarai, Naggar

The table below

project. In italics

give a

sense

of the infrastructure linked directly to tourism

in

and
in

linked to overall

development. The bracketed items are those

is

the original plan but dropped

the course of the

work started and

in

various stages of completion.

TOURISM

Places
(Time of
visit

Directly linked to tourism

Linked to village development

-

by

indirectly to tourism as well

Review team)

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

In

Naggar, Raghurajpur, Banavasi, Lachen and

infrastructure built has a clear tour-

not benefit from the existing

facilities.

accommodation

Hodka the
ism focus.

While
It

community
of

members recognised
number
of

the

may have been

useful for the sites to see

in

criticality

accommodation, few were able

certain

what they should have invested

structure under the

as

infra-

to justify

why a

rooms were
offered.

RTS and what should have

for village

chosen, what would be the

facilities

been accessed through convergence with other

Materials used for construction and used for the

interiors

government schemes

development.

were not always localised and some

lacked aesthetics
(in

Roads, renovations of monuments, old buildings - are large budget items. As the cap on
infrastructure

structures

the view of

the review team!) or did not

of traditional art

rely

on improvising

budgets was Rs 50 lakhs the

and

art forms.

spending should have been on areas that would

significantly leverage the livelihood

and tourism

While not restricted to accommodation alone,

the
"vernacular

potential.

versus

concrete"

debate /

dilemma has been a complicated one.

Accommodation:
At

There

is

not

much awareness amongst

is

the

accommodation facilities have been a key component to plan for in the infrastructure work plan. The nature of
most
sites,

villagers
sis
is

as to why there

such great empha-

on vernacular architecture. Their reflection

limited to the extent that 'tourists
in

want

to

accommodation, the extent

available

to

which

locally

stay

accommodation which resembles and

The broader
providing
vision of
local
local

materials were

used, technological
skill

suits the rural ambience'.

innovations, use of local resources,

and

use of
ties

materials,

opportuni-

knowledge, kind of

facilities

and

rationality of

to

shopkeepers and vendors and

pricing are relevant here.

benefiting the local

clear to villagers.

economy as a whole

is

not

A fair number of sites have opted for centralised accommodation (to build an accommodation unit in the village to be managed by the
community),

SandipVirmani
aspect
in

of

Hunnarshala spoke about this

is

Hodka, "the Kutch region

famous

some
in

relying

on the homestays

for the circular

form - the bungas. There was

in their history, their

concept, a few that use both.

Neemrana was
any accom-

a sense of pride
tion

construc-

an exception modation
the

that

it

did not have

knowledge and practices that has kept

in

component (probably as there is Neemrana Fort hotel and a few other

in

them safe

an earthquake prone
it

region.

They

were also very clear that

structure but whether

was the

circular form

budget hotels

the

village).

structure that they want to build as a

Many
dation

of the

ETP

sites currently lack

accommois still

in

concrete or

in

permanent mud was

cold.

facility or
In

even

if it

is in

place,

nonis

another discussion that started. The temperatures range from very hot
is

functional.

Banavasi, the accommodation

and very

Mud
to

ready, but cannot be used

because

of a dispute

a material which insulates both the cold and

on the payment to the contractors.

but work on building the rooms

In

Chitrakote,

the heat, unlike concrete. The challenge

was

they have identified the homestays providers,

is

make
and

it

comfortable and not require too

...

much

yet to begin.

maintenance

and

this led to

many

innovative

Raghurajpur has focused on an accommodation

unit for the tourists, but the society

creative solutions.

has recently

Our whole understanding through our work

on vernacular idioms has been that when we
use the local materials the artisans are there
to repair
it,

been registered and

selves.

still

need

to organise

them-

Lachen & Neemrana are already estabhowever the commuthe ETP are not linked to and do

lished tourist destinations

nities linked to

maintain

it,

and develop

it

further.

28

TOURISM

This

is

far
is

more

cost effective. Using concrete

or
is

mud

equally complex as far as technology

skills

concerned. The

are available

in build-

ing in their material, they do not have the skills

of building

in

concrete and this

is

a myth that

concrete or brick structures do not require main-

tenance and
Also
in India

mud structure
there are so

do.

many ecosystems, and therefore so many communities, so many building methodologies and so many materials. But
unfortunately over the last 40-50 years there
Shaam-e-Sarhad Resort, Hodka

has been an over

fixation

on concrete,

steel,

glass, as building materials

and that is why there

vernacu-

has been a tendency

lar

to uniformise the

idioms to

this".

In

Naggar the

villagers are not allowed to

use

wood as perthe Government policy and therefore building in wood which is the traditional vernacular style was not an option. It was because of this they decided on RCC construction but plan
to

make

the facade

in

the vernacular

style.

Rabjor

Lachenpa,
said,

Pipon

(Head of Dzumsa),
are getting fond of
village

Gram

Kutir,

Raghurajpur

Lachen

"Villagers

cement things and now the beauty of the

is

being destroyed. Everyone wants

in

to construct

the house

the urban manner.

this.

Dzumsa cannot

do anything about have a control on

We

are also unable to

it".

The preference
plea of cutting

for concrete structures

on the

down maintenance cost serves

the interest of those the traditional

who have no concern

raised

for

house builders and artisans.

also

The

issue

was
of

during

the

construction
in

the

resort

Shaam-e-Sarhad

Hodka, which was, then discussed, dialogued

with the

community and
it

after convincing

and

showing them that

to build
in

can also be as attractive

style.
In

the vernacular

Chitrakote
it

the
is

civil

servants love for concrete, whether

or
it

the

PWD
is

is

the State Tourism Departin

ment,

oppressive

the setting of natural

waterfall.
is

The use

of locally available materials

usually

more reasonable and more durable

ecosystem. Unfortunately the
Centralised Acoommodation, Banavasi

in

the long run form the point of the charac-

teristics of that

29

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

definition of 'pucca'

(permanent) structure has

best.

Home

stay - a case study

of

been propagated as
In

The idea
have worked
with

home
it

stays

was

central to the
in

relation

to

sites

that

accommodation strategy
the locations and
attention on
its

or concept

many

of

centralised
ple

accommodation, the Hodka exam-

would do well

for us to

focus

may

not be possible or desirable for others

strategic value

and

effective-

to follow - but there are lessons

one can

ness. The section on Infrastructure Development

learn
in

the various elements that draw the tourist. The

lesson more applicable
is

has attempted to capture various aspects of

the role of infrastructure. Homestays were a
particular strategy to
fits

the need and value of

going into details and engaging the community

in

decentralize the

bene-

developing the infrastructure as these when

In
in

in

the village, enabling more tourist-host

interaction.

put together complete the 'package'.

community
future

Homestays have four

the architect panel need to devise ways

they are able to engage

which

key elements:
1.

much more

with the
2.

To stay with the family

community at the various stages of the infrastructure conceptualisation and project implementation, as this would give the communities
the capacity to understand and influence the

Home cooked meals

the family and

3. Eating with

4.

Spaces

for interaction

way tourism could develop.

The table below attempts

to plot

how the concept

of the

homestay has unfolded at the various

sites

that have adopted this form of accommodation.

TOURISM

Homestay, Lachen

Accommodation being one of the revenue generating models there is a need to think through this aspect carefully. Pricing - in most places was very reasonable, expect Karaikudi (the
Chettinad mansions cater to the high end tourists with pricing starting
In

much each one should charge. In Lachen it was Rs 250/ for a double room. In the case
-

of

centralised

accommodation,
at Rs

Raghurajpur

rooms were priced

(twin)

300

(double) / Rs

400

from Rs4000/-a
for a

night).

and Hodka a double room ranged from Rs 2000/- (tents) to Rs 3200/- (bhungas). In Chougan there
pricing
ing
is

Naggar,
to

it

ranged from Rs 150/-

double
tourit

some understanding
facilities. In

of uniform

room

Rs 2000/-. Naggar which has seen

between members who would be providgeneral, charges for

in

ism and the concept of

individuals offering

home

stay leaves
to decide

to

homestay

homestays

how

food were reasonable, being approximately

Homestay, Chougan

Homestay, Naggar

31

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

the range of Rsl50/- per person per day.

Chitrakote and Chougan, the people
for

In

There
rupees

is

provision

of

providing

one lakh
for

who opted

for

each

of

the

person

chosen

homestays work together as a group and

rotation, rather

home
to

stay (to develop the place for the

same

the benefits are then shared. There could be a

purpose). With this

money they are supposed

rooms with
an
attached
for the guests.

system of
to

than each one having

construct

two

individually

market and ensure a steady

bathroom near the house

There

flow of tourists. Also sites such as

Lachen and
houses,
will

Karaikudi

which

have traditional

be a good scrutiny of the tourists

is

can consider exploring

home

stay

itself

as a

before anyone

allowed to be a guest at the

will

concept as an experience the tourist may be

attracted
In

home stay.

Families

be given preference and

to.

they are more welcome for the

financial

home

stay.

Naggar a

assistance

scheme

of

People selected for homestay.

Rs 35000/- each was given to 29 home stay

Many people came forward but

selected

only

10 were

owners
er

to build a

bathroom and kitchen. Howevthat these

what resulted
real

is

became

mini-lodg-

es and not
the

home

stays as the visitors did

not stay with the local family. Deciding which of

One potter One Vaidh (Local doctor) One farmer (he has been
agriculturist for the

trained by an

members
is

of the

community

will

offer

home

use of cow dung and

stays

complex. The

home

stays were mostly

beetle leaf as an insecticide)

offered by people from the upper castes.

asked what would happened

the
too

if

When members from

response

Few artisans
not yet decided

SC community wanted wanted to offer home

a loan because they

stays, the

Tariff:

The
nity

social

background and norms of the commuif

was "poor people cannot take the loan because the interest rate is very high, how can they repay it" It was left to the community to come forward
and
all

have also to be considered

the idea was

taken up.

those interested were given incentives

is a space of close interand guest. The process by which the community is given the time and space

Home

stay

action between host

on equal basis. What may have been more

is

to debate,

accept and want

home

stays has

useful

to

grade the financial assistance

varied. In

based on need.

The
the

example
criteria

of

Chitrakote
stays

lists

more orthodox villages, members were not comfortable with homestays. In Neemrana, community members said that homestays were
not an option as the poor
in

for

home

which

were

the village would not

facility for

transparently developed.

be able to provide the minimum

tourists. Also

the
is

community members
in front
if

said, "This

a very orthodox village where the

women do

not
In

Guidelines for Homestays

speak or come

of the family elders.

Home
to stay

stays are for the tourists

in

who do

not want
in

such an atmosphere

some stranger come and

will start

the hotel, but want to stay with us

stays with the family then the villagers

talking about the family".

the village.

There are a set of conditions which need to be

fulfilled for

We

have

also

taken

choosing the person for

home

stay:

question as a special

home stay case because the MoT is

up
the
units.

a)
b)

he/she should be very poor

person should possess
or a pujari or vaidh etc

propagating this as a general strategy to meet

art like pottery

some some

the gap

in

accommodation

However
in

in

the context of rural setting, as examples

land of his

the

c)

person should possess

own

ETP show, there are many

social, cultural

and

economic reasons why homestays may not

32

TOURISM

work or work

in

a limited manner. While the

difficult to

say with confidence that people exer-

concept of the homestay was envisioned as a

cised their choice.

Infrastructure
is

way
tion

of decentralizing the benefits

-

in

the village,
interac-

enabling a more tourist

community

mostly divorced from capacity

rigor-

and moving away from a

infrastructure

building

and has not gone through any

focused notion of tourism, the preference by

ous

institutional process.

What

is

chosen

for

communities in terms of accommodation offered

seems
and

to

be veering towards centrally organized

centrally

managed

facilities.
is

It

is

important

that this trend

and preference

recognized.

Connectivity
Connectivity has been an important criterion

taken

into

account while selecting sites

for

the ETP by Gol-UNDP. Of the 10 sites visited

by the review team most sites are connected
well either by
district
air, rail

was almost pre-decided and the little say in it. In many places the infrastructure plan was already made. Infrastructure development was often taken up much before the commencement of the capacity building programme making it very difficult for integration when the implementing agencies came in and began work. In some cases it was executed as two isolated projects resulting not only in huge loss of funds, but, more imporconstruction

community has often had

or road to the nearest

tantly,

an adverse impact on the whole project

headquarter or more importantly to the

exemplifying the dysfunctionality of top-down

better

known

tourist destination

which was to

developmental planning.

be the source from where they would attract

tourists.
in

The further one tends

points,
lot

to

move away
far

The case of Neemrana:

In

selection of site from either of these two

it

Neemrana, the two

project,

vital

components

of

connectivity
critical

becomes
will

more
While

the

infrastructure

development and

that a
into

more thought

then need

capacity building, instead of becoming comple-

to

go

designing the

'attraction'.

mentary

to

each

other,

worked as two isolated

there are buses every

Sirsi

20 minutes between
full

of

and Banavasi (18 kms), the road is potholes. A tourist's feeback "for
place
there
is

this

beautiful
for

real
"a

need
tourism
final

good roads." As the saying goes,

is

experience

not

only

about

the

destination but the journey as well". However

until
still

many tourists feel

be a
critical factor.

this way, connectivity will

Issues and conflicts around infrastructure development

Construction has been a major source of mis-

management in most of the places. There is not a single site where it is without some hitch. In Karaikudi the community did not even know where the money was spent. In Raghurajpur INTACH
decided what to
build. In

Durgapur, the

district

administration spearheaded the construction

in

the

first

phase without any consultation.

of poor quality

In

Chougan, the structures are

unfinished.
In

and

Lachen, the

strong upward delegation

Dzumsa system with to the Pipon makes it

Baawri

under attack of vandalism, Neemerana

33

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

The case of Chougan

In

harvest water but the

unilaterally

Chougan the people wanted check dams to DC abandoned that idea

and dug up wells that bore little or no water. The check dam was built in a place where the rainwater does not flow. Chougan's bus stand and incomplete tourist lodge stand
testimony to the bureaucratic sabotage of an
innovative endeavour of the people.

So
Baawri,

far

what has come up

in

in

the

name

of

infrastructure
Neemrana

Stand' with

Chougan is dismal; a 'Bus a shade and a room and a half-done

entities.

Despite the personal involvement of

public toilet, two check

hold,

dams

with no water to
of

top officers of

UNDP

in

the negotiation with the

an unfinished mud road with boulders

plinth

Management

of the Fort Palace, the road to the

built.

no significance, a tourist lodge constructed up

to the
level,

Baawri from the Fort could not be

The

Fort

and 4 concrete dustbins,

management backed out from a written agreement with the District Administration on the plan
to construct a road that
its

the only finished hardware under the project.

Incidentally, the

information centre does not

list.

would be

built partly

on
for

figure in the infrastructure

The purpose
is

of

land.

The condition that they put forward and out of bounds

having a room along with the bus stand

not

parting with the land

their total control

was to keep the road under

for the

known; however, as on 8th - 9th February 2008

was introduced when one third of the construction was over incurring an expenditure of about Rs.40000 from the projvillagers. This condition

was being used as a storeroom to stack cement bags that have already been spoiled. The repair of Madhiyaji, the Gond place of worship, is often
(when the review team
visited the site)
it

ect budget.
istration to

The decision
spend
Rs.

of the district

admin-

cited

as the success

story.

5 lakhs
to the

for the construc-

tion of a concrete road

fort is neither

from the highway to the

Secondly, the land where the bus stand has

known

community nor the

it

come up does
of

not belong to the government.

It

implementing agency. Though

may have been

was acquired without the consent and payment

any compensation to
It is,

important to concretise the main access road,

its rightful

owner, a poor
possession.

money to
invested

a substantial extent should have been

in

Gond.

in

other words, an

illegal

the step well (Baawri)

&

the shops

The land on which the

plinth of the

incomplete

which could have worked towards the livelihood

objective

guesthouse stands belongs

to the

kotwar of the

and renovated a

beautiful structure as

a tourism attraction.

Forthe renovation of the beautiful butdilapidated Baawri Rs.13.55 lakhs has already been spent
out of the sanctioned

amount

of Rs.17.20 lakhs.

The work

is still

incomplete and whatever work

is

has been done

is

under attack of vandalism.

is

It

a pity that there

nobody

to stop

it;

broken
all
is

pieces of precious stone carvings are strewn

over the place. Protection of this

monument

not part of the planning but should have been

considered as this

is

the key attraction.

Bus Stand

& The

half-built public toilet

34

TOURISM

village. His

consent was also not taken before

construction work started. The land

rarily allotted to

him by the

village

was tempocommunity

for his service

as the kotwar (the messenger).

He was in a sense forced to enter into an oral agreement to give up possession of the land in lieu of a payment of Rs. 500 per month. Thirdly, the construction work was under taken
without taking the villagers into confidence.

When

the construction of the

it,

dam

started the

people objected to
not right as there

saying that the site

was
Madhiyaji, the

was no

flow of water there.

site

Gond place

of worship

They suggested an alternative

but nobody

paid heed to them. About other construction too

the villagers were not consulted. Nobody knows the accounts of the expenses
Fourthly, the
in

the village.

Bus Stand has not been planned

according to the vernacular architecture. And

finally,

going against the norms of the ETP even

the wage labourers were broughtfromoutsidethe

village for construction works.

position

is

that there

is

not enough

Now the present money left to

One
of the

complete the unfinished constructions.

two check dams

The bureaucracy
nient to
building

is

not always to be blamed.

it

Local vested interest groups also find

conve-

divorce

infrastructure from

capacity
in

needs and visions as was found

the

case of Banavasi. A construction company was

hired for the building of the tourist lodge

and the
is

information centre by the VTC. The

in

same

seen

Durgapur. The half

built interpretation

centre

made up
is

of concrete stands

amidst thatched
in

and metal roofed mud houses

a veritable eyesore!

the village
of

Examples

misuse,
Room
in

corruption, lack of accountability for

property are
clarity

damaged many and there seems to be no on who should be held responsible for

the Bus Stand, being used to store cement bags

these significant lapses.

A tourist lodge constructed up to the

plinth level

35

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Engaging communities
This brings

could be termed more a promotion strategy but

in most cases even was not undertaken and the basic business plan was not developed.
is

us to the fundamental issue of

participation
in

not a business plan. But

empowerment through

the

this

process of building one's future. Development

turns out to be dysfunctional

when
it

it

becomes
meant.
of

devoid of the participation, imagination, and

aspiration of the people for

whom
in

is

Neemrana the community members were asked, "How do you plan to sell the products?" They answered "We want to develop our own
In

Community engagement
design -

the

process

marketing channel.

We

thought the tourists

like
it

decisions on infrastructure (what, why, where,

coming

to

the fort would

if

they see the

if

how was

it

taken,

how much money

low. Often the
in

products. They might buy the products

we

has been spent on

it)

has been

have them displayed. Thus we thought once

the tourists

views of the community have not been sought

come

we'll start getting benefited."

many instances

(e.g Raghurajpur,

Neemarana,

When
coming
"Yes,
this

questioned
to the fort

further

"So,

only

tourists

Karaikudi, Chougan).

are your targets?" They said

but

we

haven't seen tourists coming to

is

If

the village

has a specific ambience and

it

part of the village. The entire village

so

beautiful environment,

was hoped
in

that the
in

dirty

and there are no

will

street lights on the

way
is

kind of structures that were built would be

so how

the tourists

come

here." While this

tune with that setting. The project

principle

true, the kind of helplessness

(in

and even naivety

could not regulate or impose without the people

terms of the hopes they build) displayed by the

is

themselves realising the need

for

it.

That was to

community

rather poignant.

be an integral part of the capacity building.

Some
The
the
lack
of

of the sites

have discussed the benefit

will

guidelines has also contributed

In

sharing model they

adopt

which basically
is

to poor co-ordination.

the

initial

phases of
preceded
it

looked at what percentage of what

earned

project

the

infrastructure

from tourism related

tion units,
etc) in

activities (like

accommoda-

capacity building. Along the

that
in

way

was

felt

performing arts and selling of crafts

many cases

it

would have been useful

an year be distributed. Thus how much be retained with the

village tourism
will

had capacity building preceded infrastructure

development.
preceding
the

of

it

will

However
other

it

is

not

about one

committee (VTC) and what percentage

rationale for this
In

go to

but

the

synergy

one
this

the Panchayat has been discussed but a clear

is still

needs
can be

to find

between the two and how

not evident at most sites.

made

a more integrated process.

Banavasi where the accommodation unit has

land, the idea

been constructed on the temple

Business Plans
is

to give

50%

of the earnings to the

in

temple

Work on the business plan

pricing,

to project volumes,

committee,
village

who

turn

will
In

manage some
VTC
will

investment

in

marketing and promotion

is

development work.

Chitrakote, the
for the

and benefit sharing

its

of tourism

conspicuous by
There has
area

plans to keep

50%

of their

income

main-

near absence

in

almost

all sites.

tenance of tourism infrastructure and

50%

been a recent

effort to build capacity in this

be given to the Panchayat for other developmental

by inviting external resource persons.

Karaikudi has worked out
strategies
tion tion

works. The District Collector at Chitrakote

if the VTC became richer than the may impact the notions of relative

some broad market

to link the Informa-

observed that
Panchayat,
it

and approaches
in in

Center

Pallatur with the Tourist Recep-

power between the two bodies.

In

Centres

Rameshwaram and Madurai

and a

to

Chougan the ETP was successful

craft,

in

develin

bring the tourists to Karaikudi - e.g organizing

different thematic tours
rural mart. This

oping the alternate source of livelihoods

the

form of lantana

wood carving work and

36

TOURISM

the traditional performing groups. The VTC has

a bank account with Rs 5,300/- (5% of the

to

suggest that that traditional crafts have not

evolved and have not responded to changing

income earned through tourism

activities).

What

times and changing needs. This

is

perhaps has

percentage of earnings goes to the artisans and

been the greatest strength

have survived. However
like

of our artisans

and

how much

is

retained by the

VTC

varies from

our crafts and one of the main reasons why they

it

place to place.
In

is

factors

and spaces
traditions.

tourism that are increasingly playing the role

Hodka the Meghwal community

in

is

famous

for

of 'the
In

new

patrons' of such skills

it

and

their leather,

embroidery and mirror work. From

the resort shop,

such a case

is

not enough for the ETP to see

fit

the sale earnings of craft

3%

how the artisans can

to
-

into the

market but also

role of a patron

goes
rest

to the resort

and

2%

to the Panchayat, the

be able to play the important

is

goes

to the artisan.
is

3%

of the profit

from

which

to appreciate, preserve
for its

and support

the resort

to the Panchayat.
for

The remaining

art

and

skill

own sake.

money
of the

is

used

maintenance and salaries

in

employed people

the resort. Apart

On promotion and marketing the destination as

a whole, Hodka has attempted a range of strategies

from this the community has been forecasting

arrivals

and

trying

to

keep

pace with the

and pursued them with energy and

vigour.

changing needs and opportunities.

The marketing at Hodka was taken step wise and adopted a three pronged approach - marketing
the concept of endogenous tourism, marketdeveloppric-

Promotion and Marketing

Marketing
involves

product/service

ing Kutch district

and marketing the Shaam-eseason, information about

ment, place (location and distribution), and

ing

Sarhad

resort. In first

and promotion.

It

defines the market and the

the resort

customer and makes the match between beneficiary,

the "product" they design and offer and

to

its

match

customer needs and expectations.

was disseminated by emails to friends and network partners of KMVS. For the next season, i.e., December 2005 to April 2006, they decided to go about the process more systematically. A designer was asked to support in preparing a website, a brochure
Efforts
site

Leena Nandan, Joint Secretary, MoT acknowl-

and series

of posters.

edges that the marketing strategies and plans

should have been started earlier
in

were made

to get

good coverage of the

in

the project,
in

by different travel writers

the media (the

in

'We have got

last

into the

marketing aspects

the
site

has already been mentioned

well in-flight

one

year.

We have had

series of platforms
to

travel magazines). Posters

were displayed at the

where the artisans have been able

their products in the national

show case
internais

and the

tional arena. Also design

development which
in

Promotional materials, Hodka,

Source

KMVS

even now
sites,

in

a nascent stage

the existing

36

should be

importance,

much more should have been given much plandefinitely getting

counting colours
in

ning and emphasis right from the beginning.

Traditionally they

have been producing crafts

kachchh

some kind of inputs on what is the consumer expectations, what are the quality aspects that they must take into account".
but need

While

meeting the needs of the market

the dilemma also

is

certainly

an important goal from a commercial

is

viability perspective,

about

how such a
tions
in

project can

help preserve tradi-

their 'pure' form.

Here we do not mean

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Bhuj airport, the Army, Border Security Force and

Almost

all

the sites have

come up

with their

the Air Force Stations at Bhuj were contacted

and they also agreed

Committee,

to display the posters

and

distribute the brochures

villagers,

amongst

their officers.

and

Hodka
music
'It

Panchayat
festivals

came forward
well

to organize folk

which was well received.

folk

as benefited 30-

own brochures and UNDP has developed the www.exploreruralindia.org website and Rural Tourism brochures. Chougan put up a stall in the Kanha National Park during the New Year festival, where they distributed pamphlets and
brochures to the
visitors.

However

this

has not

35

music artisans (Pava, Chang, Bhajan,

Kafi, etc.) directly/
this, 2
.

yet translated into significant tourist arrivals.

Rasuda, Moludh, Morchang,

indirectly'

Notwithstanding
for

word

of

mouth

In

Karaikudi,

they

have

developed

promo-

remains the cause

Hodka. The
confidently
for
local

most

tourist arrivals at

tional

brochures and CDs and also contacted

officials

Hodka Tourism Committee

Village

government
ing

to

introduce

Karaikudi

manages the

Resort,

but

on important tourist

circuits.

The implementtravel

marketing and promotion the implementing

is still

agency has also interacted with the

an association of hoteliers
site to
in

agency's (KMVS) support

relied on.

club,

Madurai and

Chennai to market the

the tourists. They

have provided a model package tour to the club

so as to send their guests to the project
site.

Banavasi has

come up

with brochures,
its

CDs and
biodi-

a website promoting

crafts, cuisine,

versity, agriculture, culture

and

traditions.

They
print
site.

have established good contacts with the

and

electronic

media and advertised the

is

Linkage with travel agents, tour operators

being processed.
Identification of travel

also

agents

for potential link-

ages with foreign and domestic

plan at almost
Explore Rural India website

tourist

is still

all

the reviewed sites. Identifying

linkages with corporate bodies or organizations

which could be interested

in

using central accom-

modation at the
for

sites like
is in

Hodka and Banavasi

workshops, etc
tourist will

the pipeline.

Which
the

come, how they will know about

site,

have not been thought through enough

for e.g in

Durgapur just 2 kms from Kaziranga

like

National Park, even simple steps

contacting

the nearby lodges and hotels for display of their

crafts

and brochures has not been attempted.

R K

Anil, Project officer,

UNDP admits

that this

has been a weak area. "Even today we do not

have a destination marketing strategy, and

tourism
without

marketing

is

not

going

to

succeed. Another area we lack

in is

the market-

2.

As mentioned

in

the a presentation to

UNDP on

15th September 2007

Ltfrr^*'
Promotional materials
-

"-

' -

*-

Chougan, Hodka, Raghurajpur

&

Chitrakote

TOURISM

ing links for the tourism products

in

the village.

There

is

nothing inherently wrong

is

in

attract-

We have
prises
in

trained the partners to build the enter-

ing tourists, but this

also an opportunity to

the village.

We have

hired resources,

present a more holistic aspect of the place

entrepreneurs with legal and marketing angles,

and contextualise the tourism experience

Since the Ministry of Tourism
link
is

in

it.

who

will

help

in

marketing and

will

work

in
is

the

beginning to

field with

the communities. Another thing

in

we

the notions of responsible tourism and rural

it

cannot put everything

nally driven,
to

tourism,

it

is

an

exter-

tourism,

may be important

to dwell

more on
inform

we need

to

have a business model

is

these fundamental issues as this

will

make

it it

successful." While this

is

a harsh self

almost every aspect of

this project.

critique

unfortunately closer to the truth."

The complex part

While different attempts have been made,
sites the data of the effectiveness of
in all

of marketing the

ETP

sites

is

that

it

is

not just about being happy or grateful

in

these

strat-

about any tourist coming

nicating

- but

about commu-

egies

is

not available or discernable yet.

last

what the experience and

of that site could

potentially be,

attracting those tourists

In

who
to

The rather
business

minute efforts to address the

promotional

are looking for that.

that sense

it

is

also very

plans,

and

marketing

much about empowering the communities

think,

aspects

is

not just about

weak implementation
difficulty of

choose and shape what kind

of tourist

but also perhaps about the

ing in the
- by

engag-

destination they wish their village, their

home

commercial
like

viability of

the project

and
that

their locality to be. This

in

aspect seems to

groups

the community, implementing the

have not been dwelt on,

the general anxiety

in".

agency,

UNDP and
in

MoT who have

Perhaps the

not

"somehow we must get tourists

visitors

Such an
visited

prioritized or

do not see themselves having core

this area. belief
for

approach would be respectful both of the

competencies
is

and the

as the 'psychological contract'

is

that promotion and

visibility will

make up

as well as the contract about what

on offer

lack of

sound business

plans.

would match.
In

Subhash Jain, District Collector of Mandla, asked, "Who knows Chougan exists? It is irresponsible on part of the planners
to raise

Lachen, where currently a large number of

tourist

from neighbouring West Bengal come,

by the review team,

the

when asked
"We should
put
in

"How do you

them to receive the tourists and then make them wait that tourists will come and bring prosperity with them. Where will the tourist come from? They should have been
hopes of people,
train

think tourism can be developed?" responded

click pictures of the village

Kolkata.

our

village".

and then More people should know about While this was not off the mark in

educated about the things

like

advertisement

terms of their knowledge of the target market,

the fact that they could
to think about

and pamphlets." In such a case it is evident that the DC sees himself as "outside" the project.
It

empower themselves
like

what would they

and
in

the identity
it

is

important also to understand the form and

will

of their village to be,

what way

would

content of promotion that

for

be attempted
of the project,
this

respect and protect their culture and ways, but

also share
it

these

sites.

The philosophy
firm

with others.

What was missing was

and

how a marketing
-

sees and portrays

the notion that choosing a form of promotion

is

it

just a pretty picture postcard or should

was

also a powerful opportunity to impact

of tourists - that they

the marketing be positioned differently? The

www.exploreruralindia.org by the

change the minds

"see"

would

website

developed

MoT does
It

not mention the

led

community
to

based and community

at these sites.

aspect of tourism

does not attempt

educate

more than just the product or the view but actually be willing to experience and be impacted and even a little changed by that experience. This provided a chance to try and transform the
nature of tourism - from
its

tourists but focuses on only

on attracting them.

mass consumptive

39

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

nature to something which had the elements

of interaction, learning
well!

the

critical

and important opportunities that

if

and human contact as

such a project provides implementers at

opportunity.
all

only the project

levels are willing to seize the

Perhaps

lofty

ideals -

but

in

the opinion of
is

the review team - why not - as this

one

of

3.3 Tourism Impacts

This section aims to capture the impacts of

Maharashtra & Andhra Pradesh

felling

for

bamboo
within

tourism that are beginning to be visible at the

sites.
is

and 10 families (9.61 %) migrated

stated that few of

Given that
initial

in

many of the ETP sites tourism

it

Block. During the meeting with the VTC, the

at the

stages

is difficult

to decisively

members
in

them have not

in

talk

about tourism's impacts. However, what we

is

migrated to Maharashtra (as

earlier years)

can do

point to a trend

and draw conclusions

search of employment as they are hopeful

about what may happen if that trend continued. The section focuses on economic, socio-cultural

this project will bring

village.

employment
clear.

in

their

own

However the exact nature and guarantee

and environmental impacts.

of this

employment was not

Economic Impacts
The key indicators
increase
in

In

Karaikudi,

home

to

the famous
artisans

Chettiar

of the

economic impacts are

rise in

community,

the

local

are
is

seeking
call

employment,

income

levels,

alternative occupations, as there

their traditional skills,

no

on

strengthening of existing and creating alternative

livelihoods.

because new buildings do

crafts.
It

not need

wood carvers or traditional

a

has

become
Employment
livelihoods
All

common

feature for young Chettiars

of

generation

&

Alternative

and young members

to

other

communities
Foundation

seek employment outside the region. The

the

reviewed

sites

show a

potential

of

baseline survey of Karaikudi by

DHAN

increased employment opportunities within the

village

stated that the ETP has the potential to prevent

due

to initiation of the project.

However

migration

of

youth

if

they found

adequate

the data on actual

increase

in

employment
by.

employment
that

or

income generation opportunities

yet to be

because

of the

ETP

is

hard to

come
its

Also given
in

opened up through establishing successful

is

the nature of the project, and

early stages
to

heritage tourism. The data on this

most

sites,

it

would be too early

judge direct

confirmed.

employment.
In

DHAN
community members claimed
initiation

Foundation

in

Karaikudi

had

this

to

some

sites

report, "Through the tourism project,

we have
to

that

since the

of

the

project

the

provided

employment
is

opportunities

the

number of villagers migrating to cities in search of employment has reduced. In Chougan, the
baseline survey of the implementing agency

hospitality groups, the beneficiary being forty in

number. Though,

it

seasonal for few people,

some

opt for

it

full

time. Ten

unemployed youths,
got
full

claims 160

104 families migrated in the year 2003-04, 11 families (10.8%) for labour work to Jabalpur & Narsingpur, 83
of

members

especially the

women have

time job

in

organizing the artisan community for collective

action
in

livelihood promotion; exploring the

families

(79.81

of

migrants)

migrated to

market linkages; collaboration with the banks

40

TOURISM

for linkages/ credit

support

to

the artisans etc.

have

all

reported increases

in

income because

We have
guides,
In

given employment opportunities to

of the additional livelihood

source and are not

five in

number".

dependent only on
In

tourist arrivals.

Banavasi the implementing agency reports

Naggar the harvesting

is

of apple, strawberries
activity.

to

have created employment opportunities to

training

and cherries

the primary

The

arrival

69 houses holds through

avenues through
could not meet those

and other

of the tourists in this area coincides with their

ETP. But on field the reviewers

harvesting season

i.e.

May

to

October. Thus

who benefited. In Banavasi the pineapple fair was an innovative approach to

capitalize on locally

tourism does not provide an alternative source

of earning in the winter

season when they are

terms
of

grown pineapples.

In last

two

not occupied with this harvesting. The suitability

of tourism
its

years a group of twenty

women have
each

organized

as a
is

livelihood opportunity in

three fairs and net benefits have been between

timing

a factor that affects the economic

in

1500-3000 rupees

for

person

in

the

gains from tourism

In

the rural setting.

group. Apart from the added income, the fairs

have increased the confidence of the women.

Neemrana

this

has

not

worked.

The

However

this

is

a one off event and needs to be

implementing agency has not been able to see

this also

now

regularly taken up.

as a project of alternative

livelihood.

Hodka which has already seen four

seasons the
options.
traditional occupations

tourist

have not
livelihood

been substituted by tourism related

Since the tourist season

moment we have no buyers Now a days even procuring the mud has become so expensive. Earlier we were made to pay tax for one gaadi
potter states, "At this
for the

products we produced.

does not

(vehicle load) of

mud. Later cement

factories

overlap with the traditional occupation (of coal

making, cattle rearing) the chances of over

dependency on tourism
allows
for

is

reduced. Also this

in the village and they started consuming the mud available in the village. The amount of mud they consumed in one month we

have come up

expanding the

sources

earnings

would have consumed that

the scenario at present
is

in

ten years. Thus

throughout the year.

In in

such that we cannot

...

take the

mud from

our own village

that

now

it

has

Chougan the

training provided to the villagers

become so expansive
In

we cannot buy
is

that."

rejuvenating the performing arts have been

in

fetching income

spite of negligible tourist

summary

it

seems there

considerable

arrivals in the village.

Lantana

craft,

the dance
etc

potential for

groups,

wood

carving,

honey

collection

by the project but

materialised

employment opportunities created how many of them have

in reality is

an issue. For example

several groups have been formed for cuisine,

hospitality

and guiding but

still

in

actuality

most

of

them are
arrivals
is

not converting the trainings to

In

income generating options.

a constant

Banavasi tourist
in

phenomenon

the village

but the guides, the pineapple cuisine group and

the trained worli painters etc are dependent on

organised fairs to generate incomes.

Income generation, backward linkages, and leakages

Competitive
successful
Lantana Craft, Chougan

advantage
tourism
it

is

necessary
but

for

development

not

sufficient

as

does not ensure that economic

41

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

and

social

development takes place

in

in

the

home
like

stays were those that have

some

asset

destination. Typically,

the process of tourism

land or an extra room to be rented to the

development the
residents

rich

and powerful

or

non-

visitors.

become

involved with tourism projects,

while opportunities for participation and benefits

Places

like

Naggar,

Banavasi,

Neemrana,

do not reach the marginalized sections of the

Chitrakote and Raghurajpur villagers are waiting

for the

Whenever there is direct participation through employment of the weaker sections, this
society.
is

central accommodation/interpretation

centre or other infrastructure which gives

them

generally driven by individual endeavours to

a chance to display their products for sale to the

tourists to

reap the economic benefits tourism brings. This

be completed.
the

was evident

at the destinations like

Neemrana,
to

In

Naggar

business

analysis

of

the

where the potters were motivated

part of the project

become

implementing agency states that the income

generated from the ETP
of
is

and

diversify their products

it

Rs 12,27,250/- (as
is

through training, as they saw

to their
links

could contribute

Sep

07).

It

is

unclear whether this figure

on

economic growth.

In

some

places the

actuals or a projected estimation of income.

between capacity building and conversion

into actual

income generation was not strong, as

in

Banavasi reports

rise in

income by 30-

40%

over

pointed out

the section on capacity building.

in

current income attributable to

ETR

Besides,

Where

it

worked was

places

like

Chougan,
craft got

newer

activities

have the

ability to

generate 30-

where the artisans practicing lantana

interest

40%

additional

income over regular income.

very useful training because of their personal

in

the art and

new income reaching

to reap the

them helped the entire household economic benefits.

The

documents claim that over the years and by the end of 3rd year of the project, more than 50% of income in the
Their secondary information
village will

be from tourism. Again, the basis of

is

these claims
project has tried to include the marginalized

not evident.
in

sections, backward castes

and classes, women

The community
the water
fall

Chitrakote remarked, 'To

visit

and poor

to a certain extent.

However
is

it

is

people come from distant places.

told

contentious and complex issue

whether a

The implementing agency

tourists

us about the
it

project such as this can really address the very

poor.
In

coming

to

our village and how

can

Neemrana, Niranjan Sharma, Chief

not for the poorest of the poor.
visitors

benefit us. They told us that people from outside

Coordinator of the implementing agency, pointed

are making money, opening shops and then

out "Tourism

is

How can we

expect

from different parts

of the world to

come and stay at the place which

facilities?

spending and they are becoming So the villagers should come forward and build their own shops to make money and
tourists are
richer.

cannot even provide them with basic

livelihood."

If we want the tourist to stay with the villagers and pay for this, then we must also provide him

In

a report on Raghurajpur, INTACH mentions

that

due

to the ETP's revival of several crafts in

with basic facilities".

the village 'the household income of the village

The economic benefit of these sections of people

through tourism development has depended
largely

has seen an increase from an average income

of

on their own capabilities and to

some
in

per month

Rs 3,043 (per month) in 2002 to Rs 3,746 3 in 2006' There has also been a
.

extent on their financial and social background.

For e.g households that could
participate

dramatic increase

in

the tourist inflow, from

to
.

6080

34,880 in 2005' 4 In Raghurajpur the implementing agency claimed

visitors in

2001

3.

Raghurajpur: A Case Study

in

Sustainable Rural Heritage Tourism, (2007), INTACH Publication, Pg 22

4.

Op

cite

42

TOURISM

that

apart from

handicraft

being the
villagers,

main

source of employment to the

tourism

provided alternate career opportunities related

to handling the tourist facilities.

The quantum

here

is

not given and unclear what these figures

mean

in real

terms

for the

economic impact.

Dhan Foundation through skill building programmes has helped income of women artisans increase and has also provided market linkage support. One of the primary producer
groups (PPG)
-

cuisine

made

a turn over of Rs.

of chettinad

7500/- through the preparation

50,000/a PPG,

snacks. Another group had a turn over of Rs.

in

the production of chettinad snacks.

The weaving community artisans have formed

in

which the turnover of their Kandangi

is

products
In

Rs.

31000/-

till

date.

Hodka, the tourism

of

activities

have earned an

income
of

13,11,451 rupees within the tenure

to April

one year from October 2006

expenses

2007,

whereas the
laundry, travel

(salaries,
etc) for

electricity,

and transport
to

the period

of October

06

February 07 have been Rs

in

7,79,667, thus bringing

lakhs to the community.

profit of nearly six

Expenses

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Some

of the conflicts that

In

come

in

are also

is

nothing right or wrong

in

either stance, the

evident.

Neemrana, a community member

community members informed the review team

that with discussions on tourism's entry into their
village they

said, "At present the tourists get

down from

the

busses and enter the

a decision that

fort.

There
if

is

no interaction

became

active

and gave suggestions

in

between us and them. But

government takes
not be
in

and started taking pride

their culture,
will

"now

now

tourism

will
will

hands

we have
to

realized that so

many people

come

of the fort people but they

be taken on the

see us and our culture from far

of

off places,

round
will

trip

of the village by us, then the benefits

If tourists

then definitely

come to us also.
will

start goingby carts

one

we are unique and special", said the young members of VTC. The ETP has

instead ofjeep, this

will

benefit the villagers also,

contributed to their reclaim their roots, value

their culture, dress, cuisine etc. While hopeful of

as they

cross the village

and they can buy

"Actually the

goods on
supply

their way. "

Speakingabout competition

the potential economic prosperity now they are

between camel cart owners, said

is

ready to host tourists

in

their

houses and share

more than the demand in this village so whoever is contacted goes. Often the other
person lowers
instead of
to
its

their culture with the visitors.

price so that he gets the order

someone

else (which

is

beneficial

the Fort management). This further reduces

It is

the market price of the camel cart owners.

difficult to

On the one hand there was a sense of renewed pride, while on the other a fear and a guarded approach to tourism. The idea of tourists, staying with them, becoming part of their everyday lives
could have an impact as these are
in

form a union".

a certain
In

sense 'closed spaced

Socio-Cultural Impacts

interactions'.

Hodka

the communities were concerned about

some

A desirable
traditions.

social impact of the

in

ETP has been

of the implications of tourism.

They

clearly did

a sense of renewed pride

local culture

and The
for

not want the tourists to

come

to their village

Chougan

is

a clear example of the

of pride.
Institute

and

stay,

as the
felt
in

women

lived in

parda. Secondly

ETP having inculcated a sense

implementing

they also

that tourists should not be scantily

agency

National

dressed

shorts. Thirdly
in

consuming alcohol
and so they
didn't

Women,
in

Child

and Youth Development (NIWCYD)

was forbidden
want the
expose
their

their society

a discussion explained on the aspirations of

visitors to

come and have

alcohol

and

the community, "they wanted to

become

like

younger generation to

this habit.

the town people, they did not want to be like

villagers.

The project has also revived

lost

interest
in

in

the

They felt pride

in

wearing pant and shirt

traditions

and

culture

the

villages

rather than their traditional attire". While there

through creating

demand

for the local crafts.

Traditional

welcome, Chougan

Gotipua dancers, Raghurajpur

44

TOURISM

In

Raghurajpur

'Pattichitra'

which
art

is

one

of the

The chapter on
Justice

oldest and

most popular

forms of Orissa

was facing dwindling popularity. By introducing new designs this trend is now being reversed.
Revival of old

Empowerment, Social how the ETP has engaged with and impacted the broader developmental questions of empowerment,
Equity,

and Development deals with

dance forms

(like

Gotipua), music

equity

and

social justice

of

women and

the

forms

(folk

songs and instruments) has been

marginalized.

a contribution to this crafts village. However, a

matter of concern as INTACH's fortnightly report

Ecological and Environmental Impacts

November 2006 alerts is that due to the infusion of Government and multinational funds to develop the village, the villagers have become
of

One

of the key impacts of the project

has been

the discussion and action around cleanliness,

hygiene and waste management. As a result

of

complacent
is

and

dependent.

While

tourism

assessing what the tourist needs, these

helping the revival of arts, with increasing

rural

communities have become more aware

demand

there

is

pressure on the artisans to

of the

need

for cleanliness

and hygiene

of their

produce more
This leads

of

what

will

sell

in

the market.

surroundings.

them to shortcuts like the use of chemical dyes and fabric colours instead of the time consuming traditional colours. The report
also says that the attitudes of the people of

The review team was struck with the enormity

poor waste
This

of

the problems of lack of sanitation, hygiene and

management

at

most

sites visited.
in

Raghurajpur have been greatly altered due to

tourism development.
the drive to
It

was

particularly of crisis

proportions

says, 'many, forced by

Neemrana, Naggarand Lachen. The Raghunath youth club formed by INTACH

in

make

a quick buck often overprice

blatantly

and undercut so
often feel cheated

that

the

tourists

Raghurajpur consists of 25

members was

and leave

disillusioned

and

motivated to clean the village lanes that were

strategically located

dissatisfied'. Besides, there are certain villagers

on the tourist route. The

in

who, due to the demand, have taken up the art as a profession

associated with
in
it

club also participated

door to door awareness

villagers

spite of their being not being

traditionally. This

campaign

to

educate the

about the

has

led to

cleanliness and sanitation.

the deterioration of the quality of the products as

well.

Excess of supply has also been undercutting

profits.

Increased

consumption

of
is

water,

fuel

and

the price and thus

electricity linked to

tourism

not yet an issue,

but

in

some

sites the pressures are beginning

With

tourism

coming
that

in,

the

risk

of
is

commodification of culture and traditions

there.

One hopes

community

control

will

avert this

inevitable

impact,

but as of

now

there are no particular safeguards to avert this

phenomenon,
on the issue
In
in

or signs of significant discussions

most

sites.

Durgapur when asked about the impacts of

but had
idea

tourism they were hopeful of positive economic

benefits,
little

about negative
Small children

impacts. The implementing agency recognised

the need for "do's and don'ts.

are selling goods at a cheaper rate as they are

dependent on the income from

education
is

it.

But their

IE

hampered. Knowledge

of the drugs

Conservation of bats by Suraksha Brigade, Chitrakote

and

plastics
is

coming

to the

village

with

the

tourists

important.

45

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

to

be

felt.

Water scarce areas

In

Neemrana are examples.

table
is

like Hodka and Neemrana the water

falling with

the two tube wells being the

major source of water for the locals as well as

the
In

fort.

Seeds

of a conflict are being

sown.

Chitrakote the villagers said, "Tourists are very

insensitive to the surroundings

lot

and they

litter

as well as disturb the bats sleeping during

is

the day". There

an awareness regarding the

conservation of the environment amongst the

villagers
Suraksha brigade, Chitrakote, Source Saathi

and they have also come up with an

force.

environment protection
involved children
in

They have also

the awareness campaign

pollution of the area near

against the

litter

and

the waterfall.

Garbage generated by the

by tourism
is

village

and generated
initiative of

an issue. A welcome

the ETP

is

the collaboration with Thanal an

in

NGO based
6

Trivandrum on zero waste. The

sites currently

chosen

to run pilot projects

on zero-waste are Naggar, Lachen, Chougan, Nepura, Pranpur and Pochampally. While
are informed by

we

UNDP and

the implementing
pilot projects

agencies that the Zero Waste

have

been

initiated
level

at

Lachen and Naggar, at the

be on that
its

ground

the results are yet to be seen. Other

list.

sites like Chitrakote also aspire to

In

Banavasi the implementing agency on

own

initiative is

working with Thanal.

Dzumsa plans to initially conduct mass awareness campaign on garbage management followed by a cleaning campaign
In

Lachen, the

in
Zero waste project to start at Lachen

the village to clear the garbage that clogs

the drains and backyards.

When implementing
about garbage
appoint
to

agency talked
labour. "But
-. ,

to the villagers

cleaning, they said they

if

need

some
they'll

they do not do themselves

never understand the issue of cleanliness", was

the opinion of the implementing agency.
In

Hodka they felt garbage was not a problem

is

in

the village as there

to either bury

sufficient land available

it.

waste or burn

However as part
need
to

of the Charter, this will

be one of the issues on

village

which the Samiti and the

Many saying such as these
issues,
reflect a sensitivity to

have

environmental

greater awareness and knowledge.

Chougan

46

TOURISM

In

Karaikudi too they

felt

that waste

was

not
its

develop

people's

charter

on

sustainable
is

a serious issue. The use of plastics and

tourism. As awareness on impacts

difficult for

low,

it

is

disposal has to be strictly prohibited by the local

administration. Project plans to convert solid

a genuine people centred charter or

guidelines.

Howeverthe merit in such a process is

such thinking, even
if

waste

into rich organic

is

manure

involving local

that

it

initiates

"top-down".
at

community
In

necessary.
collect the
all

The community and implementing agencies

"Dos and Don'ts" kind of charter.

the sites have tried to engage with and develop a

Chitrakote, "the
plastics;

young children clean the place and burn

used
to

In

Hodka they

the

dirt.
it

mention scarcity of and careful use of water, no

Earlier

it

be very

dirty,

but

now

is

smoking
food,

in

tents,

no alcohol, only vegetarian

tip

cleaner.

We

are telling the tourists to control

communal

box,

etc.

In

Karaikudi,

the littering of the place here.

We banned

the

aspects that get mention are infrastructure

washing of vehicles
throw
lot
litter in

in

the area

the area.

and then they They play deck and a

other instruments.
that.

them from doing

music
to play.

We have decided to stop We want only the natural

to
litter in

We

are opposing the tourists

the area.

disturb the bats

tell

and

We

also

them

to protect

the fishes.

While a

lot of

good work has been achieved on

vision. All the
is

the environmental front, the process of solid

waste management lacks

collected
pollution.
is

waste

burnt which

again a source of

Involvement of children and making

for the

them responsible
environment
is

cleanliness of the
it

a good endeavour. But

requires

a more sustained effort for more long term and

sustainable solutions.

The and

information

that

we have

put

across

presents an early trend of thinking on current

potential tourism impacts.
little

The community

has very

awareness and knowledge on the

explain this situation -

impacts (both positive and negative) of tourism.

Two reasons may

very

one

is
Do's and Don't sign put outside the Madhiyaji Temple, Chougan

that the implementing agency themselves are

new

to tourism

and therefore
is

their limited
facilities

understanding of tourism
to

what gets translated

in

have to be developed by the panchayat,

by the

the
in

community.

The community

turn
to.

the need and the maintenance of which could

takes

as much as they are able to relate

be handled
of plastics

local

community, usage
to

Secondly, most sites

may have seen

in
is

tourism but

and the disposal has

is strictly

be

strictly

have never engaged

Unless engagement
will

tourism and with tourists.

there, the

prohibited, prostitution

prohibited,

any

awareness too

form of crime against children/woman

prohibited,

is strictly

be

limited.

no monument or any other heritage

building could be spoiled for the purpose of any

Mechanisms
All

to

assess

and

mitigate

betterment of tourism attraction or any of

kind, etc.

its

tourism impacts
sites

have been encouraged by

UNDP

to

While

some thought seems

to

have gone

into

47

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

working on these,

until

the community feels

or

mechanism
in

of

communicating

this

because

that they have the "authority" to effect these

rules - this
will

they are waiting for one more external symbol of

authority
to

remain merely on paper as the

the form of the interpretation centre

"will

Do and Don'ts. An incident that supports this was experienced by the review team while
visiting
in

be set up, which

ensure" that tourists

will

"comply" with the code!

It

Hodka. There had been a recent death

of the hamlets,

one

and while

it

is

part of the

needs

to

be recognised that through the

'package' to have the folk singers sing every

night

charter evolving process the

to

community needs

when

tourists are there, a to us

member

of the

decide what kind of tourism they want, what

committee came up

and explained that

they allow, what they disallow, what

makes them

as a mark of respect they will be no performance.

proud, what they want to offer? This has the

possibility therefore of not

What was heartening was that the community was able to express this and not feel bogged down by the fact that 'we were the tourists
paying for the
facilities'.

being a mechanical

exercise but a powerful process of helping

to

them

search for and articulate their

identity.

Most
will

sites are thinking of a building/

space that

An interesting example comes from Chitrakote

workasthetourist information/ interpretation

where the community members believed that

if

centre - but this has not been conceptualised

very clearly as to what
will

they put their code of conduct

in

writing then
in

be the function
if

of this

its

power would be much stronger. Perhaps

centre

will

be.

It

would be useful to see

these

their

minds they have imported

of authority,

their closest
officials
in

centres could be spaces for local communities

to present their
local ways.
It

model

which

is

the

own

histories

in

creative

and

bureaucracy who exercise power and authority

by putting and demanding everything
in writing.

could also be conceived as useful

spaces
profiles

What they may have missed out (maybe because it is more difficult to face) is that the exercise of evolving a charter is much less about 'external authority' and much more about the authority that comes from within through
the articulation of one's
identity. In Chitrakote,

to gather information about tourist's and have rudimentary tourism impact

cells

assessment
spaces.

running out of these collective

Basic

information

technology based
facilities

resources such computers / internet

could be
etc.
It

manned

by village youth for

bookings

could also serve collective village needs

thus, while they have prepared the charters

and not only serve tourism.

and printed

pamphlets there

is

no system

48

Main Menu

EQUITY,

EMPOWERMENT, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT

Equity,

Empowerment, Social Justice And Development

UiUlN

This chapter locates the ETP

in

the context of

its

approach to the ETP. KabirVajpeyi, a member of

the empanelled architects said, 'We believe that
the larger vision of the whole project has not

development objectives.
to

It

examines the extent

which the project has addressed issues of

social justice

and

equity,

community
the

partici-

pation

& engagement, and

to create
efforts.
It

ability of

the

ers.

been understood properly by all the stakeholdWe understand this as a livelihood project
but the
look at

community

convergence with other

explores the extent to

DC or any other in
it

the hierarchy

development

as commercial tourism project.

may still We can

which the communities were able to engage and

stake claim to ownership of the project.
It

see the manifestation of it on

is

field. This, in fact,

also

a project that should ensure that this vision

examines the issues

that arise,
in

of conflicts
living in

and tensions
a rural context

should not only be communicated but also

retained. The roles

the course of
for

and

strategies might differ

is

and working
tures,

change
in

in

existing

power

struc-

but the vision should be the same, this

point where the problems arise.

the

as

well

as

the context of the conflicts

We cannot have
and

and tensions that arise from the implementation

of the project
itself.

UNDP and MoT going in

tion".

different directions
in

implementing agency going

in

yet another direc-

The ETP

is

a complex project and

shift

many ways
in

paradigm

from how tourism projects

the
in

According to Prema Gera, Head, Poverty

Unit,

past were conceptualised and implemented

"UNDP got
reduction

into this tourism

program

for poverty

the country.

It

therefore

a project of this nature

at

became imperative that was clearly understood

stakeholders shared a
of the proj-

and community empowerment. We

to

looked into the program from the point of view as

to

each

level

and that

all

whether the processes are able

empow-

common
ect.

vision

and understanding

er community

and help

in

poverty reduction.

The

project involved a

number

of stakeholders

Women are specially focused on. We are looking at the poorer among the women too. Ministry of Tourism is interested in tourism whereas UNDP
has a different approach".
There has also been a
difficulty

- MoT,
tions,

UNDP, Panchayats,

District Administra-

NGOs, community members and

to

some
faced by the

extent the private sector. During the course of

the project, several resource persons were also

communities and the implementing agencies

to

brought into the project to helpthe implementing

agencies and community

It

in

implementation.

comprehend this project as tourism an area new to most of them. The understanding on the
-

project at the level of

UNDP and MoT

reduces

was observed

in

discussions with the various

at the level of the implementing agencies

is

and

stakeholders that the situation at most sites was

similar to the

further reduced at the level of the community.

of the village

metaphor

of the

elephant and the

The awareness

communities at

blind

men. While everyone had understood

most

of the sites

was

largely circumscribed by

part of the project

and what

it

was aiming

to

the knowledge imparted to them by the imple-

achieve, very few held the complete vision and

49

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

meriting agency. The greater the clarity of the

uled Tribes (ST)

and Scheduled Castes

(SC),

and

implementing agency, the better was the knowl-

the project's success should be assessed not

only by the benefit they have been able to derive

edge

level of

the communities. However at most

limited

sites the

communities often held a very

out of

it,

but also by the extent of their participa-

and piece-meal understanding

of the project. At

tion in the decision

making processes. Since the

role of

many sites, when we asked whom the project was for, a response that often came was that
'the project
is

ETP 'recognizes the

ety

and the primacy

of

women in civil socihuman development...'

for the tourists'.

While a tourism
it

(Rural Tourism

in India:

2006) the programmes

in

project

is

definitely for tourists,

seems as

if

the

under capacity building and infrastructure devel-

idea that this

of the

was

primarily for the

development
articu-

opment are

to

be devised

such a manner that

communities themselves was not

chose not
to articulate this

they also aim at addressing social inequality and

patriarchy. Unfortunately, the

lated or they

aspect

ETP

in

most

sites

the review team visited could not address this

A key stakeholder in this process has been the DC, who is the link between MoT, UNDP and the implementing agencies. However with the
frequent transfers of the DC, the continuity
often broken,
to
is

goal

in

significant

ways (notwithstanding
not expected to ensure).

this

being an extremely challenging goal which a tour-

ism project alone

is

and

it

was not always

possible

ETP

is

not an isolated effort for the promotion

it

convey the essence of the project to every

of rural tourism-

is

linked to the

mainstream
is

one. To overcome this problem,

MoT and UNDP

tool

tourism industry. Each of the ETP sites

depen-

produced a
to

film that

was then used as a

dent to a greater or lesser extent on the existing

flow of tourists either to or near
it.

convey the project's aims, objectives, and

However,

it

processes.
It

goes beyond the use of available resources and

proposes to create new resources, especially
in

has been increasingly acknowledged

that

devel-

human,
crafts.

in

terms of the enrichment of arts and

it

opment planning
is

macro economic growth

address

Thus, on the one hand,

aims at shar-

no guarantee of human development. The

for public policy to specifically

ing benefits using existing resources,

and on

need

the other, looks to create new resources and

strategies for elimination of

human

poverty and
It

new
is,

social

and

institutional

arrangements.

It

inequalities remain significant challenges.

was

therefore, not confined to benefit sharing

recognized that greater accountability of public

policy

within the existing

power structure
chooses

of the village

implementation bodies, gender equality,

or the region but attempts to create

relations.
If

new power
surrender

capacity building to ensure greater decentralization

however

it

to

and empowerment

of marginalized

groups

to the existing status

quo power

structure, the

were key

to these objectives.

ETP

inputs, both

funds and

skill, will

benefit the

The ETP
rural

is

essentially conceived as a
In

means

to

mainstream tourism rather than the endogenous one. The benefit

will

development.

the backdrop of increasing

not trickle

down

auto-

rural crisis, providing social

and economic justice

matically to the disadvantaged sections of the

village.

to the vast

segments

of the

masses who have

The stakeholders approach the

project

been persistently deprived

services
like

of livelihood, basic

from different positions, different stakes and

health and education, remains our

agenda. Furthermore the sites exhibit immense

cultural diversity.

country's greatest challenge. That the ETP aims

at

However the issue

of

human

empowerment

of

disadvantaged sections of

development should not suffer on that score.

Interacting with the various stakeholders the

the community and therefore stands for social

transformation
is

and not mere

social

change

impression that the review team got

the ETP was
still

is

that

important to note. Thus the project should

in

the formative stage on this

consciously attempt to involve

women, youth

aspect. The sites are at different stages of unfulfilled

and other weaker sections, especially Sched-

dreams but none

of

them have

really

taken

50

EQUITY,

EMPOWERMENT, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT

off in

the true sense of meeting the twin project

An aspect that can be seen across the country

objectives of tourism
is

and development. There

learning

and

in

other projects too,

a long way to go

in

and unlearning
in

critical
it

analysis of the
in

is the absence of community and segreis

before something tangible appears

terms of

gating

terms of poverty. Poverty

seen as

the goal of social transformation and economic

opportunities.

The only

silver lining is that

the

homogenous, but it is a fact that there are some people in each community who barely manage
to

ETP has been able

tion

to kindle the fire of imaginaof the

break even with consumption and production.

and expectations

people and

initi-

For

them
to

to

have a choice of livelihood options,

It

ated a process of breaking the social status

quo, which
is

the opportunities are few.

was not uncomarrangements,

no mean achievement. How much

mon

see funds,

institutional

"trade off" can and should

happen between

"a

designed to benefit the poor being passed on to

the not so poor.

successful tourism project" and "commitment to

social justice

and development"
level

is

a dilemma at

every level of the project - right from the top at

An analysis

of

who have

not been

involved

the

MoT and UNDP

up to the implementing

and why, would

disparities. For
in

highlight these exclusions

and

agencies and communities.

example we met the SC group

Naggar who have had a few youth participate

the dance group. They are visibly from the
in

Social Justice and Equity

Social justice

in

seems

to

lie

at the core of the

of the
liveli-

poorer sections and are also treated

inatory

a discrim-

objective of the ETP.

The objective

hood promotion and human development

rural

manner (during a meeting they were asked to sit away and served food separately).

of the

We
in

also were told about the strong resistance

community, especially the disadvantaged,

youth,

women and
what
arts
nity
is

makes the
i.e.,

by the
project focus on

men towards

the participation of
is

women
in

Hodka. Though, a small group

involved

their 'own',

their skill in traditional

and

crafts, their cultural heritage,

commu(flora

the plastering and designing on the walls of the

resort,

women,

largely

have been denied access

its

or private

land,

natural

resources

to

any decision making body. Though

note-

and fauna) and environment

attempt to promote what
is

of the area.

The

worthy how KMVS, the implementing agency

their 'own' obviously

has
is

tried

leads the project to address what

i.e.,

reaching out to

women

to

keep them
clip-

their 'due',

informed (example showing them video

pings of the pashu mela/ animal
their suggestions for the charter),
fair,
it

their right to the wealth

in

generated by tour-

getting

ism

the given locale and the right to decision

still

has a

making about
bution, on the

its

creation

and equitable

distri-

long way to go.

one hand, and the

is

right to protect

and preserve what

Thus the progress
distributive justice.

their 'own',

on the other.
in

We examine some
justice

of the indicators of social

in more detail women, children

of the project

can be seen

and equity by examining

terms of the achievement of both attributive and

aspects of

empowerment
In

of

and youth.
of tourism

the section on economic impacts

to bring in the

we have attempted
of social justice

In

a project of this nature the dilemma always

dimensions
ing

and equity by focus-

exists

about the extent to which

However,

it

can

really

address, challenge and transform deep rooted

social
inequities.
it

on who gained economically and how the

In

gains were distributed.

building,

the chapter on capacity

at the training

is

important to

we have looked
in.

women

keep

in

mind what were the potential opportuniETP offered

to

have been involved

ties that the

address social justice

Generally, tourism helps the tourists to expe-

issues particularly caste and gender discrimination

and empowering marginalized sections,

to

rience the

cultural

diversity

of

our country.

and the extent

abdicated.

which they were

utilized or

However,

ETP,

especially,

has

an

immense
for the

potential of

opening up an opportunity

51

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

tourist to feel the

deeper

spirit

and

finer notes of

to

do the

finer part of the craft

making. But actuin

the harmony of our culture. Every success story

ally

women

are no less creative

their artistic

under the ETP cannot be called complete unless

it

excellence. However, no convincing

answer was
kept out the

successfully promotes closer mutual ties and

found as to why the

women were

respect

among the
of

hosts and the guest as well.

decision-making process and why INTACH as

the implementing agency did not facilitate the

Empowerment
The
Project

Women
of the

process and remained silent about

it.

Document

ETP has placed a

clear

emphasis on the issue

of

empowerment

of

In

Banavasi, the

women

of the
in

SHG

complain

women. According to Prema Gera, Head, Poverty Unit, "UNDP got into this tourism program for poverty reduction and community empowerment, to see whether the processes can empower community, women become a very strong element. Community can involve many, but we are looking at the poorer amongst those, the marginalized and also women". UNDP has been
emphasizing that atleast half the participants
in

that they are not represented

the Village Tour-

ism Committee. They appreciate the role of BAIF,

the

NGO

partner,

and the VGPAS

in

organizing

the Pineapple mela and for printing a booklet on the recipe of pineapple-based dishes. The mela

helped them to earn

some money.

In

the

VGPAS
3

(the village tourism committee) there are only

women

in

the Board of Directors consisting of

elite

13 members. These women are from the

families of the village.
In

the capacity building activities and decision

making bodies promoted should be women. The strongest representations

decision
of
in

Naggar, the VTC's bias towards upper caste

not go unnoticed. As the
to

women
the

in

women does
nity

commu-

making bodies were

of

tribal
in

was asked

choose 3 members from

community
Karaikudi.
tion

Chitrakote,

Chougan
and

and

each ward, they have invariably chosen people

from the more affluent families believing they

Women
places

had

average

representaNaggar),

at
it

two

(Banavasi

would

be

in

better

position

to

represent
of

was completely male dominated at Raghurajpur, Hodka and Lachen. In some sites such as Neemrana and Durgapur we cannot
while

and understand the implementation

project.

the

Here the implementing agency had an

opportunity to intervene and involve

of the

members

assess

this

as

yet,

as the project

is still

in

its

community who otherwise would not have

in

formative stages at these two sites.

In

had a chance
they
let

a "regular tourism project", but

that pass.

Raghurajpur, for instance, the Raghurajpur

Heritage

& Tourism Committee (RHTC

committee)
is

village

tourism

completely devoid

of

women. When the Sub-committees were formed,

women were

not even consulted. They were

in
all

conspicuously absent

the sub commit-

tees except for one, the sanitation committee!

Despite the presence of a
village
it

women's group
in

in

the

is

not represented

the RHTC.
in

The

sub-committees were formed

of
all villagers,

the presence

as informed by INTACH. This has

fact that

happened despite the

ute equally
in

women

contrib-

the production of the crafts, the

of livelihood to
all

main and only source

village.

many

in

the

The women do

the labour intensive

skills
Homestay, Naggar

ground work and

men

are said to have the

52

EQUITY,

EMPOWERMENT, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT

Hodka, despite being a successful ETP, presents

a bleak situation
pation.
in

tution
is

and functioning

of the VTC. Special care

the area of women's

particiis

taken to mobilize and empower women. The

The Shaam-e-Sarhad management

Committee has 29 members, 11 female and 18

male, under the chairmanship of the sarpanch
of the village,

completely male. The Hodka Paryatan Samiti

(the village tourism committee)
is

reported to

Butki Bai.

She belongs
tribal

to the

have 3-4
left

women members
is

initially.

But they

Maria Gond community, the largest

of the village.

group

soon after because

This
In

of the social

taboo on

Through the course of

this project

women. women.

more acute among the Muslim

only Hindu hamlet

because

of the

the

SC hamlet, the

deal with,

many instances she has had to she has come to become a strong and

of the village, the

women

enjoy freedom to a
still

determined person.
Interesting, but not surprising

relatively larger extent, but are

not liberal

enough

to

be part of the committee.

is

was the view

of

one

of the

Neemrana
of the
is

yet to organize itself for the running

tion of

ETP there. The implementing agency

but things have not yet

work,
ities -

men in Chougan about the participawomen! 'Women are very busy with daily household work and the agricultural activthey do not get
activities.

conscious about the necessity of women's

much

time to participate

empowerment
that direction.
In
ly

moved

in

in in

these

They spend several hours

bringing the water for the daily use from the

outskirts of the village. Besides they

have
to

to

go

Chitrakote, however,

one can see a complete-

in

the forests for the collection of

wood
in

cook.

different picture. Here

of

women

are

in

the posi-

They are busy for eight months

activities

agricultural

tion

leadership

in

the implementation of

the ETP. A conscious effort has been

involve
all

made

to

summer

sections of the village

in

the consti-

months of and mahua. They extract the oil from the flower of the mahua, they have to take care of the elders and the children of the house too, thus they hardly have any time left for the VTC membership". Notwithcollect in the four

and they

'tendu leaf (beetle)

standing this understanding, the implementing

agency has ensured women are active

pants of the ETP
in

partici-

Chougan. They are found

to

be

well organized

under different sub-commitin

tees and contribute

the income-generating

programmes.
In

Durgapurthe participation

of

women

in train-

programmes was well registered. Since the programmes have not yet started making income, the empowerment of women is yet to be seen in tangible economic terms.
ing
In

Lachen, the presence of

women

in

decision
to

making structures and processes with regard

the ETP
is

completely missing. Here the Dzumsa,

the implementing agency and also the local self

governing institution

is in

control of the imple-

mentation of the project. To create a parallel

structure like
Rama
ben, along with other women are responsible for the entire lipan

in

the case of
it

all

other sites

is

not

an option here as

would be for them the under-

work at the resort Shaam-e-Sarhad

mining of the power and control of the Dzumsa.

53

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Also within the

tion

Dzumsa

structure, the participaof

Children and Youth

Only a couple of ETP sites have involved children

and decision making

while the

women

is

low.

and youth
In

in

the project. A good example

is

found

Karaikudi,
majority
of

project

worked with
the
idea
of

in

Chitrakote.

The children have been organised

women

artisans,

into

an "eco-policing/ brigade". They have been

women's empowerment focused on economic empowerment. "Kalanjiam community banking programme would work with these crafts people and would ensure their empowerment and would find the means for increased earning
capacity.

exposed to issues of garbage and what they

could do to prevent the tourists from disturbing

the ecology. For example, there

is

a huge tree,

nested by large number of bats. Often, out of

perverted curiosity, the tourist would disturb

The

women would be
programme

provided necesfor sustainable

them.
it

When

the bats

fly

out, they

fill

the sky and

is

sary

skill

building

is

quite a sight. But this behaviour

a threat

livelihood".

to their habitation
if

and

will

have adverse impact

In

these various examples of women's

in

not checked. The children

partici-

pation

decision making

we have examined
in

this

tell the tourist about and dissuade them from such actions.

the role exercised by

women
in

the apex tournot

is

The members

of the

VTC

especially the youth

ism body constituted

the

village. This is

(suraksha brigade) are now taking special care

to protect the wildlife of the spot.

to underestimate that the decision

making

at various levels. While

participation of

it

is

critical

that the

In

Raghurajpur, however, violation of the child's

is

women must
is

be ensured, the

rights to education

quite striking. Traditionally

all

process adopted to engage with them must also

the artisan families involve

includingthe children,
in

their

members,

be given time as what

is

essentially

happening
is

the production process.

the challenge to social structures. This

The children
deprive

start learning the art from a very

often a slow process.

Participation

tender age. But this cannot be the grounds to

of

and engagement
in

women

should

also be ensured
in

the key spaces of the ETP

them education and

the primary

of their
leisure.

fundamental

rights to

Most

of the children in

relation

to

capacity building programmes.

skills

Raghurajpur have not received education beyond

level.

While enhancing and working on the

that

When
of a

asked, the reason given

women have

it

is

also important to attempt to

was the absence

village.

secondary school
it

in

the

move away from the stereotyping the areas of women's participation and creating a space for new challenges. A very hopeful example of this is Neemrana where women have been trained
as guides.

But on enquiry
in

was found

that there

was one

a nearby village. While understand-

ing that to

ensure the

rights of a child

was

not

the main objective of the ETP, the opportunity

to

debate this and

initiate

a dialogue with the

community was
The
Project

definitely within the

purview of

Document has delineated a

clear

the project. Organisations that could influence

set of steps to design into the project, capacity

building on gender sensitivity, clear indicators for

such as INTACH,

UNDP and MoT do

not

seem

to

have taken a position on this and there was no

evidence of debates with the community to
influ-

empowerment and impact assessment on mainstreaming gender. Given the central importance
that this issue
is

ence thinking and change.

In

given

in

the original agreement

it

between the Gol-MoT & UNDP,

efforts to architect the

seems

that the

terms of capacity building the youth seem

in

gender mainstreaming
it

involved mostly
cultural

guide training.

In

Chougan the
It

aspect are feeble. Further

that
if

must be recognized
critical,

group

is

comprised mostly of children.

in
in.

this

aspect were indeed

of the project

then the
to

was
for

difficult to

judge

what spaces the youth

It

pace and results

conceived

may have

be

have been involved

would be important

such projects to more consciously design

differently.

54

EQUITY,

EMPOWERMENT, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT

interventions

with

youth
that

as

migration,

determination and sincerity. The

the

members

of

employment are
significantly. Also

issues

impact

them
in

software-implementing
role in

agency,

Saathi,

they are an important section

have played a key

of the

ensuring participation

as giving them
tourism
will

awareness and training

their hands.

powerless majority of the community.

effort

be of value, as they are the future,

in

A conscious

has been
in

made

to involve

all

and a

vision for the village lies

sections of the village

-

the constitution and

functioning of the VTC. The sarpanch of the

Ownership
In

of

the

tourism

project

village, Butki Bai

expressed her determination

Community Engagement
understanding the factors that lead to
local

to fight to the last for the

success of the ETP,

even

if

that cost her position of the sarpanch.

her,

ship about the project, the review

community members having a sense of ownerteam considered to what extent community

Along with

there

is

a large group of tribal

women

organized under the

members cared

sub-committees. These

SHGs and several women are taking the

work

about and were committed to its success. The team also looked at their participation and involvement in activities and roles linked to the
project.

project forward despite the infrastructure

being

in

jeopardy.
fall

Before the formation of the VTC, the water

and The
feeling of ownership

its

surroundings were an open access area.

of the

among

the

commu-

The Eco-police
of

VTC took the

responsibility

nity is very

important for any of the rural tour-

keeping the area clean. At times pamphlets

being distributed

ism ventures to be successful. The feeling that

the project was for them and they are the focus
is

are

cooperate. The

missing

in

the community at the most of the

advisor to the project on Institu-

the youth

among the tourists to members of the VTC especially (suraksha brigade) are now taking
(fruit

sites. Prof Raju,

special care to protect the wildlife of the spot.

tion building elaborated tion is

on this "the real quesfeel they

As a result of that the bats

foxes) have not only

eating flying
to the trees

about making them

own
it

this,

come back

and

for

them

to

nurture

it.

The way the implein

around the

fall

but also proliferated. Similarly

menting agencies have approached

way,
ect.

some

the population of the Blue Rock Pigeons and

places does not help communities feel that

snakes

like

the Banded and

Common

Krait,

them from the projFinancial involvement is a powerful way by

it

actually alienates

Green PitViperand Python have multiplied owing

which you can

make the community feel a sense

in

of ownership. Funds are coming from outside,

is

the village asked to put up something. Not

the beginning perhaps, but

to also

put

in

some

of their

which comes from outside

also gets wasted

is there a scheme own funds? Money and is not their own

away and

if

there

is

corruption,
it.

people do not
if

make a

big fuss about

Whereas
for

local

money is
this is

raised,
it

even
is

if it is

from the poor

them.

and a small amount,

big

money

When

done, they
will

will start

voicing their

concerns, they
Chitrakote
mobilizing

act as a vigilant body."

presents

successful

effort

in

and motivating the majority

to take

of the

community

ownership

of the site.

The
with
Members of the Suraksha

process that led to the formation of the VTC

addressed the

issue

of

social

justice

Brigade, Chitrakote

55

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

to the protective

measures taken by the VTC.

ownership of the
folk,

Kaashtha Shilp Samooh (Wood carvers group),

Vaidh
cine)

The sense

of regaining the

river

Samooh

(practitioners of traditional medi-

helped the traditional fisher

the kurukhs,

and guide group have also been trained

stay, cuisine

to increase their income. Before the formation of the VTC, outsiders

and supported. Home

collection
profitable ventures.

and honey

used to poison the water

successfully
fish

have been gradually proved to be

body at the bottom

offish
in

of the fall to get a large catch

one

go.

Now that has been

in

stopped, which has helped the growth of

VTC has
positions

involved both the

Panda Gonds and

and other species

In

the lake.
of

the Baigas,
in

who

hold the highest and lowest

the social hierarchy respectively.

to

Chougan also one can see the enthusiasm

The former considered

all is

be "cleanest" among
have been
prac-

the people to

make

the ETP a success. Despite

entrusted with food and cuisine training

latter

the failure of infrastructure development they

has been given to them. The

have been able to make use of the capacity

building training to
its

encouraged
tice of

to

expand

their traditional

fullest extent to create

honey

collection from the forests. Previ-

and expand and honey

livelihood options like lantana craft

ously they used to take the whole beehive out to

extract the
of renewal.

collection.

honey and thereby destroy

its

chance

The Baigas now have been trained

it

NIWCYD, the implementing agency

gan,

in

Chou-

to take only a part of

for regeneration.

out and leave the rest

seems

to

have understood the objective of

They have also been provided

in

the project

holistically.

The democratic means

of the

tools to maintain hygiene

the process of honey

adopted

for

the formation

already started paying dividends.

are well organized and motivated to

VTC have The people

collection. Notwithstanding the social hierarchy

stereotypes that have been perpetuated, there

is

make

maxi-

at least an

element

of inclusiveness. to

mum
tees

benefit of the project.

in

The
in

participation of

women
is

the VTC as well as

the sub-commit-

Hodka has also been able

had
interest
in in

involve

many
is

commendable.

sections of the society. Three years ago they

little

tourism. The

community

A number of sub-committees have been formed and required trainings for skill formation have been given. The result has been extremely good. Out of 1300 odd population of the village 300
-

gaining interest
tourism.

the resort and village-based

KMVS

informs 'the Hodka Paryatan

in this activity

Samiti personally invested

joint-business

as a

venture
to

which reveals their

their resort,

400 persons

are claimed by the

members

of

personal commitment
village

promoting

the VTC to have been receiving direct benefit out

of the project.
is

and

culture'.

The success

of the lantana craft

opti-

praiseworthy.

The VTC members are very

Hodka Paryatan Samiti (Hodka Tourism Committee)

mistic about creating

in

enough job opportunities future through tourism to stop tree felling and

was formed

by the

Hodka Gram Panchayat

with equal representation of 2 persons from

out migration completely.

each of the 12 wards (hamlets). Sham-e-Sharhad has emerged as a good example of social
capital of the
ful

The formation of the farmers group (krishak samooh of 80-90 people) and the training
provided to the

community besides a successIt

business venture.

has started generat-

members

is

another remark-

ing substantial

income and providing employHunarshala,

able achievement of the project. Tribal people

are not typical farmers and they have also very small landholdings. Under the ETP they were

ment

to the

community members. The people

of the village with the help of the

a Bhuj based group of architects, constructed

motivated successfully to use organic manure

the resort. They now maintain

it

by themselves

and increase
also

their production of food that

for the tourists.

would

though
ing

still

needs the support

for

of the

implement-

have a value

Besides,

agency

marketing and promotion. While

56

EQUITY,

EMPOWERMENT, SOCIAL JUSTICE

AND DEVELOPMENT

their inability to involve the

women

in

a range

an entry point and formed a large number of

of roles

in

project implementation remains a

SHGs

or Kallanjam

as they

call

it.

But

it

is

found

drawback, the strongsocial norms do not change

in

that the

members do

not take loan for business

a hurry.

or asset creation,
goal.

which should have been the

for

Loans are mostly taken

health
is

debt redempobligations.

Karaikudi

represents

the

dilemma

that

tion,

and

to

meet

social

successful tourism project

a tourism project that
justice
is

may

not always be

Education

rarely the

reason
to

for taking credit.

able to meet social

successfully.

objectives

equally

The
of the

Ideologically
effective
its is

Dhan seems

be committed and

village of

Kanadukattan being at the heart

received
all

in

working towards social change but

Chettinad

the

attention

of

the

willingness to work for social transformation

government. Already Rs.2.75 crore has been

spent
for

not as evident. Thus issues of caste hierar-

the infrastructural development (as

chy and the caste exploitation do not feature

significantly

Dhan Foundation members). The hardware money of the ETP has also
reported by the

on their agenda. Through the ETP

it

certainly focused on

been

spent
really

here.

But

this

huge spending
has benefited

been able

to include the

women but how far has men and women of the

its

it

has not

helped the communities of the

It

excluded communities into

process of social

marginalized and the poor.

change

is

not very clear. The

VTC

is

comprised

the business community. Good roads, the park

of all the stakeholders irrespective of caste

and

around the temple, the car shades and the

(which
ly

toilet

class backgrounds.

It

is

quite likely that

in

such

is

kept under lock and key) have certain-

a context those

who

are the real gainers of tour-

added value to the place as a tourist spot. But absence of a space of interaction between the community and the tourist defeats the
community
the the Bangala
benefit
objective.
in

ism would try to dominate the scene as soon as,

or

even before Dhan withdraws from the project,

is

unless the social transformation agenda

privileged

also

The owners
lot

of

and
in

stabilized.

Chettiar
in

Mansion

Kanadukattan and
by providing

Karaikudi earn a

The ETP
nity

Raghurajpur received an opportufirst

"home

stay" facilities

and

traditional food to the

more
given

by default (as they were

given

tourists,

especially foreign tourists.

The shop
products.

infrastructure
later

development and
development
INTACH.

then

much

owners provide the raw materials

to the artisans

capacity building) of having both

and pay nominally Women weavers in

labour and

for the finished

infrastructure

and

capacity

particular get a raw deal

for their

building under the responsibility of the

same
to

and receive very poor compensation

skill.

implementing agency,
large extent

INTACH

had a free hand to design the

the

projis in

ect

in

tune with the objectives. Everything

the
training
of

Since 2005, when

Dhan Foundation began

in
in

place-

artisans
of

has
the

implementing the project

Karaikudi,

it

has

been

done,

and

the

construction

done commendable work

skill

mobilization

and

amphitheatre,

the
lodge
is is

information

centre
is

formation

among

the artisans and

women.
in

and

the

tourist

cum

restaurant

This has just started paying dividends

of

terms

complete. The VTC

registered. But

in

the process of being

is

income augmentation. However,

it

is difficult

what

missing

the sense of

to estimate the exact benefit derived

under the
its

ownership

among

the

community. This

has

ETP since Dhan has integrated

ongoing projects
in

this with

other

been has been a mechanical implementation

of the project not a creative one,

the area. Take for example

as INTACH
rarely
local

the income generation under the project. Dhan's

claim of the revenue generation from ETP alone

pursued
consulted

a top down approach and

or

collaborated
their

with

the

seems
income

unrealistic. Secondly, while presenting

it

community on
result the

needs,

preferences
skills.

or

mixes up turnover and

profit.

Dhan

inputs on design, based on their

As a

adopted a policy of promoting micro finance as

community

of craftsmen

and women

57

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

is

still

bonded under the yoke

presence
Puri.
In in

of the middleto

the
a

implementing agency turned

blessing
in

out to

be
the
slip

men. The artisans have not been able

their direct

make

disguise.

This

the flourishing tourist

community
out
of

realize that the

made project may

Because

market of

the olden days a pilgrim's

their

hands completely.

of

journey was not considered complete unless a

red stick of Puri

this fear the elite

group was sidelined by the

and a patachitra from RaghuraBut

poorer sections of the community. The marginalized

jpur

were purchased.
the
tour

now

for

lack

of

groups got together and within the 6 months

information
tourists to

operators

take
it

the

the elders of the community visited the office

of

another village claiming

to

be

the

implementing

agency
in

to

formally

No effort is in evidence towards women's empowerment and participation.

Raghurajpur.

apologize. This episode has

a way built a

sense

of higher

ownership than before.

like

The case
picture.

of

Neemrana

also presents a dismal

Banavasi seems

successful
if

effort

of

The implementing agency, Sohard's

towards helping

engaging with tourism. However

understand
it

one

is

to

efforts

women and

the

arti-

through the lens of social justice

it

san castes develop ownership of the project

issues and power structures then

tant to delve deeper
institutions

is

imporproject

have not amounted

to

much. Three years have

in skill

and understand the

structures

passed since the training

formation and

and The

from

that

awareness building programmes started taking

place but have not seen any result
in

perspective.
is

temple

committee

which

terms of

mainly upper caste and consisting of the

elites

income
is

to

these people. Presently, the project

Panchayat
village

and the business men

of the

hanging on enormous uncertainties. Nobody

have clearly dominated the VTC. The

actually

owns the
in

project at the

moment.

Every-

tourist lodge

cum

information centre on which

body has complaints against the others who are

involved
In
it.

most
been
that

of the infrastructure
built

money was spent has

on temple land with thefull knowledge

it

is

not possible to transfer the ownership

our discussions with community members,

of the land to the

VGPAS. The understanding

of the

the

women

of the

SHGs, the camel cart owners,

all

was that the Chairman

tee would

temple commit-

the metal smiths, the potters

blame the three

the
Fort Place

be President of the Maintenance

power centres, the

district administration,

Committee.

50%
is

of the

income would go

to the

management

of the

Neemrana

and

VGPAS, the temple committee would receive

the
rest.

the sarpanch of the village for the utter failure of the project. They feel cheated because the time
they spent and the consequent

This

the highest ratio of benefit

in

sharing of this nature

its

any

site of

the ETP and

wage

loss that

social justice angle

for a

needs

to

be explored.

they suffered with the hope of income augmentation for the family

The VGPAS called

of the

tender and a firm belong-

has yielded no results so

far.

ing to the relative of a

businessman member
responsibility
in

Some

of

them admit
is

that the training that they

VGPAS was awarded the

received

forgotten. However, they point out

of the construction.

The construction started

that by the turn of events the Fort Palace has

ultimately

emerged as the

real beneficiary of

the

half-baked project.

May 2006 and was completed in January 2007. Both materials and labour was brought from outside the village. Thus there was no participation of the local people.

The ETP
village

at Durgapur

is still

in

its

infancy.

The

community has gone through ups and of owning the project due to internal conflicts and tensions, The implementing agen-

BAIF coming
project
This,

in

as the

NGO

partner of the

downs
cy

was resented by an
in

aspiring local
resulted

NGO.
in
it

along with village

politics,

NEST feels that the break in the project of 6 months which was a result of a fight that broke out between the elite of the community and

not succeeding fully

receiving popular accep-

tance and ending up with a bias towards the

powerful sections.

One

folk artist flatly

denied

58

EQUITY,

EMPOWERMENT, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT

any knowledge

of the project although

he was
trip

essentially a social

and economic

intervention,

taken to Delhi Haat on an exposure

and
their

several conflicts are likely to surface.

Some

not

was The bamboo

Rs.1000

paid
craft

to

him

as

honorarium.

inherent particularly to a tourism project, but

women

expressed

simmering or underlying
which exist anyway, and
a project
like this is

conflicts

and tensions

ignorance about the project.

come

to the fore

when

introduced. Others could

Naggar

is

still

struggling

with

ownership by

be attributed particularly to the challenges of

status quo or social orders or existing power
structures

the wider community. The VTC presents clear

upper caste domination

In

in

its

membership.

that

the
of

project
its

deliberately
of

a village, which

is

ridden with severe caste

introduces as

part

agenda

social

hierarchy and where upper castes openly practice

untouchability, the 'lofty ideals' of the

change and the resultant forces that are then

unleashed.

ETP are

not easy to accept.

Even though a

lot

of

thought has gone into

project

As members of the SC community

described, "they do not allow us
in

in

Naggar

conceptualising

this

by

MoT
is

and
the

the temple.

UNDP, what seems

to

be underestimated
in

Then they say get together and work. They

practice discrimination

power of structural inequities

rural society.

and

untouchability

then think
a meeting

we
in

all

can work together.

and There was

No development

activity,

supported from the

outside, can avoid conflict. Anything that even

a hotel, our views

and ideas were

attempts to empower the poor, through simple

skills

heard and when the time came for eating then

they packed the food not eat the food that

and exposure, are perceived as

is

threats,

and gave it to us. We did day and since then we do

If

since power gained by the poor

lost

deference

by the

rich.

not go to attend the meeting.

taking place, then
it

development

is

is

for all".

There are conflicting situations every where,

some more apparent and

The introduction
been used
of the

visible

and some

ETP which could have

has

others
In

in

the form of simmering discontent.

to challenge the social structure

Chitrakote the physical structure of shops

simply not done so. The Society for Advance-

ment

of
in

Village

Economy

(SAVE),

the

NGO

partner

Naggar, apolitically tries to involve

in

everybody

the project without disturbing the

caste hierarchy. The village consists of three

major castes, the Brahmins, the Thakurs and

the SC's. While the
first

two have received

stay

was brought down as a result of conflict. In Chougan the construction is on land which is owned by someone who has not been compensated and there is no documentation. In Neemrana,workwasstoppedbytheFortmanagementwhentheroad required land. In Banavasithe arrangementamongstthe committees is unclear.
In

subsidies for organizing

to

home

and support

Karaikudi the existing

home

stays are

in

weavers

for visiting exhibitions like the Delhi

potential conflict with the

community group and

institution is not yet
is

Haat, the

SC community

received training

in
is

DHAN.

In

Raghurajpur the

mobilizing traditional Nati

dance groups.

It

registered as the

community

divided on the
is

also important to explore this from the class

features of the byelaws and there

ambiguity

and equity angle as to why an equal amount was

agreed to be paid to
the person's
all

on how they would function.

conflicts that

We

focus on the

without consideration of
investment.
willing to

ability to

make such an

creation of
institutions

emerge as a consequence of the new power centres in the form of new

under the ETP.

project such as the

its

ETP should be

make

norms that favour equity and have a

In

clear bias towards the poor.

Chitrakote the process of social transforma-

tion initiated by the formation of the

VTC and

Social tensions and conflicts

In

implementing a project of this nature which

is

59

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Physical structure of shops brought

down as

a result of conflict

series of

awareness building and

of conflict within
'right to

skill

formation

it

was

started.

The major

conflict

meetings and workshops caused the emergence

of a situation
nity.

the issue of the construction of

emerged on shops near the

objective

the

commu-

ghumar, the waterfall

sively for its

site,

by the VTC, exclu-

Execution of the

own' stirred a

women members. The

hornet's nest at the village and the administrative levels. "Initially

everybody was interested

in

the project. But the trouble started the the

money

started coming", said the

moment members

of the software

implementing agency, Saathi.

for a hefty donation, to

was to sell handicrafts and food to the tourists and thereby promote the products of the craftsmen and women trained under the project and local cuisine also promoted under it. The panchyat and the local administration
jointly

The MLA sent a word

his
political

decided to provide 5 acres of Najul land

plot

party which

was

refused. There

(government land) out of an 11-acre

where
It

was a system
tourists

of collecting vehicle fees

from the

the annual local festival takes place.

also

by

the

Panchayat.
entrusted
with

The
the
of the

Deputy
collec-

started building shops near the waterfall on the

Sarpanch,
tion.

was
of

government

(najul)

land.

All

vested

interest

On report

embezzlement

the Panchayat stopped the collection.

money The VTC

groups came together and

demolished

the

nearly completed beautiful structures on the

started collecting nominal entry fee from the

tourists
in

30th October 2007. This blatant hooliganism

consultation

with

the block level

was

in

the presence of the police

men

sent to

administration.
tion put tion

On the face

of a strong opposi-

the spot by the local administration

law and order under control'.
Till

'to

keep

up by the one section the administrait

date no action

asked the VTC to discontinue

soon after

has been taken by the administration against

60

EQUITY,

EMPOWERMENT, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT

the offenders for destroying public property

despite being informed by the VTC. Even the

the

the Sarpanch
ly

Gram Panchayat, who is

in

it

is

largely controlled by

socially
It

and economical-

Panchayat Secretary, belonging to the upper

caste

a powerful person.

is

alleged that he

was

Dhakar community, conspired against

Panchayat
for the construction in the

very involved
in

the capacity building activities

the people and did not write down the resolution of the

the beginning but with the motive of establishit.

ing control over

to

It

is

believed that his failure

register of the Panchayat.

do so

is

the real cause of his opposition.

result
is

Whatever the case the net

that the

The

people

who

are

involved

in

oppos-

VTC
In

is

isolated from the

Gram Panchayat.

ing the

project for different reasons have a

common

ground of accusing the VTC of

divid-

Durgapur, the

DC

constituted a committee

ing the otherwise peaceful village

community.

for

the construction work under the infrastruc-

Even the spokesperson of the Chhattisgarh

Tourism
Saathi

ture development part of the

ETP by forming

Board raised his finger against the

in

a group of wealthy and powerful people of the

village to

members engaged

the implementaof Saathi

be part of the committee.

It

was a

tion of the project.

These members
constructed

small committee with no

tion.
ity

woman

representa-

are accused of stopping tourists from going

to

the

tourists

lodges

by

the

building

The work started much before the capacprogramme saw the light of the day.

Tourism

Board,

and

instead

sending them

The construction committee members turned

outtobecorruptand highhanded. They preferred
the

to the tents at the

bottom of the waterfall.

Board's
ire

Chhattisgarh
Saathi
is

Tourism

with

the

RCC

construction.

The common

villagers

understandable.
in

Saathi
to

members
the

could not oppose this because the

DC

support-

do not subscribe
concrete
structure

principle

huge
is

ed the committee. But the situation changed

with the entry of the

the

Tourism

Board
of the

NGO

partner

NEST

in

building up right on the side

bank

fall

the village for the mobilization of the people

with a manicured garden with exotic species

of

under the capacity building programme. Voice

trees

and

plants.

It

also

registered

its

was

raised against the functioning

and plan

grievance on the demolition of the cottage of the

of the Construction Committee.

The new DC
called for

legendary

anthropologist
with
in

Verrier

Elwin,

agreed to dissolve the committee and reconstitute

it

who was honoured

President of India
find
in
it

Padma Bhusan

by the

democratically.

The meeting
out
to

1961. The administrators

this

purpose

turned

be

nasty
of

not just a potential competitor but

battleground

between the

members
villagers.

the

a moral watch dog!

committee and the

common

NEST

Neemrana the process adopted for the formation of the VTC is questioned by the Sarpanch. He blames the implementing agency, SOHARD for not taking the Gram Panchayat into confidence. He also questions the method of
In

members were mishandled and one of them was badly assaulted by a member of the committee. However, the new committee was formed and the construction work was stopped under the instruction of the MoTand UNDP.
In
all

choosing the head of each of the groups of the

stakeholders and beneficiaries
edly

Karaikudi while every effort

is

made

to

keep

who are alleghandpicked. Thus the VTC formed with

formed body. The Sarpanch's allegation

these heads cannot be called a democratically

harmony without rocking the boat, one wonders how long this can continue. As a community member observed "Conflict will emerge at a later point when the commusections
in

cannot be completely ignored though he has

his

nity

becomes powerful enough

in

to

challenge
they
is

own agenda

in

making

it

loud and clear.

the rich upper castes". At the

moment

As the

common

villagers, especially

the weakin

are miniscule

front of the elites so there

er sections

and women do not

participate

no issue of

conflict.

There

is

a possibility, once

61

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

the domestic tourist

comes and wants

to

have

Chettinad food, they are forced to go to these

big

mansions and pay 500/- per person. Once

then
the

the hospitality groups are ready to serve the

tourists

mighty

Chettinad
stays

owners
will

may

feel a bit threatened.

Home

also

challenge the monopoly of the mansion owners.

The success
largely on

of the

ETP, therefore,

depends

challenging the present system of

in

participation
of

the decision making process

by
redefining
of
(or

the

village

even

questioning)

the

roles

the

different

stakeholders including the District Administration.

A review

of the implementing agencies,

district administration,

such as, the

the

NGO
of

and the
is

village tourism
in

development committee,
delivery

crucial

the context of the

the social justice. Synergy

not
necessarily

among them may

positive
is

be

indicator.

Any process

of social

change

bound

to upset

the existing power structure and conflicts are

its

natural outcome.

this front

The success of the ETP on depends on the mechanism adopted

by the

or supported

implementing agencies

for their resolution.

62

Main Menu

Institution Building

INSTITUTION BUILDING

Institution Building

This

section

on

institution

building

focuses

Formation
Committees
All

of the Village

Tourism

on the concept, the processes involved, the

structures and legal frameworks adopted, role
responsibility, rules

& & regulations and addressing

sites

have attempted building an apex body

- the Village Tourism

will

Committee (VTC)

that

the future sustainability of these institutions.

Initially

take over once the implementing agencies

exit

the

ETP

infrastructure

components development and capacity

had two
key
institution building

from the place except Lachen, where the

project has

been implemented by the Dzumsa,

building.
later

The focus on

came
in

the local self-governing institution. Also apart

when issues came up

be created

of

how synergies

from the apex body, the implementing agencies

have endeavoured to form sub-committees that

will

could

between the two and

of institution building
in

relation to the

management

sustain the tourism

activity.

of tourism in the

future.

The process

was
a

There have been two different approaches to

the formation of the Village Tourism Committee.

introduced to the project

2006 through
as a strategy
is

workshop. Implementing agencies have been

One, the membership of the VTC should be

confined to the people

encouraged

to build institutions

for

who

are so far excluded

future sustainability. An institution

a body of

from or exploited under the existing tourism

industry, namely, the artisans, the craftsmen,

the people held together by an idea or a purpose

that works for their best interests. The people
feel

the

women, the youth and the other weaker

programme
is

an urge

for

such an

institution

when they
their

sections of the village community. The entire

capacity building

find that the existing

ones cannot serve

if

designed for

purpose.

It

is

debatable

the function of the

institutions,

their skill formation, value addition to the old

VTC can be held by existing

such

as,

products and the creation of

the Panchayat or the traditional village council.

Since the objective

and marginalised,

new products. is to empower the powerless the VTC is one potential

power structures.
to
is

Processes involved

in

institution building

space

to challenge existing to

Prof Raju, advisor to the project on Institution

The other approach

all

open up the doors

building explains, 'To setup

common
with

vision, to

norms and evolve a ensure they work in tandem

in

the rich and the poor, the powerful and the

weak.

Some implementing
is
-

agencies involved

one another and

is

alignment with an
institution building

believe this

a more pragmatic and effective

over arching purpose

challenge.
with
It

an
to

method
to the

to leave the entire choice of selection

in

involves

lot

of consultations
identify

community- to avoid social tensions

the

the

stakeholders

the

key

process of implementation of the ETP.

Taking everybody into confidence
different from giving everybody a
is,

participants
facilitate the

and

opinion

leaders

and
vision.

work towards a

common

however,
in in

Understanding of formal and informal ways

of work together towards a
that
is

space

the the

common purpose
forms
the

decision

making process.

Everybody

beneficial

for

everyone

village, irrespective of

caste and class ranking,

stable basis for Institution building".

63

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

has the
which

right to

know the

details of the project.

What
their

is

the kind of vision they have, what

institution building,

is

This holds especially true for the Panchayat,

is

understanding of

what
in

the governing body at the village

level,

processes are involved, how to carry them out

a participatory
is

and must be kept informed on a regular basis

about the
project.
is

manner such
to

that sufficient time

However

it

is

the right to take

allocated for each step, creating groups

and

decisions that

the problematic area. Obviously

real gainers

start
of
All

handing over things

them

slowly - each

those who are the

tourism
or those

from existing

these influences the quality and outcomes.

the implementing agencies are not
this challenge.
fully

powerful

ones who aspire

try to

to gain out of the

In

ETP would

dominate.

equipped to deal with

their

presence the weaker sections of the

villagers

and women

will

never be able to enjoy

in

Structures and Legal frameworks

As
this project
is

equal status and equal say

the project.
In

the functioning of

so varied at each

site,

it

is

very

difficult to

point to

one universal
project.

institutional

model. There are two structures that have

Neemrana,

SOHARD,

the

implementing
involve
all

emerged from the ETP

1. Village

agency,

who have been

trying to

stakeholders, has been working for 3 yrs, but

is

Tourism

Committee,

which

is

the

unable to form the committee because of

interference.

coordinating,

monitoring

group

and

then
of
all

political

According
"in

to

Niranjan

various

sub-committees,

comprising

Sharma, Chief Coordinator,

structure
is

the village the

artisans, craft persons, tourism-linked (at

sites except Durgapur).
2. In

such that the

elite

are scared of
local
villagers

loosing their

dominance
in

with

Durgapur they have proposed a triangular

b.

becoming stakeholders
Panchayat
then there
is

the project.

Gram
if

structure - comprising of a. VTC,

the VTC

okay;

it

is

an elected body but

in

appointed the
(livelihoods)

Producers Group
c.

Members

the stakeholders have no say

is

the committee

and

Tourism marketing and

no use of

its

existence.

We

wish

management

group.

end up becoming one more institution for the dominant people in the village to test and showcase their powers. We need to handover the project to the
that the tourism committee should not
villagers".

It

is

important to recognise that the VTC on the

it

face of

would have a certain membership but

of the village.

may well be under the control of the power elites In some cases the implementing
failed to confront the issue.
It

agency has

is

not a matter of mere convenience to either accommodate the powerful people in the VTC
or put
it

under the control of the Panchayat

village

or traditional

council,
It

which

is

often

a powerful institution.

is

a strategic issue,

which

is

often

ignored either deliberately or

apolitically. In certain sites, e.g.,

Chougan and

Hodka, this problem does not arise because of

the near absence of such overt social conflicts
or tensions.

The choice

of the

implementing agency

is critical.

INSTITUTION BUILDING

Vaidh Samooh, Guides, Honey group, Traditional

song group and Krishak Samooh.

oftheVTC.

All

people

are part of the different groups are

who members

There are similar examples of this structure

in

Karaikudi as well. The Village Coordination

Committee would be headed by the president

of

panchayat,

executive

officers,
if

artisans

representatives (both genders,

local

present) and

community comprising

of both

genders

(irrespective of literacy).
Members of Village Tourism Committee, Durgapur

Within

the

broad structures at a few sites

also
involved
In

they

have

the

village

elders

(Chougan, Durgapur).
brought
input
in

Banavasi they have

(to

There have been various legal frameworks

(Societies, Co-operatives,

intellectuals
direction).

give

strategic

SHG, and Federation)

to
register

and
they

The other stakeholder

to

that

have

been

adopted

the

that

have
of

tried

involve

within
built

the
is

institutions built. Places

where

this first level

constitution

the

institutions

planning has not been done there have been a

Gram Panchayat, at times also to head the VTC - e.g in Chitrakote and Raghurajpur. This may work in favour of the VTC, as by involving the Panchayat members
of the

members

few problems which could have been avoided, for

e.g
in

Chitrakote

if

the VTC had been registered,

which they have been planning to do for the

last

1 year, then

some

legal action could

have

they

are

keeping
project.

the
It

panchayat

informed

been enforced against the structures (shops)

that were destroyed by certain groups. While

about the
the buy
before
In
in
it

also serves to thus 'get

in'

of a few people on decisions

even

the assets are

owned

by the government and

is

presented to the Panchayat.

to

not transferred to the people's institutions, the

responsibility to maintain

them and the

benefits

relation

the

participation
built,
in

of

women
we
is

that accrue from their use for tourism purposes

is

the

institutions

the

VTCs
e.g.

planned to be contracted to the VTCs

in

most

saw,
fair

there

are

very few
of

where there
(for
-

a
in

cases. However proper documentation needs

to

representation

women
the

be ensured so that there are no complexities

is

Chitrakote of the

29 members
being

11 women
highest,
in in In

or counter claims, or there

protection of the
in

and

18

men,

this

community and
and use
of

individual interests

case of

Banavasi of the 30,

5 are

women and

malpractice or fraud.

Many cases

related to land

Raghurajpur and Hodka, not a single one.

relation

money

point to the necessity of such

to

the

sub-committees,
to

attempts
groups.
fail

basic precautions.

have
Often
to

been
play

made
a
role

have

mixed

implementing

agencies

Within the legal frameworks another important

point to be kept
in

and
of

perpetuate

the
only

mind

is in

regard the issues

stereo

typical
In

role

women
generated
is

as

around

licensing, taxation.

The

SDM

directed
it

homemakers.
the
figures

Naggar e.g

while presenting
in

the resort at Hodka to be shut

down as

was

on

income

the the

not registered, did not have a license and had not paid taxes to the State Government. The
intervention of the

same
as
from

family
facility,

who
the

providing

homestay

women
1200/-

are per

portrayed

DC and

ensuring that

all

earning
food

Rs

month
served

statutory compliances

were met with and arrears

and

refreshments

paid brought the situation back to normal.

and the
income
of
is

men

earn Rs 4500/- per month as

rent.

from room

From the objective

gender equality the neglect of this dimension

irresponsible.

65

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Roles

&

Responsibilities
of role

are registered they

responsibilities

will

"take charge" and start

The understanding

and

handling and maintaining the assets created.

This

within the institutions created has increased over

seems

like

a rather naive understanding of

time with a greater engagement

in

the project.

how

institutions actually work.

Some committees

like

in

Banavasi,

Hodka,

Many community members, who are engaged

with the ETP, have

Naggar were thought

of at the very inception to

In

been formed

into

sub-groups

help implement the project.

Banavasi the

role

and these sub-groups are

in

fairly

independent
it

and

responsibility of

VTC

include:
their functioning.

Waste management

However when
still

comes

to

Home
artists

the VTCs,

stay

management

many

are

grappling to carry out

the activities of the project.

Few have had

of

Taking care of the artisans and the folk

discussions on future roles and responsibilities,

especially
after

the

withdrawal

the

To tackle the issues related to tourism

Negotiate with the
in

DC for fund
have

implementing agency.

release

While

Hodka

they

made
areas

smaller
like

Rules

&

Regulations
committees have formed some sort
in

committees- one
of

to overlook
is
it

food

Many

of the

what
the

is

being cooked,

to the satisfaction

of rules

and regulations

relation to the broad

customer,
work,

the
third

second
to

leepai
for

and
the

areas - membership of the committee, land

issues,

mirror

the

arrange

how will income be

distributed,

as well as

musicians, the fourth to oversee handicrafts

sales and returns etc.

some
With

rules for overall functioning of the VTCs.

regard
of the

to

the

general

rules,

while
rules

most
and

VTCs have more structured

the

regulations,
informal.

sub-committees

are

more

On land
In

Issues of land have been contentious.

Chougan, the land on which the bus stop was

is

constructed

private

and no compensation
In

has been given to the owner.

the case of

Neemrana, the Neemrana

went back on
in

Fort

management
land
for

their

word after having given

would
donate

writing

that they

construction of a road that would lead from

the Fort to the Baawri (step well

Members of Hodka Paryatan
Samiti,

in

the

village).

Hodka

The community was encouraged and when close

to

to start work,

1/3

rd

of the

road was

completed and time came

for the Fort to

donate

The understanding and

functions
In
is

of one's roles, responsibility,

land,
their

the
word.

Fort

Management went back on

introduced
will

process

of

continuous
really

They

conditionalities

dialogue.
larger

Raghurajpur no one
of

had a

vis-a-vis

the road

not be open for ordinary

sense

what

their role

and

responsibility

people, the

Fort will

decide
Fort
of

who can use

have the

it

we spoke to the member of the crafts group or to a member of the hospitality group. Until now they have not been handling
was, whether

and who cannot, the

to collect
toll. etc

will

right

all

which only served to

convert

what

should

have

been

common
tourists

any of the
1 or 2

activities related to

the project (except

property into private property and completely

control the

who have been

given the contract to

belief that

movement

of people

and

construct). There

was the

once they

between the Fort and the

village.
in

Close to
built

Rs 40000/- had been invested

the half

66

INSTITUTION BUILDING

A meeting held on 28/8/05, between UNDP, the Fort management and the MoT
road.

constitution of the
criteria for

VTC new members

be,
to

what

will

be the
it,

be brought

etc.

resulted

in

the decision not proceed with the

in

construction of the road and instead put

to construct the

money

In

most cases, the implementing agencies

left
it

main cement concrete road that

village.

have

to the

community

to

choose

its

went through the

(The Fort

management

members (Hodka,

Naggar, Banavasi).

claims that they did not need the road to be

constructed and actually the

Restricting the free induction of

membership
sites.
In

money should be

and keeping
is

it

confined to certain subgroups

spent on the welfare of the community). But no

trend

clearly

found

in

some

was taken for the half constructed road and the money spent or the management of the Fort asked to pay up to compensate the community for their loss.
responsibility
In

Naggar, for instance, the

they

VTC suggested

that

would

have
to

anybody wanting
wishes to
join

membership fee and join would need to pay.

is

The stumbling block here

have
to

that

if

someone
he
will

Durgapur they have

is

been

cautious

and
go to

5 years down the

line;

decided that when land

individual then

taken from a private

pay the

accumulated
it

membership
perpetuates

10%

of the gross profit will

this,

fee of 5 years. While

that

was

clearly a suggestion
it

the land owner. Besides

his family
is

one person from

in

came from
dominance

the community,
of

also entitled to a job

that unit.

the

existing

members
afford
to

and
pay

discourages the induction of new members,

Income and its distribution: At each site there has been some thought on a certain percentage
of the

especially

those

who cannot
to hear

the arrears! The project implementing NGO,

income that

will

be share of revenue
activities

was also surprised

In

such a statement.

from the various tourism related

contribution to the larger system.

as
in

contrast,

Chitrakote exhibits a strong pro

In

The VTC

poor

&

pro marginalised bias.

is

Raghurajpur,
to allow

most cases decides a

certain

percentage to

the group that

certain other
will

formed does not wish

of the

the panchayat / other committees for village

members

community and

development work from the tourism related

revenues. This varies between 5-10% of the 'sale
price',

even go to the extent of appointing a lawyer

for legal advice.

Raghurajpur giving 20%, while Banavasi

being the highest with 50%. The percentage of

A
of

point of caution

is

the role and participation

money
In

to

be given to the panchayat also varies.

the
It

implementing

agencies

within
it

the

Chougan, the VTC has started collecting

community. This,
turn

VTC.

has been observed that

is

more
is

these amounts and have also started giving lowinterest loans to the
in

functional

when the implementing agency

not a permanent

member

of the

committee
present
key

also influences,

how the group

as

benefiting from

but invited
in

in

an advisory
holding a
principle

role or is

tourism

activities

individuals

and groups
There are

the committee but does not hold a

interact with the larger village body.

position.

By

key
of

post within

the

two aspects to
body/ other
is in

it,

one

is in

terms of monetary

committee the

allowing for the

contribution from the profit earned to the village

village

community
take

to

be able to think through and

decisions
gets
diluted.

development work, the other

informed

The

getting the concurrence of the village body

activities,

implementing
participate

agencies
in

must
the
initial

definitely

on the

planning and future of tourism

and guide

stages,

related work.

but have clear withdrawal strategy

of

when the
initiative

Membership: The membership

is

the VTC

VTC and

starts

understanding,

taking

decisions.

another important area that needs careful

attention.

Most

of

the

VTCs have set out

At a

given
in

point of time,
it

when the

project

processes with regard to

eligible,

members

who

is

begins

a village,

is

not necessary that every

what should

the

composition

and

67

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

person

is

ready and understands enough to

Future Sustainability of the Institutions

This
is

participate.

We must

also keep
in

in

mind, that

an area where a
into by

lot of effort

and energy

almost
the
in

all

NGOs began work

this village for

has gone

the implementing agencies, the

in

first

time, even though they

it

may be present
is

community and UNDP

institutions
this initiative,

trying to help create

that area. Considering this,

possible that

on the ground that can take forward as this

will

the communication and reach has not been

take the project into

adequate to foster large scale

is

participation.

So

it

the future.

extremely important that a system of rotation

inclusion of

more members are put in place in order to put in some checks and balances so that the village committee does not become the
and
de facto private enterprise of some people.
Parallel institutions

According to R K

Anil, Project Officer,

UNDP

"It

was the
agencies

responsibility
to facilitate

of

the

implementing

strong institutions which

were capable of handling accounts, managing

money, conducting meetings and planning.
might
If

these institutions are not strong then the project

act as

The question
independent
to

if

the VTC should

or as an

an

fail

once the implementing agency

exits."

institution

appendage
is
still

one or the other

in

Given the early stage of actual engagement with

tourism at which these sites are,
it

existing

one

being
is

debated

the
are

ETP

circles.

When
in

very

difficult

multiple
to

hazard a guess about the sustainability of

in

institutions

functioning

defined

boundary, there needs to be

clarity

amongst

the institutions as these are tested

of actual experience. Given that a

the

light

them on overlapping jurisdiction and sharing of tasks and responsibilities. Prof Raju suggests,
"the

commonly
dynamics,

held

vision

clarity,

positive

social

Panchayat has many items

that they are responsible
is

capacity building and handholding over time are

listed

under
the basic requirements of strong institutions,
it

them

for.

encourage
including

for the

Panchayat

to

What we can hand over or

of tax
this

can be assumed that

in

post ETP sites there

is

a long way to go. However this should not be

critique,

out source certain part of the responsibilities

things
like

seen as a harsh
is

as

institution building

collection

from

tourists etc.

We

should not look at

change

a slow and complex process. The engagement

if

with or to use existing institutions,

functional,
is

strong and

as an
level
is

all

India level change, or even a state

specific to contexts
It

one but

where tourism

perhaps an area where much

more

attention should have

been given, rather

built at

being developed.

is

another complex

negotiation with the local bodies, to give

away
- that
is

than assume the model that new institutions for

tourism necessarily had to be
every
site.

powers
it

to tax

depending on the amenities

bring

With the introduction of the ETP which brought

a
in

is

transferred at least partially. Banavasi

to
in all

a different form of activity and a particular set

place where they are able

these
of values, people's institutions for

managing and
built in at

networks - where even the Panchayat has a role

and where they also have accepted that this new

body can play certain
considered for
its

implementing tourism needed to be

roles." This

may have to be

most

sites.

The moot point

is

whether separate

institutions to vision, regulate

and govern tourism

pros and cons.

are necessary?
This
is

because

of the fact that

most

of these

sites are just beginning to

engage with tourism

it

through the ETP, making

is

very

difficult to

judge the effectiveness or the lack of existing

institutions.

Therefore the review team

is

not

able to conclusively say whether tourism linked

institutions should

be within existing institutions

such as the Panchayat, Dzumsa or whether new

approaches and models which represent multi

stakeholder
This only time
Dzumsa
is

interests
will tell.

should

be

attempted.

session, Lachen

Main Menu

Capacity Building

CAPACITY BUILDING

6 - Capacity Building

The idea

of introducing the capacity building

conducted

by

UNDP have

also

helped

the

agenda

into

the Rural Tourism

Scheme was
build

implementing agencies to build awareness and

certain skills.

a significant intervention and contribution of

UNDP. The aim was

to help the

community
to

their capacities, to benefit

from the ownership

Ontheonehandforsomeimplementingagencies
the

and

control of assets that

or

were
for

be created,
use.

MoU

signed with Gol-UNDP were quite broad

like

modified,

renovated

their

The

listing

aspects

survey, studies,

workshops

capacities to be built were for communities as

well

&

events, resource inputs for capacity building,

as the implementing agencies.

UNDP would

promotion and marketing& production of tourism

look at key capacity building

programmes and

processes that were needed to be organised to

help the implementing organisation build their capacity
in

implementing the project

in

better.

The implementing organisation

turn,

would

help build capacities of the community.

UNDP
Role

Insome cases there was clarity this was listed accordingly group formation and management, awareness on environment and cleanliness for school children and residents, health, sanitation and herbal medical preparation, training and
related materials.

about what they would deliver and

-

conducted 5 programs addressing issues of

exposure,

training

of

guides,
skill

interpretation

Gender and

HIV,
in

Participatory Planning,

centre/information

centre,

up gradation

Management

relation to institution building,

and new

skill

development, market linkage,

micro enterprises and issues on tourism, on Zero

entrepreneurship

development

programme,

Waste Management and

Planning.

lastly

one on Business

house guest system & administration. However

in

both cases, post the

initial

research

/PRA

phase there was the

flexibility to

change these

The implementation agencies played a key role in building the capacity of community members by
conductingtrainingon varied issues -awareness,
tourism linked
livelihood
skills

specific

areas based on the findings and how

the project was being envisioned.

and

livelihood, alternative

On looking at the entire range of capacity building

efforts they
a.
b.
fall

and

institutional

management. The

into five

broad categories

implementing agencies had been chosen as

they had the
mobilising
skills of

As an entry point strategy

working with communities,

participatory

Awareness
issues

on

tourism

and

development

rural appraisals (PRA).

critical
in

them and conducting The PRA

identifying

exercise

was
and

c.

Tourism linked

skills

and

livelihood

the

requirements
in

d.

Alternative livelihood skills

validating the activities as listed

of Reference of the ETP.

the Terms

e. Institutional

management

However none of the

had
previously

implementing

organisations

engaged with tourism. While most organisations

relied

on their own knowledge and

in

skills to

the

extent possible,

relation to tourism

theysought

help from external experts. The

programmes

69

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

In

order to assess of the relevance and impact

in

Raghurajpur worked on a household survey,

while
in

of the capacity building efforts

meeting the
with these

Lachen

this step

does not seem

this

to

have

objectives of this project

we work
developed

been taken. For Raghurajpur

has actually

categories and focus on the link between the

infrastructure

turned out to be a missed opportunity, as the

place had good potential and the

created,

and

the

PRA may have

capacity building programmes.

a. Entry Point

leveraged this potential and setthefoundation for

meaningful community engagement. Overall the

Strategy
about awareness
the
in

fair

degree of the training that has been

is

conducted

on

bringing

and setting the stage

the

for participation of

community. An entry point exercise organised

initial

PRA was an important and strategic intervention. Many organisations have through this exercise fine-tuned their programmes, become much more aware of opportunities and constraints, realised that the engagement needed to be
phased
out,

stage was the PRA or the use of other

assessed the readiness of the

the
motivation of the

participatory tools (understanding community,

identify

communities and most importantly gained the

confidence and
built
initial

stakeholders,

non-stakeholder,
to

community leaders, opinion makers)

as a 'bottom up approach where
a broad framework which
for a baseline
in

engage
with the

community.

and mobilise the community. This was conceived

UNDP

help of a few implementing agencies developed

was

later
4).

worked upon

survey (Annexure

The idea was,

UNDP,

the words of R K

Anil, Project Officer,

"Once resources, constraints and the needs

are identified then they were expected to take
activities

A few implementing agencies have also used the awareness building programmes as a form of engagement with community, addressing issues that concerns them (INTACH on family planning and health for women, exposure visit by Saathi to Kondagoan from where the implementingagency
has been working). Also while the need
"entry point
is

for

an

(capacity

building

programs) which

not debatable,

it

is

bit

unclear

would convert the resources to the assets and

lead to livelihood options.

why
they

for instance family planning

was chosen as
to

may as

well

have chosen an area closer

like

the overall objective -

understanding gender

While most organisations initiated community

dynamics
inputs
b.

etc.

UNDP

could have encouraged

engagement

with the

PRA

exercise,

INTACH

in

more

relevant to the project goals.

Awareness on tourism and development

issues

Two common awareness programs conducted at most places have been exposure visits to popular tourist locations and on waste management. The
other

programmes have
of

varied from site to site.

Karaikudi for example conducted

programmes
AIDS,
safe

on

Impacts

Tourism,

HIV

&

drinking water/ health security,

Gender issue
Fishes and

while Chitrakote conducted

capacity building
Bird,

programmes on Legal
Wildlife conservation.

aid,

Exposure
well,

most cases have been done and the choice of sites have been generally
visits in

useful

and contributed
later

to perspectives, learning

and application
PRA
exercises
in

as a process of capturing

session, Chougan,

Source NIWCYD

70

CAPACITY BUILDING

the learnings

Members who were taken on an exposure visittoRajasthan, Durgapur) However there have also been some instances when funds have been inappropriately utilised. When the team from Lachen chose to
was put
in

place, (photo

go to Leh
a
lot of

for

an exposure

visit -

it

not just cost

for the 15-

money, (around Rs 6 lakhs

20 people who went) they were

relate

also not able to

any useful insight or learningthatthey saw

potentially useful learning

which could be applied to their situation back

home. A
against.

methodology

being trivialised or 'misused' must be guarded

It

would be interesting to note the

of the
visits.

Capacity Building on Tourism issues Banavasi,

Source BAIF

gender composition
out for the exposure

team that were sent

Most
of the sites started with basic training

regarding

tourism

and

tourist

arrivals.

The

places which are already established tourist

destinations
like

Banavasi, Neemrana, Naggar

and
to

Chitrakote,
It

understanding tourism
useful
in

was
cycle.

easier.

may have been

these sites

go further with the idea of the tourism

Not surprisingly, given that the implementing

agencies were not tourism experts the

first

aspect of capacity building on tourism issues

has not been very strong and communities have

privileged the
their

economic aspects

of tourism in
in

understanding. A villager

Chitrakote

said, 'visitors will

Members who were taken on an exposure visit to
Rajasthan, Durgapur

come

stay with us
will
In

and we

will

charge for the services that we

provide to
in

them, and we
c.
All

will
in

earn more".

Durgapur,

Tourism linked
capacity and

skills

and livelihood
programmes
-

spite of training

guiding and exposure

visits

skill

building

that

the trained guides were not able to say

how they

would lead

to tourism related livelihoods

can be

would

initiate

a dialogue with the tourists visiting

categorised into 5 broad heads

food, guides,

the village.

managing accommodation
the
-

unit /

homestays,

cultural

aspect

(cultural

performances

Another point

is

on assessing the quality of

dance, singers, yoga and meditation,) and

All

capacity building given to the community. While

it

Tourist Information / Interpretation centre.

is

easier to assess

in

regard to the alternative

these are what

also functions

is

required on-site, but tourism

livelihoods - craft linked

where you can see the

is

'off-site'

and

this

is

the space

output, with tourism

it

linked to the quality

where marketing, networking with the tourism

industry happens. This off-site level of planning

and notions

of service.
all

The review team made a

conscious effort at

sites they visited to stay at

should also have been conceptualised and basic

training given even at the level of awareness, so

accommodation that had been created (central accommodation)/ aided (homestays), ate meals
cooked by the cuisine groups, 'experienced' the
performances, and asked people to guide us

as to enable the community to see the larger

picture of planning for

and managing tourism.

around the

village.

71

Capacity building

in

session: Learning

how to make a

bed, Hodka,

Assamesse

cuisine,

Durgapur

Source

KMVS

The team was able

to stay

in

three places -

All

places have unique traditions with the folk

Hodka, Raghurajpur (central accommodation)

songs and dance traditions being a strong point

that

and Naggar (homestay).

quite

In

Hodka, which had

most places have recognised and

village,

built on.

the experience of four tourist seasons they were

in

Durgapur a migrated

the community,
in

tune with managing the

in

unit.

Everything

has learnt the Satya dance famous

Majoli.

As

worked

an

efficient clock-work fashion

and

we

received

warm

cordial but quiet hospitality

in

was about training them, it was about bringing them together as a group.
it

much as

also

from staff persons who are

the process of
building their
In

understanding the tourist and

confidence to interact with them.
there are two young

In

relation to the guide training,

it

is

mainly the

Raghurajpur,

youth (men)
it

who have been

trained. Apart from

it

men

trying to handle the

being a potential livelihood option,

served

2-room accommodation
training

unit,

but

much more
is

the purpose also of passing on knowledge to the

needs

to

be given to them on hygiene

In

younger generation to know about their people,

history traditions, culture, etc. Often

and cleanliness.

Naggar, the homestay

when the

more like a lodge, quite separate from the home and equipped with basic facilities and run with a
sense
of cleanliness

&

hygiene.

team asked the people who have been trained, what they have learnt, have they taken tourists -they were unable to answer confidently. The reason for this may not be that they do not
review

Some
At
all

of the
in

most

delicious

meals served

to

have the knowledge but because the have had

very
little

us were

Chougan, Durgapur and Karaikudi.

or no experience

in

interacting with

three places

we observed
in

the group as

the tourists. Secondly the youth that have been

trained have a sense of inferiority as they are

being very well trained

hospitality.

hygiene, taste and

that
in

One must note

and
Karaikudi,

Chougan,
groups

unable to converse

in

English.

There has been

Durgapur

what the

an expectation from most

training
in

sites to receive

more

served us was authentic local cuisine, and

may

conversational English.

sound cliched
of affection,
taste. In

to mention, but served with a lot

frills

no unnecessary
felt

and superb

d. Alternative livelihood skills

Raghurajpur we

that the concept of

The idea
strategy -

of having a

two pronged livelihood

directly

serving local Oriya food had not been conveyed

to the person

one which focuses

on tourism
livelihoods

and we got served the standard paneer, but after communicating that we wished

and second which focuses on other

that can be strengthened which

complement
to

to eat local food,

we were served

very nice Oriya

and supplement tourism seems

sensible.

be quite

cuisine.

The complementing aspect ensures

72

CAPACITY BUILDING

that the

community must not be over-dependent and the supplementing aspect ensures while one can strengthen and learn
on
tourism tourism also has the potential to leverage

Chitrakote on terracotta, bel-metal, hospitality

in

Banavasi, are worth mentioning.

Chougan and Karaikudi, pineapple recipes in A site that has

skills,

not been able to look at alternative livelihoods

is

that aspect, as tourism needs basic facilities

(internet, provision stores)

Lachen.

as well as exquisite
of capacity building

products

(craft).

A number

e. Institutional

management
of this project

programmes strengthened and also introduce new skills among the community. KMVS, the
implementing
with the artisan

A key component
relevant

has been on
the

institution

building,

particularly

agency
is

for

Hodka,

through

formation of village tourism committee and sub

another proposal

seeking funding to work

craft related

committees. Through this project an attempt has

community on the
skills
in

been made towards making these

sustainable
in

institutions

aspects. Trainings on

organised by the

the

long

run.

To

help

build

implementing agencies

Durgapur on weaving,

capacities of the

community the implementing

agency has

in

an informal way, through regular

discussionsand meetings builtan understanding

components of institutions - the role - present and future, functioning, bringing about consensus and common understanding. These bodies have not been through much formal
of the various

training - like

in

other craft-based

skill

building.

Certain

components like accountancy training have been given within the overall framework

management. Professor Raju of IRMA cautioned: "when we speak of community capacity building when we are talking is also the
of institutional
ability to

manage with
providers,

district authorities, tourist

service
Women
undertaking a pottery course, Chitrakote

and

tourists

themselves.
is

Restricting to
level of skill

how

to

conduct a meeting

a low

and not enough.

Sustainable method of honey harvesting, Chougan

73

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

The following table attempts

implementing agencies:

to

segregate the various capacity building

initiatives

undertaken by the

CAPACITY BUILDING

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Infrastructure and capacity

building synergies Here we address an important question - was there
a correlation

and capacities

between infrastructure developed built of local communities?

In Naggar and Hodka the links were very clear and worked to the advantage of the project. Some places did not have the privilege of synergising as in Karaikudi where the infrastructure was developed even before the implementing agency had been brought in and most of which could not be connected to the capacity building.

Members of the SHG groups given training in weaving, Naggar

In

Lachen,

while

rock-climbing

training

was

done, the

Dzumsa had
to

not thought of acquiring

^Py#
k
-

the equipment and waited either for the next

government scheme
that tourists
will

buy

it

or

were hopeful

come along

with the specialised

equipment.

Some implementing

agencies
lights,

felt

that

some
toilets

"hardware" (such as solar

common

need not have correlating "software" components. However, training some persons in operating and maintaining these lights, and some institutional

mechanism

(a

user group, or VTC, or Panchayat) to

be responsible for their smooth functioning.

^
Attangudi Tile makers, Karaikudi,

R K Anil, Project Officer,

UNDP noted that all training

undertaken by the NGO's for capacity building need not be tourism related. It is mostly aimed
at

related skills
Source Dhan

enhancing social capital, upon which tourismsuch as craft, cuisine, hospitality,

guiding etc are built gradually so that the benefits

from tourism keep accruing to the continuity on a

long term basis.
picture

when

tourists

He felt that tourism comes into the come. Most of the sites have
is

not seen tourism before, hence unless there

interface of the

an

community with the

tourists the

activities related to

tourism could not be judged.

If

one looks

at

the

overall

capacity

building

intervention then the following observations could

be made:

A balance between the various types of capacity building needs to be developed and too much on
general awareness has not been very useful.

Member of the community - undertaken

The
adventure training, Lachen

fact that the capacities of the implementing

agencies themselves needed to be developed

on tourism issues and other issues

made

this

76

CAPACITY BUILDING

a layered process. Often they went to a capacity

potter

in

Neemrana

related this rather sorry tale.

workshop themselves and then were expected

train the

to

"We work on

terracotta,

and we were given some

that

community. This did not always work.

training to paint the terracotta products that

we make. The products

Closing the loop
skill

we made were

all

-When

looking at livelihood related

building, expecting the participants to develop

skills in

taken by the implementing agency. They

initially

one go does not work. There is a need factor in, depending on the level that they are at, to a basic + plus advance course.
the

bought one Chaak (wheel)

for training

purpose

which also they took away with them once the

training

was

over.

It

on the
Furthermore, another aspect of "closing the loop"

electricity for training

was us who spend money and refreshments

trainer.

of the potters

and the

We

feel cheated.

was
for
it

to

enable the practise /use of the new

skills

There
village.

is

no demand

for the products in the

in

generating livelihoods. After a round of training

critical to

Once the shops are formed

tell

the Baawri
fort

is

design a way by which they can

and assimilate their learning. Even three months down the line after a capacity building intervention they were unable to state what they learnt, or they admitted that they have
practise their skills

then tourists might buy the products. The

people

the tourists not to buy any products

from the
There
is

village.

forgotten

all

they learnt!
there.

Maybe the opportunity

It

also a need to find ways of retaining,

to practise

was not

is critical

to

keep the

community engaged
training, especially
if

after they

have been through

engaging the people who have been trained so that when the time comes to put this into practice
they are available.
for six
In

the link to the infrastructure

Hodka, the resort

to March.

being developed

is

not going to happen soon. This

months from October

is open Those who

can be done through group formations, regular meetings, discussion on topics of how they see it
-

were trained

earlier got better opportunities

as

they were also sent for training to another resort

for the period April to

what

will

be their way of working, what would be

September when the

resort

the rules of this group -

how
will

will

they share work,

was

closed. But after the training period

when the

how

will

they price, how

they get the tourists /

find markets, etc. Therefore

important to

link

them

up closely and shorten the time gap between the two - this helps in two aspects- people remember

and can use the

if

skill

they have learnt and secondly

there

is

constant activity on both fronts then

links,

remained closed many of them left either because they did not enjoy the work or because they had only confirmed salaries for 6 months. The VTC has now devised a system of paying them half their salaries for 6 months to ensure trained staff is available for the coming tourist season.
resort

people (the non-stakeholders) also see these

rather than
it

being viewed

in isolation.

While
equity

it

is important to work with the ideology of and equal opportunities, taking on board

Once a set
it

of people
if

have been trained together

individually,

all

those who are interested, at the

same time

the

is

useful

they form groups and start to think

implementing agencies should not shirk from their

collectively

rather

than

wherever

possible. Special focus

be given to

and attention needs to women who have shown interest.

Collectives also help build strength, addressing

genuine interest to However in overall project objectives there is a need to first work with the concept of equity and not only equality as this is a project that needs to
responsibility of evaluating
learn.

problems that confront the group and therefore

encouraging
However,
collectively

address questions of social

justice.

thinking

of

solutions.

collective

power dynamics and and worked with.

spaces inevitably lead to this must be anticipated

Selection of beneficiaries/ participants for training

programmes, on the basis of need,

ability is

interest

and

always a

critical
is

aspect of project delivery.

to find

More
At times the lack of market links has resulted
in

significant
it

the balancing act that needs

all

to
in

be done as
perfect

is difficult

three aspects

the training not being used.

Chitrakote the
skill

In

Neemarana and
in

combination. While the

option

building has not resulted

any

livelihood

need for a must be the most important,

built.
If

added income to the villagers. In fact in Neemrana and Durgapur the villagers have already started forgetting what they learnt.

the rest

is

possible to be

this

is

not

done then high dropout from training and lack of application will be the two main outcomes.

77

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Potential participants should be briefed quite well

of

what they

will

learn,

how

will

they be able to

it, how should they approach a skill building programme, what is expected of them in the future, what will the process be, the costs that are involved in training, so that they are aware and committed

use

were a critical factor in the 'hardware software' convergence and in the ability of the community to build capacity and engage.
Issues related to gender have featured nowhere

except

in

Karaikudi,

and

in

the

first

workshop by

participants.

UNDP
if

on gender and HIV.

or both. Apart

We

also do not

know

the awareness workshop was given to

men

e.g

In

Neemrana the women,

in
it

also

members
skill

of a

or
in

women

from the

initial

interest

SHG
is

took part

the training of making carpets

will

gender there has been very

little

evidence of
is

with an idea that

no harm
this,

in

learning.

and there When asked about how they

sit in

be an added

capacity building on the issue. This

fairly

serious omission as the gender equality goal

was a

used

they said they belonged to the families

core commitment of the project.

Issues

that were affluent

enough and they would not

In

a shop and

sell

the products.

some cases some

training

related

to

use

of

Information
(ICT)
is

and
also also
in

people got the opportunity for multiple trainings.

Communication
conspicuous
by

Technology
their
skilful

A balance
allowed.

is

needed

of

how many

one

is

absence.

This

is

unfortunate as

and

strategic training

ICT
into

use may have leapfrogged some communities

In

Raghurajpur

for

the craft related programmes

all

the marketing of their site and also been valuable

in

did not

have any process of screening and

invited.

the
in

data collection and analysis.

124 households were

it.

This resulted

very few people participating and benefiting from

In

In

terms of building capacities of the implementing

the
training

Durgapur, of the recognised

skills building

agencies,

programmes,

regional

programs that they planned to conduct, the community (men, women) were asked to choose one based on their interest. This then resulted in 86 women choosing to participate in the weaving capacity building programme but only 12 where
able to complete.

meetings and workshops held by

UNDP

have been

much much
by

how was understood and taken forward the implementing agencies, and further hand
appreciated. The question arises, as to
of this

holding specifically while transferring information

to

the

community.

For

e.g

when we

tried

to

understand from the community what they think

One

of the

positive things

building exercises

was that

it

was

about the capacity largely conceived

is in

are the negatives associated with tourism,

in

most
is

places they mentioned garbage. While this

untrue,

not

as a bottom-up process. This

infrastructure

contrast to the

development decisions which were more top down. It could also be that the stakes, both in terms of financial investment and in terms of potential benefits, were seen as higher in infrastructure and hence these decisions were more tightly held and controlled by the more powerful. The conflicts and stakes around infrastructure were higher and this may have lead
to a perception of the capacity building

and a lot of garbage does get generated locally as well, surely is much more to the negatives
that tourism brings!

There were many sections of the community who

as not as

important.

The implementing agencies varied. Some like INTACH, Dzumsa are good with infrastructure creation but were unable to mobilise and engage communities and build capacities. At four of the 36 ETP sites, panchayats are the implementing agencies and many of them do not have the skills to mobilise and engage communities. Thus the
capacities
of the

were self assigned or by default or as a result of power structures the "non-stakeholders" of the project. It must be recognised that a project of this nature cannot "involve" all people. It is important to draw the layers of who can be direct beneficiaries, who can be indirect (farmers, fisherman, shops, communication facilities), who can be the alternative livelihood group. And even
after

mapping

this there will

be a large section of
be able to
involve.

people

who
in

this project will not

But the interests of the entire community needs to

be kept

mind

in

the planning, implementation the share /use of

and wider

benefits, particularly ensuring a process

in

by which their involvement

implementing agencies also

benefits from tourism for the wider community.

78

Main Menu

Project

Management

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project

Management

This

section

addresses the area of project

- the

One

of the

hopes

of

ETP was that through

of successful rural

management
es put
tion,
in

approach and design of the

these

pilot projects

models

ETP, the role of the key institutions,

and process-

tourism

projects
in

would emerge which could

future.

place for monitoring, learning, reflec-

then be applied

By the term "model"

and redressal of problems.

overall

we
framework

basically refer to a set of guiding principles

to

and /or an approach

The ETP has worked with an
which
is

implementing a

project.

As Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Leena

the

ambitious, setting a benchmark for

in

future rural tourism initiatives

the country.

In

Nandan explained "the broad framework and components are all the same and we feel

the Project
is

Document between Gol-UNDP, which

it

that the approach also has to be the

same

but

the base document for this project,

has

since

we

did start with the

36

sites in the first

emphasised processes rather than products and

has placed at the centre the notion of people
centred development. However
in
its

instance

we do

believe the learning from this

and the

further activities

we need

to integrate

design

it

should be more effectively in place for the future

projects."

has got

into a project

based mode and tended

on
sites

to collapse timelines with the focus being

products. The increase

nally

in

from 15-20

origi-

The ETP involved various

institutions,

each of

planned to 36 may have contributed to this

According to Prema Gera, Head,

whom was
It

responsible for certain functions.

shift in focus.

Poverty Unit,

was

realized that
it

many as
all

UNDP "during implementation it 36 sites selected were too involved 20 states which meant 20
departments and further
travel to

was a project management challenge to get them to work in synergy towards the desired
objectives.

state tourism
locations,

became

very

difficult".

79

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

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lii-klil

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Process for Infrastructure Development Process for Capacity Building

& Fund flow &

Fund flow

Advisors

Institutions

Coordination

& Management
If one were ment of the it

The ETP adopted the process of development in a phase-wise manner and attempted to feed
in

to consider the stages to develop-

project

and map

this over the ETP,

the learnings of each phase into the next.

sites

is

critical to

understand when the different

into play.

The

have adopted different approaches to

project.

components came

implementing the

Approach / Strategy

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Development concepts such

potential,
nity,

as

community

strategy of involving
of this project

all

sections that can be part

to con-

readiness, planning and organization, assessing

and estimating 8-10 years

market research, marketing a commuefforts,

verge

all

these players so as to achieve the ob-

and funding tourism

convergence,
critical. Fur-

jectives of the ETP.

resources, timeframe, approach are

thermore, as tourism grows, competing actors,

coordination between different parts or the lack
of
it

Hodka was implemented

four tourist seasons.
is

in

a phased

manner

with the clear focus on tourism

It

and has seen

also
it

compound the
is

process.

Did

go as per plan,

the million dollar quesis

now thinking of innovating and developing new products around its core USP of the resort (located in crafts, culture
and ecosystem
will

tion -

and

for that the

assumption also
in

was
first

of Kutch) to

ensure that tourists

there such a clear unambiguous plan

the

continue coming to the Banni region.

lost

place?
suit the

In

certain cases the entry point did not

realities
its

ground

and therefore the

proj-

Lachen

lot

of time

when there were

prob-

ect did not follow

planned
in

trajectory. For in-

lems with the person appointed from the

menting agency. Now,

district

stance, where the hope

tourists

Chougan was
better

to

draw
ulti-

administration and had to find another implein

from nearby Kanha National Park,

the last 9 months,

it

mately what worked

much

was

strengthliveli-

has packed
tivities

its

action plan with a variety of ac-

ening alternative livelihoods rather than on

that need to be completed

off.

hoods

directly linked to tourism. Karaikudi

was

Banavasi seems ready to take

People trained

designed to be slow and to move with the pace

the community

are waiting for the tourism complex to start functioning but are unable to use this tourism

was able

to

work

with.

com-

How

tourism has developed and shaped

is

(not

plex until

and unless they pay the contractors.

in

surprisingly) different in

each ETP

site.

It

would

The hardware work

funds
ing to
flow.

Durgapur has stalled

for

be important to understand why some things

over 1.5 yrs under internal conflicts and lack of

have moved faster and some are lagging behind.

In

The implementing agency

alive

is

managsoft-

spite of 3-4 yrs of project implementation,

in

if

keep the engagement

on the

one keeps the ambitious project goals

factor

mind,

ware

front with the

community.

the impacts on the ground are limited. The central

seems

to

be the willingness and

in-

terest of the

This also

community to engage in tourism. meant their willingness and ability to

leverage the implementing agencies competencies such as conceptual clarity, access to a pool
of resources;

good rapport with the

District

Ad-

ministration, financial

means to advance money.

The combination
ty

of these two factors, communiengagement and implementing agency "competence" have been also key to the stage where
in

tourism development has reached so far

different sites.

the

There are different approaches that the imple-

menting agencies have adopted:

DHAN's approach has been slow and steady

looking at a long term

commitment
is

to the tour-

ism project

in

Karaikudi, which

expected to
Interpretation centre, Durgapur

evolve slowly. They are working on a two-pronged

81

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Naggar has implemented most aspects

ed, restored.

- few

development and tourism

that

itself offers

signifi-

remain, particularly the Gol Sarai to be renovat-

cant challenge and would require timeframes

in
all

The implementing agency

is

set to

cases would go beyond the given

project. Apart

move out by 2008. However much remains to be

desired on the social equity front.
In

timeframes of the

from

this,

even

from just a tourism perspective alone, to achieve

some degree
Raghurajpur, the

of stability, to get the institutions

will

Raghurajpur Heritage

&

working, to servicing the tourist,

need time

Tourism Committee has been registered and

the implementing agency plans to moves out
in

and

will

only

come

with tourist interaction.

May. However the community

still

have very
will

Thus, the time frames for implementing such

projects as a

little

understanding of how they and tourism

whole and the time

if

for

each

function.

sub-phase needs to be longer

a sense of
to

achievement
Banavasi and Neemrana which see thousands
of tourists

of

some

results

is

be seen.
realistic.

A minimum
The ETP
for the
in

of

5 years would be more

coming

in

one season

to their village
In

are yet to tap the potential of these arrivals.

allocating the

same time frame

all

February 2008, when the review team visited the

implementation of the project

sites

Neemrana was waiting for funds to be released, for the VTC to be formed and the shops to come up at Baawri. In Chitrasite,

the community

in

without consideration of these characteristics

was perhaps being

unrealistic.

kote the villagers are waiting for the rebuilding

of broken structures (shops). While tourists

Even Hodka, while doing well

arrivals

in

terms of tourist

have

and increased business from tourism,

been

arriving for years their interactions with the

has lagged on developmental objectives such as

participation of
ing

villagers

was

restricted to asking for directions.

women. NEST, the implementis

agency

in

Durgapur expressed the anxiety

a very
little

At different sites communities are waiting for

over timeframes "3 yrs

project like
is

time for a

some orthe otherthingto happen. The metaphor

in

this.

At least 5 years of handholding

like this to

popular culture of "Waiting for Godot"

in

is

what

required for a community

in

sustain

comes to mind
an unstated

this situation

1
!

There

is

almost

tourism
to

the long run.

Community takes time

belief that

once the awaited thing

in,

understand and then trusting the

NGO

in

two

happens the
all will

tourists will magically pour

and

years and then just one year to establish everything

is

be

well.

in

such a way that

it

does not wither away

unrealistic.

We

will

be there with them for

Many implementing agencies

available to facilitate
nity to

felt

that the time

another 2 yrs."
Since the timeframe of the Gol-UNDP project
till

and enable the commuin

is

understand, develop and participate

is

the tourism industry

just not enough. There

must be adequate time and resources

to

available

communities. Programs that have three-year

December 2008, the implementing agencies are now under pressure to wind down their role and move out. (The implementing agencies
are aware since 2007- end that the project
is

duration are too short to enable communities

particularly tribal

and nomadictoaccept tourism,

initiatives

going to close on December 31, 2008.

the project

Initially,

develop

skills,

and implement

where
of

was supposed

to close

on Dec 31,

benefits resulting from tourism can be produced

or

2007, but was extended by a

year,

however

measured. Working with the twin objectives

the pressures and sense of time running out

1.

Waiting for Godot

is

a play by

Samuel

Beckett,

in

which the characters wait for Godot, who never arrives. The play follows two

divert themselves while they wait expectantly (and, we find, endlessly) for someone named Godot. They claim Godot to be an acquaintance but in fact hardly know him, admitting they wouldn't recognize him if they saw him. To occupy themselves they eat, sleep, talk, argue, sing, playgames, exercise, swap hats, and contemplate

consecutive days

in

the lives of a pair of

men who

suicide -anything so as "to hold the terrible silence at bay'. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_Godot).

82

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

remains). The ability of

community members
factor
in

to

a weakness of the project

realize that
it

take leadership to address and resolve

gridlocks
will

crisis or

be a

critical

order that the

shifts

essence

of

management and was not possible to convey the the scheme to every one.

dependency on implementing agency

that the strength
building
is

and The
size of direct funds

and

stability of

the institution

made

this a very small

tested.

Role of District Collector

The
District Collector (DC)

compared to the other schemes that the DCs handle, Rs 70 lakhs is a very small amount) and therefore not
project for the
office (as

DC

was the

focal point

enough time was given

in

for

it.

The

size of funds

and the

linking pin

of

ETP from the project

this

project

was

also kept small with the

management and

administrative perspectives.

rationale that convergence with other

schemes
infra-

This has been a landmark step from the

way
to

would be the way to ensure appropriate

structure

the Ministry of Tourism has usually functioned

- shifting from the state tourism

came

in.

The DC was

felt to

be best
It

departments

positioned to ensure this convergence.

therefore
critical

was

the DCs. The thought of channelizing the project

that she/he

was committed
of the project.
facilitator

through the State tourism departments was

considered, but

to the principles

and objectives
his role

UNDP and

senior officials

in

the
felt

Where the DC saw

as that of

MoT
that

involved
if

in

conceptualising the project

in

the hands of the state tourism departinnovative ideas

and not a supervisor, and the rapport that the implementing agency was able to establish with
the

ments,

may be few and

the

DC on

behalf of the community were both

focus would end up with infrastructure develop-

critical

success factors.
in

ment. Further, state tourism departments had

very
little

Hunnarshala, based
that a supportive
creative ideas
of rates of the

Bhuj

felt
in

they were lucky

place,

experience of a community focussed

centric
intervention.

DC was

open

to

and community
the

Another

and not

insisting
"In

on the schedule

reason was also the greater accessibility of

government.

the Moil that the

DC

for the

communities and implementing

collector signed with us (Hunnarshala)

we had
based

agencies, and the possibility of leveraging other

component which said very

will

clearly that

convergence factors.

on actual rates of materials a new schedule of

A three-pronged

role

was conceptualized
facilitate

for the

rates

be created for the new materials used

chief engineer from the

DC

to monitor

and

implementation

and the
would

government
to the

of the project (e.g. timely flow of funds, conver-

ratify that".

When

it

was suggested
in

gence

of various

schemes,

etc),

secondly implein

DC

that they would like to build

earth and use

mentation of the infrastructure component

tents, the collector

assured them that they were

consultation with the implementing agency and

thirdly to lay

welcome
it

to try out anything

and he would back

down a system
this

in

place.

as long as they could

justify

ture

was made.

This allowed

how the expendithem to use mud

to

While

in

principle

shift

from the state

as a material. That was a very important step

that allowed
innovative.

tourism departments to the

idea,
it

DC was

a good
to

them and the community

be

has often not worked as foreseen due

At times the

the frequent transfers and or the holding up of

funds at that

level.

DC has

not been

Convergence
Since the project aims at rural development
it

or felt inducted into the key principles of the ETP.

UNDP/MoT saw

having the regional meetings

in

has to address the convergence

it -

of various

which the collectors also participate and the

film

issues related to
health,
skill

such as income, education,

on Rural Tourism as means to communicate the

important principles of the project to the DC.

formation, migration, infrastructure

etc. This

They admit that the lack

of

communication was

demands the convergence of different institutions and schemes of the state to work

83

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

towards
in

this.

Also for tourism to function onsite

ing the forest.

The DC ordered dozens

to

of wells

most cases there is a need of basic amenities and facilities in place, an aspect that this project
would not cater to with the limited allocation on
funds.

instead.

The wells are reported

have water

during the
only.

months (The recently constructed swimming pool in

following
district

monsoon and some

Mandla, the
to

headquarters, truly symbol-

izes the bureaucratic sensibility to the water

Convergence has come

mean
in

getting funding

crisis in

the villages).
entire point of

to support other activities

the village which

Also
in

may

also help promote tourism. Convergence

Chougan the
to

convergence

denotes the approach toward a definite value,

as time goes on; or to a definite
point, a

seems

be ignored. The infrastructure amount

should have

common

has been spent on check dams, bus stops,

view or opinion. To aid this various organisations

and stakeholders involved

have undergone a
activities

in

this project could

come from different schemes. When the time came to build infraroads all

this

local visioning process;

the

structure that would help tourism

guest house,

emergingfrom such a process may have

relevant.

shops, due to bad planning and estimates there

been more
which

Long term convergence

is

was

little

money

left.

not just about finding

ity,

money for a

required activ-

is

more

like leveraging.

Convergence

Funds and Funds Flow System

Most
rural

has to mean a process of looking at an issue/

a problem/ an
initiative

tourism projects have been budget-

together and arrive at

ed for 70 lakhs (Rs 50 lakhs for infrastructure

an

ideal situation

which then determines who

ability

development be funded by Gol-MoT and Rs 20

lakhs for capacity building funded by
initially

would do what according to

and

capacity.

UNDP)
of

and then depending on progress

work

An example

to

see how a principle

is

level converif

required the

implementing agencies have

gence has worked

the Pashu mela

in

Hodka.

requested for an additional support.

Sahajeevan works on farm related livelihoods

and has together with KMVS organized the

Pashu Mela. This
visitors
activity

The

DCs office was responsible for the disburseof funds to the implementing agencies.

brought
in

in

tourists

and

ment

which helped bring

another dimension

The agreement was that Gol-MoT would as

1st installment release to the

to the tourism activity of the Kutch region. Like

DC 40

lakhs

Sahajeevan

in

the Bhuj there are

many

other

toward

infrastructure

development

and

16

organisations that have

come

together to find

lakhs towards capacity building. The latter of

the points of convergence with each other, and

the

amount would then be

in

given to the imple-

share a similar vision for the region.

menting agencies

two installments. Once the

amounts were exhausted the balance budget

Chougan presents a frustrating example of lack of convergence between the ETP and the Government departments. The infrastructure implementation was carried out by the Water Works

would be released.
However,
in

almost every

site,

one

of

the

roadblocks faced has been timely transfer of

funds.
In

Department. Evidently the engineers had a

the village.

limit-

Neemrana the implementing agency

funds
for over a year

ed idea about the realties of the water situation

in

did not receive the

which

When asked how

they would meet

has led to the halting of work. The various

demand of water of the tourists when only one hand pump was working, they replied that they would fix an electrical motor with the pump
the
to solve the problem.
level of

problems associated with funds disbursement

through the government structure has been
universally faced by
all

implementing agencies.
by which the

The

fact

is

that the water

The reasons
at

for this are not clear except that

the village

is

quite low.

Water harvesting
is

some

sites this

was a way
its

DCs

at the places

where rainwater flows

suggested

office

demonstrated
is

power. Also the fund

by

some

villagers.

They wanted a check

dam

to

disbursement

decided by the central govern-

be

built in

the upper part of the village adjoin-

ment and the

rationale

seemed

quite unilateral

84

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

and not
e.g even

at

all

linked to the

needs on the ground,

16 lakhs,
into

flow

problems the amount budgeted to the

when the DCs

office received
it

implementing agency to administer/ coordinate

the entire capacity building plan was very
little

they have decided to

irrespective of

split

two instalment
it

whether the work required

not.

to

and organisations
capped on

felt

unsupported and handi-

be done that way or

this front.

The problem was compounded when the two

funding sources are devoid of structural linkages. For

Role of Implementing Agencies The implementing agencies have played a

role in

crucial

example,

if it

was stipulated

that the need

implementing the capacity building work

for the structures,

to

what and how, is required emerge from the community, the infrastruc-

plan of the project.

The

criteria for selection of

the implementing agencies as detailed by

were:

UNDP

ture would have had to follow capacity building.

Therefore

community capacities would have needed to be built to understand and decide what construction, how, maintenance and

Good

at social mobilization
rural livelihoods

Understanding of

Worked

with well

management
most
sites.

issues. This process collapsed

in

Working actively Working either

village
is

for at least
in

known funding agencies 3 or more years

the
in

district (in

which the

Whether other options

like

working directly with

located) or

the contiguous neigh-

implementing agencies and transferring funds to

bouring districts

them, working with a sub-committee under the

panchayat, exploring other village
/institutions (like
in
is

Understanding of gender

&

participatory tools,

level

bodies

methods

of decision

making one
in

Raghurajpur and Durgapur)

Must have

at least

'professional',

& one

would work better

the the
this

open

to debate.

In

spite of

or two persons fluent

in

English (to participate

many

failures of disbursing

funds through

the centrally coordinated training-learning

DCs
is

office,

the

UNDP

project officer felt that

programs)

was the best

possible approach provided

Worked on tourism
desirable

project earlier would be

there

proper communication.

Another point raised was on the cap on the

initial

Apart from the above,

consideration the

UNDP

also took into

budgets. According to R K

Anil,

Project

Officer,
-

UNDP, "the

villages are varying in sizes

Vision

and mission
(in

of the organisation
skills,

development
Also
if

levels,

requirements and capaci-

Capacities

terms of

development

ties.

we

look at the NGO's they are also

knowledge and management)

of different

capacities

and

strengths,

some

Resources

(quantitative

and

qualitative;

have the

ability to pull in

funds from different

human,

physical, monetary)

agencies and some do not even have the capacity to

Projects handled (different types of issues

deal with the available funds.

will

How one
sufficient

worked previously and presently; their partners

in

decides that so certain amount

at
to
all

be

the past and present)

the places?

deal with

was not the right decision the NGO's and sites equally without
It

Networking
Credibility

judging their individual capacities".

Organizations
like

Organizational structure

Experience of working with women, youth,

artisans, PRIs,

KMVS were notseverely handiof poor

government

etc.,

capped because
they could
fall

funds flow because

Achievements

own resources to tide over fund crunches. However other organizations that did not have its own resource base faced a lot of difficulties and to keep the momentum going was tough. Apart from a serious funds
back on
their

Systems

(financial, reporting,

MIS)

Audited annual reports and statements (of

the past 3 years)

Interest, aptitude,

and

ability to

implement

endogenous tourism

project

85

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

and

their experience are significant in

how the
is

project has unfolded at various places. There

a visible difference a project

is

in

the implementation

when
this

conceptualised/ visualised
is

in

manner and

a pointer for future projects and

future planning.

The approach

of the

implementing agency also

varied from place to place.

DHAN

Foundation
in

takinga long term approach, INTACH

Raghura-

jpur having focused on short term goals, at Chitrakote the

Community members who are part of the
ETP,

NGO Saathi
in

challenged the estab-

lished hierarchy
Chougan

the village, while

KMVS

in

Hodka worked
with the

with the clear principle of pacing

to

community

absorb the concept

of

tourism.

The implementing agencies at most

of the sites

have been able to popularize the concept of

tourism as an income generator. However the
overall picture of tourism with its negative

and

positive impacts

has been less

in

visible to the

communities. While
ing

most cases capacity buildsincerely, preparing the

has been attempted

for

community

managing the

project on their

own once they exit, has been less successful. But this must also be attributed to the fact that the project was time bound and the contextual
factors as well as ability of communities to learn

and

retain the training given to

them

differ.

A
Mobilising community, Chitrakote,

added as a point is whether the NGO has worked on any governcriterion

that can be

Source Saathi

ment
in

project as the understanding would help

implementation as they would be familiar with

The implementing agencies varied from NGOs

to local self governing institutions (Panchayats
-

the systems and processes to be followed.

The experience

of the

implementing agency,

Dzumsa).

While

at

most

places

UNDP

SOHARD

at

Neemrana

illustrates this:

selected

NGOs as implementing

partners, at

"We had no
that

prior experience of working with the

some

sites they

worked with the Panchayats.

for

Government.

The implementing agencies chosen

project

UC and thought now work has been done and there will
the
file

We gave them

the

had previously worked

in

the area though

specific village

be a release of the second instalment money.

But nothing proceeded as the governments

them were new to the and definitely new to tourism.

of

many

At

many

moves from
sites,

different stages.

We

started spend-

detailed

PRA, baseline information collecin

tion,

has helped
it

designing the programme

specific to the context

and making
needs

more

and

of project sites.

Implementing agencies

money as we generally do with the other donor money. We should have been informed earlier that we should be reporting frequently with expenditure of money to the BDO or
ing the

86

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

any other
process.

officer,

we would have

followed that

ment, monitoring and reporting and reflecting

and DC.

We sent the account directly to UNDP We received a reply that the audit and
alright but

back on the work

of this project.

The implemen-

tation of this project

was

in

quite a bad

shape

accounts are

who

will

ensure that the

and UNDP had

to bring in

The Mountaineering

work has been done on

field? Several officers

Institute (TMI) to help

salvage the situation.

changed

in this

process and there was no one

things on
field.

to report that

we had done these

One BDO who replaced the earlier one, said that how can write that software has been done because am new here."
I I

When compared to the Dzumsa, the NGOs have been much better in planning, management,
reporting and
in

attempting to work on the

capacity building activities of the project. However the bigger picture of

what an

initiative of this

An area

of

concern

is

the capacities and

skills of

nature

is

attempting to achieve

is

something the
of

implementing agencies on gender

tory tools.

&

participa-

implementing agencies need to think

at
all

and

link

An attempt has been made by most

times.
Kiran Vaghela,

implementing agencies to involve women, a key

stakeholder group of this project, though this
clearly
effort

A metaphor that was narrated by

is

an area where much more thought and

to

Hunnarshala
aspect of the

is

helpful to understanding

one
of

needs

go

role

into.

implementing agencies need

to play in a project of this nature.

When one

Capacities

and

resources

formed

two

key

the bhungas (hut)

was completed
this

Kiran bhai
build the

components

of this project.

The implementing
into three -the large

asked one of the artisans helping

resort,

agencies can be categorised

organisations
(like

"what do you feel about

bhunga, as
toilet style,

KMVS, DHAN,

BAIF,

NIWCYD,

we have

not followed the traditional

it

INTACH), the middle and smaller organisations

(like

the space inside, do you like

artisan replied, "On the
tourist

or not?" The
is is

SAVE,

NEST, Saathi,

SOHARD) and the

one side there

the
us,

Dzumsa
and

(Panchayat). While the larger organisain

and

the market, on the other side

skill,

tions are able to pool

skills,

resources, capacities

with our traditional

tect)

and you (NGO,

-

archi-

the middle and smaller organisations

is

are being able

it

to

see both sides

have

need much more support. This

difference

also the major

If

planned / put
a way.
still

together.

We have been

practic-

when

it

comes

to funding.

the fund

ing thatch for very long, but

you have pointed us

understanding and

flows are not regular the larger organisations are

able to keep the work going so as to not disrupt

We have just started need some help".

the flow while for

many of the middle and smaller

The implementing agencies are responsible
for
in

organisations work have had to stop. The worst

the review team was exposed to was

na,

Neemra-

the capacity building part of this project and the District Administration for the infrastructure.

where because of funds not being released work had stopped for over a year.
Another question
a Panchayat/
is

The synergies between infrastructure and

stays

capacity building are extremely important and

of the skills

and capacities of

as long as

it

in

two hands

it

is difficult

to

Dzumsa to implement a project of this nature. While it was observed that the infrastructure work if seen in isolation was well done,
the larger questions of capacity building, involv-

coordinate. With the near implementation of the

first

set of sites - both

GOI-UNDP should assess

to the impleis

whether the infrastructure work plan can also

in

certain cases be

handed over

ingthe community
still

in

planningthe infrastructure,
for

menting agencies so that there

with the
this

a synergy

remain.

In

Lachen

example while the

DC overseeing implementation. Though

infrastructure
to village

work was good and corresponded

would be a complex and tedious process to

development, the Dzumsa has had a

ascertain credibility of
strict

NGOs and
is

a system of

poor track record of community mobilization,

software implementation, planningand manage-

monitoring and regulation would need to

in

be put

place

if

this step

implemented. The

87

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

advantages of

this shift

would be greater syner-

unable to influence the output. During discussions with

gy between infrastructure and capacity building,

them they were

all

of the opinion that

in

and the
role.

role of the
is

DC moving
will

to

an oversight

they should have been brought

from the very

in

Also this
sites

a step that

not be possible

beginning. This would have helped

ing a relationship with the

developis

at

all

and instances such as these the DC

community which

of

without prior discussion with the implementing

utmost importance. Through continuous engage-

agencies must not sanction any infrastructure

activity.

ment they would have been able

community
they see
it,

to involve the

in

discussions on their vision,

how

Role of Architects

ture for constructions,

what could be the style of architecwhat materials, technoloall

regional panel of specialised architects

were

gy could be used to the local

of

these would contribute

created by

UNDP
in

in

2005

to support the district of the

communities
truly

sense

of

ownership

administration

facilitation

hardware
local

and that they

needs
to play

have the decision making

process of

work plan so as to ensure adherence to

powers. Another crucial role that the architect

is

building styles, materials, involve local crafts-

to help in the

identifi-

men and ensure community

infrastructure.

participation

in

cation of local artisans

and see how they can be

will

the conceptualization and implementation of

integrated into the project as this

encourage

The
use

district

administration
if

was

the skilled artisans to innovate, design aesthetically,

encouraged

to

this

support

required.

bring

in creativity, revival

and passing down

a legacy of traditional methods.

The architects were brought in an advisory capacity.

On engaging

with the project they realised

The

architect,

like

the implementing agency,

that the role involved

much more such as

identi-

should also have a thorough

understanding

fication of site, discussions

on technology and

more hands on role was something each of them was willing to do. The architects we met were competent to deliver on thetechno-social role that was expected of them.
design. This shift to a

They were aware

of traditional art

and

craft

and

vernacular architecture and the role of

nity in

commuas an

such construction. They saw

this

opportunity for revival and also as an occasion

to

showcase the richness

of

knowledge,

skill

and

tradition of rural areas.

The architects had the

communities, the village
well

role

of

engaging the
institutions

level

as

as the DC

in

the implementation of the

infra-

structure work plan.

The

role of the architects

was

also to support the

DC and add

value to the

decision making on infrastructure.

What they

suggested was not binding on the collector's

office at all (as

the construction was handled by

the government body).

Some

of the

DCs made

very good use of this resource.

When

the architects were brought

large

in

at

some
was
Shaam-e-Sarhad -The design and layout of the
inspired from the form
resort
is

sites a

part of the

infrastructure

based and
in their

and structure

of the villager's

homes

already completed and because of this they were

hamlets, Hodka

88

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

and be able to balance between the needs of the community and that of the tourists. As
explained by Kiran Vaghela, Hunnarshala, "we

administration

& UNDP

in

the coming quarter.

While

many

of the

implementing agencies have

few have actual-

documented the
ly

activity status,

have followed

their language, their construction

it

reflected on the reasons for success, failures

but have changed

function that
it

little

according

to

the

new

has

to

perform. They are not just

and learnings (as an implementer and from the perspective of the community - institutions
build

a worker here but they are thinking, expressing,

as

well).
is

Also from the reporting what

is

and have a sense of ownership. Small changes in attitudes that you express and how you treat them can make a big difference". He also goes on to explain the process and approach they took that helped them in
contributing,

not clear

the follow-up to the

demands

that

the implementing agencies

administration
reflected
in

made

to the district

& UNDP as

that does often get

the next quarterly report. Another

in
It

aspect that can be included

the next quarter's action plan.

the report
is

is

Hodka. "The difference

lies in

the approach. In

also recomin

most professional cases they give the design; it is approved and carried out like an activity. But

mended

that the implementing agencies write

a slightly more narrative style (has differed from

we (architects) co-evolve the design, involve many people in the design and trust them. It was a new kind of practice. We need to design in a dynamic manner where it starts from the studio and moves to the construction. When you respond in this manner then you are
here
in this

project

agency to agency) which attempts to capture

the processes,

who was

involved,

what are the

short-term and long-term outcomes and results,

how does one take this work further, etc so as to make this process more reflective for themselves
and the community.
In

able to build the confidence of the community."

regard to the financial reporting, two aspects
is

Lastly

as the

role of

the architect

is

an extremely
process with

that can be included

the contribution that has

crucial one,

UNDP has

initiated a

been made from the implementing agencies

side.

the empanelled architects to conceptualise and

concretise their inputs
in

future rural tourism

is

project with greater clarity. This

step.

a very positive

Due to the small administrative and coordinumber of the implementing agencies have put in their own resources to ensure continuity and this is a way in
nation budgets allocated a
it

which their contribution can also be recognised.

Monitoring, review, reflection

Apart from conceptualising the project details,
the other crucial role played by the Gol-MoT and

Secondly

is

crucial that

when they

plan for the

next quarter

activity,
In

they are also budgeting for

those

activities.

this

way the fund

flow can

UNDP was to

monitor and review the progress of

pilot

also to be streamlined.

the project. Considering the

project the flexibility that

nature of the

was

built in

has

result-

The annual regional and national reviews

alter-

ed

in

useful course corrections. Also to aid this

in

nate every year. The attempt has been to invite

process Gol-UNDP set

place quarterly activity

well

key stakeholders (MoT, UNDP, District Administration, State Tourism,

and
al

financial reporting

as

as annual region-

Implementing partners

and national reviews alternate every year.

for

and

architects). Also

most stakeholders were

is

present at the annual workshop; there

no

The format

the

quarterly

activity

report

mention of the community members

pating during the regional workshops.
nity

partici-

looked at assessing the planned activities for the duration vis-a-vis status (completed, partially

Commuhave
at

representatives (Heads of VTDCs)

in

completed, yet to

start).

The implementto report on

participated

the

project

workshops

ing agencies

were also asked

any

Bangalore (March 2008) and Delhi (June 2008).

While on the one hand these workshops were
to

non-plan activities taken up, and reflect on the

reasons for success,

failure,

the learnings and to

address problems and

find solutions,

these

anticipate the support required from the district

89

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

spaces must also be seen as a genuine and

honest space
at
all

expertise and understanding of tourism (which

is

for review, reflection

and learning
significant

supposedly their core competence) does not

to

levels. This is
if

a serious lacuna and must be

is

seem

have been integrated or suggested by

itself!

incorporated

the project

to

add

the Ministry

value by capturing realities

&

experiences for

the future. Another point

is

the participation of

There were also plans to establish a

facilitation

the State Tourism Departments

in all

meetings.

What

is

who are present unclear is how they link

for 1-2

centre within the Union Ministry of Tourism for

the proper coordination between the various

State Departments and other Central Govern-

to this project

as except

implementing

agencies most have not yet considered linking

with them.
In

etc

ment ministries like Rural Development, HRD and conduct national level seminars on
sensitivity.

gender
discussions with

However

this

is

an aspect

UNDP

officials

it

was

said

that has not yet been taken up

and should be

that the large

of so

number

of sites

and involvement

worked upon as
to the

it

would be extremely beneficial

they need to completely take
rural

many institutions and stakeholders in the made it difficult to keep track. Prema Gera, UNDP said, 'We realized that 36 sites were too much to be selected as it then involved 20 states which mean 20 state tourism departments and further the entire travel trade in all
project

MoT when

charge of implementing

tourism projects.
centre could

The function of the

also be

facilitation

expanded
in

to look at other aspects that

sites,

would help

implementation. At most

the

community members were unaware that this was

a joint project of the Gol-UNDP.
it

the locations.
fied

We

did a mid-course

shift, identi-

Many perceived
criticality of its

15

sites

who were

given strong handhold-

as a

UNDP

project.

It

is

crucial that the Minis-

ing support. All of the

NGO

partners involved

in

try of

Tourism understands the

in

the project also

had no experience
role of
in

with tourism.

role

and performs

manner

to

ensure that

They saw the potential but

really didn't

what should be done". The

know the MoT and

in

the twin objectives of tourism and development

are always within the frame of implementation.

/or State Tourism Departments

bringing

the

90

Main Menu

Recommendations

& Guidelines

!
QXS*&3Q<3<$

fob^s&v^z3

RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES

8 - Recommendations And Guidelines #EP* jk

We capture the

key learnings that have emerged

link

inputs based on

its

experience and reflections.

specific

from the review process and

these to the key

The detailed and more

tions that

recommenda-

recommendations that emerge. These recommendations are broader, take

overall
into

emerge from each chapter have been

in

account the

presented

the form of guidelines linked to

observations and learnings and bring

the major sections of this report and feature

at the end.

to bear the review

teams own thoughts and

Section 3.1 Tourism Context and Development

Centre
Learning Innovation Practice on (Rural) Tourism
for

and

ment.

It

also talks of establishing an incentive

fund to encourage the experimentation, replication

lish

A community-based rural tourism project within the commendable objectives of addressing development and tourism as in the ETP-RTS is complex process. It is recommended that due thought and attention be given before expanding rural tourism sites
sites
in

and dissemination
an Innovation

of practices

and estab-

register.

We recommend
is

that this idea

is

is

pursued and

a suitable structure for this

developed. This

the country as each

individual attention.

envisaged as a coordinating and synergizing

needs focused and

of Tourism

body.

We

further

recommend

that a Centre for

(Rural)

Learning,

The Ministry

has attempted to work

policies -

Innovation and

Practice on

on the agenda stated

task and

in its

these must

Tourism be set up by the MoT.

We are

not seeing

not be diluted because of the complexity of the

its

such a centre as a project management tool, but

as a resource centre to put together and share
learning

long term nature. Rather processes

must be

built in to

engage on

and best

practices.

The community
projects,

this with rigour.

is

One
tion

of the

ways

members

of VTCs, experts, resource persons

pilot

this could

be supported

the
associated with the ETP

establishment of a Centre

who

for Learning, Innova-

and Practice on Tourism

project

have been involved

"successful", could

in

the ETP and have been

be associated with such

The Gol-UNDP

document mentions the

centre within the

a centre. They could be tapped into as a pool

of resources to help other sites learn not just

establishment of a

facilitation

Union Ministry of Tourism to help integrate and

coordinate the endogenous tourism efforts with

from successful models but

reflect

on what

is

happening at that
are suggesting
is

site. In

some

ways, what

we

corresponding state tourism boards and other

Ministries of the central

that the resource pool

facili-

Government such as
and Employ-

tates processes and not just practices.

Rural Development, Social Justice

91

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Some

of the activities of

such a resource centre

that

if

they said yes to a project

it

would bring

could be:
Facilitating

and handholding

of institution

them huge economic benefit and large sums of money would be spent in their village it is very
unlikely that they

building processes

would reject such a

on
rural

project.

Organizing and designing exposure

- better planned,

visits

The experience
(e.g

of the

ETP indicates that

sites

based on a diagnosis

of

Hodka) which

relied

more organic
tourism product

the issues and context of the site and then

processes to develop the

an appropriate exposure can be planned.

were more successful.

Members members

of

one

site

can

learn

from

of another.

No Standard Model
The scale
(currently
of the

or

One Size
is

Fits All

Learning from different kinds of models

- aspects from Choti

ETP and RTS

very large

Haldwani

in

Uttara-

around 125 and a 100 planned over

khand, Sunderbans
other interesting
of the country.

West Bengal etc or examples from other parts

in

the next 5 years) and the holistic objectives are

commendable. However, when communities engage with tourism it must be recognized that the scale at which a particular site
will

Develop handbooks and material to be used

for capacity building

engages

and should vary depending on a set

-

Research and documentation: Discussions

with the architects panel

of contextual factors

intrinsic

and

external.

members brought in

Tourism cannot and

to the rural
crisis

will

not be the solution

of

some
lar

very interesting ideas. Study vernacu-

and the introduction

architecture

and develop technical guidebe accepted as a building

of tourism research
is criti-

tourism must not be seen as a substitute for

lines for

them. The vernacular architecture

more stable and sustainable

This
is

livelihood options.

of the regions to

critical

particularly

as tourism
the

is

an

typology.
cal

The area

activity
it

that

is

based on consumption, and

in

and a

clear need.

seeks to substitute

rural

context,

Innovative practices on marketing of such

livelihoods

based on production.
projects
sites

tourism. Best practices on mitigating undesir-

able impacts, and assessment of impacts etc

could be on the agenda.

Rural
ized

tourism
to

should

be

custom-

each

particular

characteristic.

A standard
Such a centre could also provide very valuable inputs into the policy making and strategising
on
rural

"project"

formulation
off

may

not

work,

e.g

in

Chougan
triggered

what the ETP has

is

successfully

the

alternative

tourism as

it

will

generate perspectives

(and

perhaps

from the ground, based on peoples experiences

options.

more sustainable) livelihood This must be viewed as a success.

of tourism to

and aspirations.

The tendency
of well

go through a

life

cycle
is

exploration, consolidation

and decline

Communities choosing
The choice
to of

this intervention

known.

Equally
of

well

which sites to chosen seems

inadvisability

over

known is dependence
to

the

on

have been

made

primarily on the basis of

tourism.

Policy

makers
tourism

tend

oversell
is

their tourism potential.

The

social capital

and

the

benefits

of

and
of

there

not

informed choice of the communities, and their

readiness,

enough
the

of substantiation or research data on

was not taken

and decision

into

account. Had the

distributive
tool.

justice

tourism

as

PRA

exercise been conducted as a pre-condition

to

development
Expecting

to the choice

engage

in

tourism,

each

of
in

the

sites

to

fit

into

the community decision and the understanding

of the tourism

standard model,

a project

mode
sites

is

not the

USP may have been much

better.

best way to go ahead.

Some

depending
in

When communities

are faced with the offer

on their situation may choose to engage

92

RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES

process

in

which a very small section engagin

Taxation and subsides

Given the tax holidays and subsides that

es others

which this a significant section of

MoT

the population of the village.

village overall

How much
need
will

of the
will

has demanded
oping land
power,
it

for the tourism industry

devel-

economy
will

is

reliant
will

on tourism

banks, subsidized electricity and

surprising that not
(state) tax

also vary. The time they

different.

also be

is

much thought
regime under
to.

The pace

also be different. There-

has been given to the be

on

fore projects cannot have a standard 3 year,

which these projects are subjected

clarified
It

This

must
and

50

lakh hardware,

20

lakh software formula

will

priority

before the units go opera-

across the board. This

"mis-utilization"

inevitably lead to

tional.

is

important that

some

innovative
in

or

investments that are not

just

creative options be worked out

order that

appropriate, but

done

because the project

entrepreneurship at the rural

ed.

level is stimulat-

funds are there.

Many
is

rural projects

have voluntarily come

local

The ETP
for the

in

allocating the

same time frame

all

up with contribution
This
likely to

to the

Panchayat.

implementation of the project

increase the sense of owner-

sites

without consideration of these characteristics

ship

of

communities as they can

profits
will

be sure
into

was perhaps being

unrealistic. This

is

another

that the

be ploughed back
for

dimension that needs to be considered. Given

the objectives and complexity of such a project, a

development
nity.

funds
could

their

commu-

This

be

institutionalized

minimum
of

of

5 years needs

to

be given to enable
stability

rationalized as the tax equivalent.

and A promotion
up.

pre-selection

and capacity building and

institutions.

and marketing support fund could be set

community

Section 3.2 Tourism Product, Infrastructure Development

and Marketing
In

terms

of competitive
its

advantage, the attrac-

ensuring that they acknowledge and promote

tion (including

authenticity), quality of service

these sites as part of their

important step.

circuits

would be an

and

facilities,

the destination's accessibility and

-

pricing are key factors

of sites the review

When

going over the

list

team

visited, this

has been

The USP and the Tourism Product

With the success of the MoT's Incredible India

a very important factor that has distinguished

between success and

failure.

As the USP and

campaign and

larger

and

larger proportions of
for

competitive advantage has very strong links to

budgets being allocated

promotion - the

the tourist profile this needs an additional layer

-

temptation to promote the "rural tourism brand"

will

of positioning (presenting the product)

and mar-

be

high.

The website, brochures and promoproduced point

is

keting to ensure success.

Keeping

this at the

tional material already

to that

centre of the planning, implementing and review by MoT,

direction. While the project

meant

to attract

UNDP and

the implementing agencies

tourists - the

and there

is

nothing wrong with that

was an important role and unfortunately has not happened in many cases. Clear business plans
and clear marketing strategies
to

MoT
is,

should delve deeper into the fundarural

mental issue of what the

really

tourism product

ensure comcritical.

the reality of the rural communities,

to

mercial viability of these ventures are

and how they wish

be portrayed.

Linking with the state tourism departments

and

93

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

The website on

rural

tourism says nothing about

for

more decentralised benefits both

in

in

terms of

the community ownership and community control.

It

economic benefits and

interesting
to

terms of varied and

for tourists.

does not suggest that there be a set

developmental agenda of this
(or

of
it

more authentic experiences

is

mutually respectful "conditions". Neither does

highlight the

that the rural

What is communities seem

for centralized

inter-

be demonstrating a preference

vention.

The unstated

perhaps unconscious)
this will

assumption seems to be that saying

somehow
If

"spoil the party" for

the tourist.

accommodation option rather than the authentic home stay. It must be acknowledged that the jury is still out on this aspect. Examples in ETP
mentioned
in

the chapter show there are

many

the

MoT and UNDP

it

are serious about the fact

is

social, cultural

and economic reasons why home

will

that this intervention

as much about developthe promotion of

stays

will

not work or

work

in

a limited man-

ment as

is

about tourism then wishing away

in

ner. Culturally - "hospitality

-

as a commodity"
in

the development dimension

the idea that one's guest pays for staying

these sites

is

inexplicable. Rural India today

is

one's

home

is difficult

to accept. Also

modes

of

reeling under a crisis of food

and

livelihoods

and The

interaction
criterion

and the behaviour

of the tourist are

growing poverty.

It

is

not only about

idyllic lives

(some community members reported

or folk dances, quaint

costumes and

crafts.
in

foreign tourists as being

more

at

home

than
vigor-

romanticized portrayal of rural India

current

domestic

tourists).

The MoT has been a

promotional material of the ETP

is

indeed unreal

ous promoter

of the
it

home

stay idea - the

B&B

and even

insensitive to rural realities.

scheme

- seeing

as an answer to the tourist

This

Positioning and Promotion

accommodation
rural

deficit.

may work

in

urban
in

areas - but a strong pursuit of this strategy

The

position

centric

and promotion should be people and not only market centric. Given the
in

areas

may

not be advisable, without

more

feedback and research. The review team wonders

if

MoTs

interest

positioning itself vis-a-vis reit

the

home
if

stay option would be the pre-

sponsible and sustainable tourism -

must

ferred choice

community members had an

option.

take an ethical and developmental position on

this issue.

opportunity to economically benefit from a centralized

accommodation
is

The MoT-UNDP should see this was also a powerful opportunity to impact and change the minds
of tourists.

Another aspect

the links of tourist profile to un-

desirable impacts of tourism.

out' tourists

How can we

'filter

The promotion

of the rural tourism

who might have an adverse impact

projects should encourage

potential tourists to

on the host community's culture and values?"

Could a combination of pricing, positioning and
experience be designed to narrow the appeal to
a specific tourist profile? The suggestion that the
tourist

"see"
ful

more than

just the product or the wonder-

view but actually be willing to experience, be

little

impacted, and even a

changed by the

ex-

perience of engaging with the rural community.

This project provides a rare opportunity to try

be "screened"

is

not accompanied by a
this.

practical

way

of going
risk

about
or

There

is

also
in

and transform the nature

of tourism -

from

its

an element of

about a stranger coming

mass consumptive nature

had the elements

to

something which

and

living in

one's

home

in

one's village. Re-

of interaction, learning

and

search on tourism

in rural

areas of Goa, Kerala

clear links

human

contact as well.

and Orissa have reported

child sexual

between
or easy

Sensitivity to local cultures

abuse and home stay/and

The section on home stays details the opportunities and dilemmas related to home stays in a rural

access to children.
It

would be important

for the Ministry

from a

setting. While the

ETP project has not pushed

policy perspective to

approach some of these as-

for either

home

stays or centralised

accommo-

pects of positioning vis-a-vis local cultures more

cautiously, as the risks, levels of comfort

dation,

it

has recognised that home stays allow

and

94

RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES

willingness of the communities to

option

embrace this must be studied with a sense of openness and objectivity.

shape

to

it.

Community engagement
it

in

the pro-

cess of decisions on infrastructure (what, why,

where, design - how was
taken,

how much
low. Of-

money has been spent on

Crafts and Traditions
While meeting the needs of the market
tainly
is

it)

have been

ten the views of the community have not been

cervi-

sought and

in

many instances the process has

to

an important goal from a commercial

the dilemma also
is

been top down. Empowering the communities

think,

ability perspective,

about

choose and shape what kind

of tourism

how such a
in

project can help preserve traditions

and

tourist

image they wished

their locality to

their village, their

their 'pure' form.

Here we do not

mean

to sug-

home and

be

is

a central aspect

gest that that traditional crafts have not evolved

of this project.

and have not responded

changing needs. This
is

to

changing times and

This process

perhaps has been the

must also include the dimension

consumer, an
extrinsic
will

of

greatest strength of our artisans and our crafts

"transforming the tourist". Relegating the tourist

is

and one
survived.

of the

main reasons why they have

it

to a passive

agency

However

is

factors

and spaces and

like

equally dis-empowering, and

its

adversely
all

tourism that are increasingly playing the role of

'the

impact

success. There

is

a flourishing of

new

patrons' of such skills

it

traditions. In

sorts of ethical/responsible tourism groupings

such a case

is

not enough for the ETP to see

fit

worldwide. They regard actively engaging with

how the
to

artisans can

into the

market but also

role of a patron

and contributing
cesses as
In

to

local

developmental proexperience.

be able to play the important

is

intrinsic to their tourist

which

to appreciate, preserve

and support

art

other words, they see no diminishing of their

and

skill for its

own sake.
linked from the start

'value for
-

money' by virtue of
find
it

this

on the contrary, they

far

engagement more enriching

The communities could be

and personally
sibility to

fulfilling.

This affords us the pos-

to craft sales centres or emporia,

so production

reconceptualise 'tourism' as a 'cultural

moves and does not

fair-trade

wait for the tourists. Mar-

exchange' framed within a developmental ethos,

driven by both the agent communities

ket linking of crafts into

mainstream markets
useful steps.
of festivals

or

and

facili-

linkages

more
its

typical

may be MoT approach

activity

The
in

tated by the NGO/state/ other intermediaries.

as

mainstream

should

be

avoided.

'Some

of the

creative

triggers

that

can

be

Craft or agriculture
tourists of

based workshops where

considered for this are as follows:

1. Individual

come

to learn

and that being the space

instance

make-up and

disposition can be

interaction.

For

aangan

(court-

positively affected by careful design. Oppor-

yard)

based pickle making,

local cuisine

based
2.

tunities exist right from the very first 'touch-

cooking, weaving, music, crafts, and horticulture

point' awareness.

could be considered.

We must work from

sition for novelty

within the tourist's dispo-

and adventure, and habitual

Transforming Tourism and Tourists

The ETP needs
to

comfort and sense of security. Preparing her/

be designed so that the comin

him
3.

for the
is is

experience helps.

munity participate

the entire ETP process

There
tourist

no reason to believe that the Indian

exactly the opposite of the foreigner.

from the very outset, and be

made aware

of

the pros and cons involved - well before the

project
is initiated.

Positioning
in

and education can go a long way

opmental
nity

project,

we accept this as a develwe must accord the commuIf

aligning her/his expectations closer to the

actual
4.

&

available experience.
'cultur-

agency

to actively participate

in

and give

We

can reconceptualise 'tourism' as a

1. Grateful to

Arvind Lodaya, (advisor to this project) for allowing us to use his ideas and words for this section

95

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

al

exchange' framed within a developmental

maturity. Enabling both

ticipate in

communities

to parcre-

ethos, driven by both the agent communities

an 'experience audit' and the

and
5.

facilitated by the

NGO/state/other

inter-

ative innovation

and design process.

mediaries.

We

can use a combination of

pricing, posi-

Facilities
It

&

Infrastructure
useful for the sites to see

tioning
tourist.

and experience design

to

'filter'

the

may have been

they

We

can learn from business models

what

should

have

invested

in

as

such as clubs and timeshares.

6.

infrastructure under the Rural Tourism

of

Scheme

Deriving

workable

typologies

guests,

and what should have been accessed through

convergence with other government schemes
for general

comprising various attributes for each type

7.

To stimulate and enable mutually rewarding

interactions
individuals

development. Roads, renovations of

old buildings - are large

between hosts and

guests -

as

monuments,
items.

budget

and community

- that nurtures

As

the

cap

on

infrastructure

their feelings of co-ownership, gratitude

and

budgets was 50 lakhs the spending should

achievement. Staging interactions between

the guest and host communities at various

have been on areas that would

significantly

leverage the livelihood and tourism potential.

stages of the ETP project - from concept to

Section 3.3 Tourism Impacts

Any tourism, endogenous
or otherwise,

has the

and analyzed at the

find out

level of

the site

in

order to

potential to social, cultural

and environmental

what was the

real progress

and benefit
of collect-

damage,

if

left

unregulated to market forces.

of the project.

None have any system

The success of the ETP should not be judged by the economic gains alone (which are no doubt
important) but by the level of improvement of the
social justice

ing

and analysing data

related to benefits

and

impacts.

and growth

of social capital

as well.

A system must be developed

ed
activities at

to collect

and
relat-

Even and equitable distribution of the economic

gains
ties

analyse the information regarding tourism

among

all

the participating communito

the sites. Communities should

their capacity should

and individuals needs

be ensured. The

be empowered and
ed on

be

community does not seem to be aware of the issues that may come up once tourism grows.
Awareness building through the development
of

built for this activity. This set of statistics collect-

site

should become a tool to be used by

to

community

understand and review their own

Community based Tourism impact assessment is one way of doing this. Tool kits need to be prepared and shared with the communities once
such
initiative is

progress and also to be used across the entire

project sites as a whole to plan

and make course

corrections.

taken. An impact on local

liveli-

This should also be seen as an important and

integral part of the monitoring

hood and access

to environmental resources at
is

&

review process.
of:

the cost of the local needs

to

be monitored at

The data
1. Sites

collection should

comprise

a regular interval by the VTC.

should

be

encouraged

to

develop

Capturing data at the level of the site

for learning

baseline data through a PRA. Implementing

agencies should be well trained

is critical

in

PRA. This
for data

as PRA

is

an important tool

What was evident throughout the review is how little reliable and valid data was being captured

generation,

group mobilization, as well as a

96

RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES

way
2.

to

generate the sense of motivation and

tion centre - but this

has not been conceptu-

ownership about the project

alised very clearly as to

of consistent

what will be the function

would be useful to see
if

There needs to be a system

developed at the

and

of this centre will be.

It

simple data collection formats and systems

local level
-

these centres could be spaces for local

nities to

commucreative

tourist arrivals,

present their own histories

ways.
It

in

their profiles, requirements,

demands, what

and

local

could also

be conceived

they spend on, levels of satisfaction, how they

learnt about the destination etc.
3.

as useful spaces to handle data generation

and impact, gather information about

be
profiles

tourist

Income
objectives

and
-

impacts

should

and have rudimentary tourism impact

cells

disaggregated by development and tourism

gender,
poverty,

assessment
tive

running out of these collec-

caste,

spaces. Basic information technology based

facilities

marginalization, livelihoods, economics

distribution of benefits.
4.

and

resources such computers / internet

could be
etc.
It

manned

by village youth for bookings

community based impact analysis can then be done to find out e.g
participatory

could also serve collective village needs

in

and not only serve tourism. The youth

village could

the

How many people have moved from

the low income to

be trained

to run this.

middle income

groups after being associated with

the project?

Managing
impacts

and

mitigating

negative

Gender

impact

change

in

the
with

Common

property resources are often priva-

roles / of

women engagement

tized by tourism

as

its

property and this must

the project

be checked.

Employment generation
Increased
in

the

ability of

the less

Waste management and garbage were

sally visible

univer-

powerful and marginalized to partici-

and acknowledged as a serious

waste projects must be integrated

pate (e.g having

home

issue. Zero

stay facilities,
into all projects.

engaging

directly in service provision,

crafts etc)

The generation,
of this data
is

consolidation,

and analysis
and
the

The aspect of sanitation however has simply not been taken up seriously by MoT UNDP and
the implementing agencies. This

seems

to

have

essential for a factual assess-

ment

of the project impacts at local level

been addressed only

tourists.

to the extent of

acknowl-

edging the need to provide clean

consolidated

toilets for

across
its

sites.

It

will

help

MoT
in

It

is

really

to test

hypothesis that tourism can

"picture

sad that

in

many

of these

indeed be a relevant development intervention

the rural setting. With tourism coming
risk
in,

postcard"
-

destinations basic sanitadrains,

tion did not exist

open
or

no public

toilets

the

of
is

commodification
there.

of

culture

and

or did

community
not

toilet facilities.

That the project

traditions

One hopes

that

commu-

insist

leverage

convergence
assured

nity control will avert this inevitable

impact but

opportunities to ensure that basic sanitation,

drinking
for

as of now there are no particular safeguards

to

water,

hygiene

were

phenomenon, discussions on the issue in most

avert
this

the

or

significant

nate.
sites.

We

community is rather unfortuwonder why these were not

and
gates
All

addressed
Given the
pilot

touristic

artefacts

like

nature of this project the impor-

decorative
important.

or

car

parks

seem more

tance of this data and analysis cannot be underestimated. From a policy perspective, this
will

ETP projects must have a common

that

minimum programme
and primary health
leged
first

ensures that on

feed into the assessment of Ministry of Tourism's

intervention of expansion of rural tourism.

aspects of hygiene, sanitation, drinking water

of the residents are privi-

and the

tourists

come

next.

Most
will

sites are thinking of a building/

space that

work as the

tourist information / interpreta-

97

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Charters and Guidelines

Through the charter evolving process the community

The project has

sections,
of tourism they

tried to include the marginalized

backward castes and classes,

to a

women

needs

to decide

what kind

and poor

certain extent.

The economic

want, what they allow, what they disallow, what

benefit of these sections of people through

makes them

proud, what they want to offer?

tourism development has depended largely on

their

This has the possibility therefore of not being a

own

capabilities

and

to

some

extent on

mechanical exercise but a powerful process of

their financial

and

social background. Charters

them to search for and articulate their identity. Where communities have come up with their own charter which has clear defined lines
helping

and guidelines would help ensure the meaningful

participation of these marginalised sections.

as what tourist's should not do

it

in

their village,

has increased

their feeling of belonging

and

responsibility.

Section 4 Equity,

Empowerment, Social Justice and Development

overall

ETP was conceptualized within an

product part of the project being privileged.

framework
are
holistic,

objectives

and

principles

which

While

we

are not suggesting that the ETP

for

is

ambitious, which

introduced the

one stop solution

equity

ensuring goals such as

idea of processes along with "products" (place,

craft,

cultural

assets
at

of

communities
the

etc),

and empowerment, we believe that this component is a valuable and critical one if one
were to aim at people centred tourism. Therefore
it

and

placed

the

centre

notion

of

people

centred

development

and

people

is

important that
this

in

the future the

MoT

not

centred tourism. Thus development and tourism

dilute
rural

goal

and

end

up
a

reducing

the

were twin goals. The MoT and

with

UNDP

are faced

tourism

scheme

into

mainstream

the

challenge the

of

devising

ways
get

"tourism as usual" project.

by

which

tourism

product
it

"value

addition"
with

because
development

is

tightly
(of

The use
trivializing

of

terms

like
in

hardware - software

integrated

processes

sometimes resulted

oversimplifying

and even

empowerment, asset generation, enrichment equity etc). This development is not a side
agenda but the co-agenda
value to the tourism process.
in

complex concepts and

processes

order to add

and must be used with caution. The 'software' component for instance involves community
mobilizing, social

change and transformation,

each of which are complex
Similarly

institutional building -

Project vs Process
In
its

and
into a

difficult

processes.

equating

implementation the ETP has got

endogenous
tourism
is

tourism

and
it

transformative
is critical

project

based mode and has tended to collapse

the important development

interesting - but

that the

timelines and get product and results oriented.

This has resulted
in

MoT and UNDP ensure

and
processes
of

that the implementation

project

the

indeed

work

goals of equity, gender,

empowerment and

social

towards transformation.

transformation being sidelined and the tourism

98

RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES

Decision making and conflict

In

Challenging the status quo

is

implementing a project of this nature which

The choice

of

implementing agencies must be

public

essentially a social

and economic intervention

made

against clear,

and transparent
mobilization,
of the

several conflicts are likely to surface.

Some
,

not

criteria.

Since

the

community

inherent particularly to a tourism project

but

social justice

and developmental agenda

simmering
a project

or underlying conflicts

and tensions

ETP are

central, the ideologies of the

NGO's
have
project

which exist anyway and come to the fore when

like this is

must be examined
a key impact of
itself

carefully - as this will

introduced. Others could be

how they understand the

prioritize.
It

attributed particularly to the challenges to status

and what they

will

also have an

quo
of

or social orders or existing

power structures

impact on what they see as acceptable and what

they challenge
in

that the project deliberately introduces as part

its

terms of social transformation

not see

agenda

of social

change and the resultant

agenda.

NGOs

that themselves did

forces that are then unleashed.

caste or gender discrimination as problematic,

simply

let

these aspects go unchallenged on the

Taking everybody into confidence

is,

different

ground.

from giving everybody a space

in in

the decision the

village,

making

process.

Everybody

While

the

project

document
laid
in

laid

strong

irrespective of caste

and class ranking, has

details of the project. This

emphasis on gender equality and women's

development
worked with
portrayals of
-

the right to

know the

and

out a series of steps

its

in

hold especially true for the Panchayat,

who

is

this regard, the

ETP

implementation has
later"
let

the governing body at the village

level,

must

"this

can come
first.

us get

be kept informed on a regular basis about the

project.

the tourism part right

Often stereotyped

Those who are the current gainers of

women,

tribal

communities have

the existing tourism, or those powerful ones

persisted

in

the institutional processes as well

who
to

aspire for gaining out of the ETP would try

In

as promotion.
Issues of caste discrimination and other forms

dominate the scene.

their

presence the
will

weaker sections
say
All

of the villagers

and women

never be able to enjoy equal status and equal

in

of marginalization

have

largely

met

with the
revert

the functioning of the project.

same fate.

It

is critical

that the

Mot UNDP
and

to the original project objectives

re-architect

levels of
skill

implementers must work with a

timelines, deliverables

and indicators to address

greater

and

ability for

dealing with conflict,

these important goals.

and be
conflict,

willing in

some

instances to surface
is

as a project of this nature

inevitable

going to generate some.

Rights, Legislation, and Obligations

Ensuring that

minimum and
is

fair

wages are

paid,

ensuring there

no

child labour,

ensuring that
for

men and women

similar
in

get paid the

same amount

work must be considered non-negotiable

the project.

99

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Section 5 Institution Building

Institutions

are

primarily
to
it

holders

of

ideas.

The ETP attempts

of tourism.
this

propose a different idea

builds institutions to take

Time frames should also have a bottom up approach rather than the top down. Examples
of misuse, corruption, lack of accountability for

When

different

idea

forward

within
-

existing

damaged
to

property are
clarity

many and
In

there

seems

structures of the

rural

society

two things

be no

on who should be held responthe structure

may happen - the structures may be challenges or they may be compatible with the existing structures.
It

sible for

these serious lapses.

of institutions

and formalizing
examples
of trustof

we saw many

is

important that the process

recognize this as the
objective
of

them being formulated on the basis

solidify.

of institution

building

which was not given time to actually

ETP

is

proposing

not just the

develop and
grid
is

As a

result

many

crisis

and

tourism

development but also

objectives.

social justice

locked situations have developed. There

for proper

and equity

need

documentation of contracts

and taking care

of statutory

and

legal

aspects

Appropriate timeframes

of institutions especially
felt

as business models,

Many implementing agencies

limit to

that the time

assets and the shift

involved.

in

power structures are

built into guidelines.

enable the community to understand,

in

These need

to

be

develop and participate

is

the tourism industry

just not enough. 'There

must be adequate

Entrepreneurship models and community

institutions

time and resources available to communities.

Programs that have three-year duration are

too short to mobilize and
ties particularly tribal

The various entrepreneurship models

- private-

enable communito accept

community
institution,

partnership,

community-credit

and nomadic

community
in

- tourism network, PRI

initia-

tourism, develop

skills,

and implement initiatives

ability of

integrated tourism planning development

tive that

where benefits
nity

resulting from tourism can be

emerge

the course of the project

in

produced or measured'. The

commucritical

need
ness.
links

to
It

be studied closely

terms of

effective-

members
in

to take

leadership to address

would be valuable to understand the

and resolve
factor

crisis or gridlocks will

be a

between the emerging entrepreneurship

order that the dependency on impleshifts

models, community institutions that therefore

did or did not evolve

menting agency
stability of

and that the strength and

is

and impacts

in

terms of
in

the institution building

tested.

community benefits and "successful" tourism

the long run.
It

would be important

for the

MoT

Working with the twin objectives of development

to

commission a serious study on

this.

and tourism
would

itself offers

a significant challenge
in all

and would require timeframes that

go
the project. Apart from
this,

cases

It

would be interesting to study further the

of

beyond the given timeframes of

even from just a

experience

communitisation

of

various

sectors that the Government of Nagaland has

tourism

perspective alone, to achieve

of
stability,

some

undertaken.

degree

to

get

the

institutions

them strong to servicing the tourist, will need time and will only come with tourist interaction. What is critical that time is given and things which need time are not
working, building

The concept
in

rushed because of project closure? Since the

timeframe

of the Gol-UNDP project is till December 2008, the implementing agencies

of communitisation was introduced 2002-03 following the enactment of Nagaland communitisation act on public institutions and services. The government in phases handed over ownership and management of education, health care, water supply, electricity, tourism and

bio-diversity conservation to the

communities.

are under pressure to "hand over" to an unpre-

Communitisation consists of a unique partnership

pared community

in

many

cases.

between

the

government
transfer

and
of

the

community

involving

owner-

100

RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES

ship of public resources and assets, control

for

communitization programme
its

in

recognition

over

service

delivery,

decentralization,

delegation

empowerment, and building

of

innovative use of rich social capital.

capacity -

all

with the aim of improving the

utility

Scale and prerequisites

The MoT
tion
will

delivery of public

systems.
accountability
of

be taking forward
to

this intervenvs.

It

also

demands ensuring
level

and needs

address the issue of scale

its

government employees posted at the service

delivery
control
to
local

own

institutional
initiative

resources to take forward

without sacrificing one or

communities
assets
by
responsibility

and
for

such an

of

government
including

the other goal.

village

committees
maintenance,
tion

the

set

of

simultaneous
as

factors

may

be

amelioraion

and

augmentais

considered

necessary to
is

simultaneously

of assets.
triple

As such communitisation

exist before a site

considered suitable for the

in

based on

approach. Trust the user

ETP

basic developmental needs are

place

community.

Train

them

to

discharge

their

- sanitation, water,

access to health services,

newfound
of

responsibilities

and
in

Transfer

education; social capital and readiness of the

governmental powers and resources

respect

communities

to engage; strong tourism

USP

or

management.
for

product; availability of a suitable implementing

agency with

ideological

and community

The Nagaland government has been selected

United Nations Public Service awards
in

mobilization capacities.

2008

Section 6 Capacity Building

If

the

choice of the implementing agency

was

to

be

made

primarily on the basis

if

their ideolo-

gy and on their experience of mobilizing

nities,
is

commudeliver)

then aspects of capacity building (which

relied

accommodation which resemThe broader vision of use and relevance of local materials, providing opportunities to local vendors and
want
bles
to stay
in

and

suits the rural ambience'.

what they were also being

on to

benefiting the local

economy as a whole

is

also

could be handled by people or agencies that had

specialized expertise. Tourism

part of capacity building.

seemed

to

be the
in

area of expertise that was least addressed

capacity building.
It

As a part of

this project,

many

critical

tools have

is critical

that the Ministry

front.

been developed
building

baseline surveys, tourism

mobilises
its

itself to deliver

on this

Perhaps

perspective plans, questionnaires for institution

own capacity

building fund could be used to

and sustainable tourism,

to serve different

site

readi-

formulate and ensure a more thought through

process, bringing
in

ness, etc (refer annexure 3-7). These tools have

the required expertise to

been created

purposes - to

help communities understand and engage with

help communities and implementing agencies

to plan, reflect, monitor to

tourism

in

more aware and confident ways.

and 5-10 years down

to

Capacity building need not always lead to acquiringspecific skills,

ing the
tives.

and could also be seen as creat-

measure the impact of the project. These tools have been an interesting way of building capacity and it would
do a comparative analysis
be worthwhile that they be further worked on
to help serve

space for building or articulating perspecis

There

not

community
reflection

in

much awareness amongst the many sites to why there is such a

an extent that
'tourists

and fine-tuned
this nature.

and add value

to

the objectives as well as for future projects of

great emphasis on vernacular architecture. Their

is

limited to

101

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Section 7 Project
Planning Processes

Management
A committee comprising
well

of officials

from UNDP,
the
adviso-

The review team saw many reports as

an
overall project plan. Since this

as

MoT,
ry

1-2

representatives

from

budgets with action plan items, but did not see

is

experts,

implementing agencies,

DC and
be
for

first

of

its

Panchayats,

VTC

representative

should

kind venture, process support

and a detailed

constituted as a coordination
site. Its role

body

each

management
way
in

plan for each site would go a long

would provide

stability of oversight,

helping implementation of the project.

keep track of the progress of the project and

resolve

capacity building plan, which would

emerge from

blocks

and
This

conflicts

related

to

its

the detail plan, would also help

in

phasing these

implementation.

committee would also

happening

requirements so that the community and the

ensure alignment between the overall project

goals and principles and what
is

NGO

are prepared to engage

in

and take inputs

from capacity building programmes.

on the ground. The committee should meet on site once every 6 months and agree on broad directions
to take stock

Convergence
Convergence
of various

schemes

of the Govern-

ment

is

one

of the important

elements of the

Funds and Financial Management

Funds allocated
for

project. Until

and unless

this sort of facilitation

hardware and software have

centre

is

developed the two point approach of

been reasonable. The implementing agencies

have felt that they were very poorly compensated
for their coordination work.

the project of tourism and development cannot

A point person in the office of the DC may be a way to provide the support so that the experience was of facilitative and not
be taken care
of.

On the

project relat-

ed

activities,

based on the

stability

and strength
budgets

of the local institutions, the size of the

blocking. This
of

is

important as the experience

unilateral
office

need

to

be decided. Financial planning and

is

what seemed a

approach to funds
to

management

another

critical

area.

Financial

release from the

projects. For

DC

was common
link to

most
to

planning related

difficulties, like

low

wage

rate

example the

NREGS

or the

planned where

skilled

masonry

is

required, cash

JNUURM
explored.

or housing

schemes are areas

be

flow problems etc have

been show stoppers.

Provisions for a

maintenance fund could be

Appropriate Management and Coordinating structures

Since ETP has a small budget the appoint-

considered

and could be enhanced by the

revenue generated. An example of how this

works

is

from a community forestry project,

period
of

ment
fund
but

of

an independent

officer to

handle the

where the
cooperative
with

lease

to

the

village

may

not be feasible. Not only the DC,

at
different
levels

had almost a
kind
of

direct

correlation
to

the

species
duration

chosen

be

officers

of

district

planted,

of

long
or

administration, like the Chief Executive Officer

and and

ecologi-

and
sites.

the

Block

Development

cally
Officer,
in

useful

are

short

duration

quick

found to be handling the project

money.
different

The

lease

here

represents

owner-

Moreover, these posts are subjected to

ship of the community, thereby giving

them

transfer

and

posting.

Thus keeping track

is

of the

enough assurance
provision/

to plant long gestation but

ecologically useful trees

project at different stages

very

and
a

plants. Similarly,

difficult for
for,

these officers
say,

who

are responsible

as the

creation

of

maintenance fund

many

could positively impact the kind of construction/

larger responsibilities.

structures taken up.

102

RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES

Reflection,

monitoring,

review

and

ing the

wheel
in

is

avoided.

It

is

also essential to
it

learning
It

plan these

manner so that
is

initiates discus-

is

important to go back to the original project

sions to maximise learning opportunity. As the

document and constantly check alignment and progress against the project goals and objectives. Space for continuous interaction across project implementers and beneficiaries is really
necessary. There should also be interaction with other examples of community based tourism
like

funding support
infrastructure

a relatively small amount, the

activities

and other

planned are

screened and thoroughly discussed from point

of view of usefulness,

support to livelihood, and

support to tourism
project progress,

activities.

Documentation

of
is

achievements and learnings

is

Choti Haldwani. This would initiate learning

an important area where action

required.

across areas, and also use of experiences so

that similar mistakes are not

made and

reinvent-

Guidelines
The section on Guidelines attempts
to

put

A manual
and

delineating the vision, aims and

together the more specific suggestions, thoughts

objectives of the project as well as the role

responsibilities of key stakeholders to

and recommendations that have emerged

the course of the review.
It

in

be

is

hoped that when

developed
of the DCs would also help them get an understanding of the project Review meetings (national and regional) and

presented

in

this form,

it

could also be consid-

An onsite orientation

ered by communities, implementing agencies

and

policy

makers when they evolve and

arrive

at their

own guidelines and processes.

the site

visits

by officials as occasions to
larger vision of the project

emphasise the
Guidelines: Understanding of the project by the various stakeholders

Better

modes

of

communication

and

processes for ensuring a shared vision to

Guidelines - The process of site selection must be based on the following (simultaneous) criteria:

be developed

The focus should

essentially be on rurality

Time

to

be given to
its

for

communities

to

absorb

and the 'tourism resources from within' (choosing sites close to urban areas

the project and

in into

implication before swinging

may be
in

best

actual activities
for

avoided)

Need

constant dialogue to hear from the

this project, to see.

Basic infrastructure should already be

place

community on how they perceive

what are the changes they wish

(access, power, water supply, sanitation etc)

It

is

The

interest

and willingness

of the

DC

to play

also important to keep the dialogue open on

a facilitative role

what the community can expect from

project,

this
will

what

it

can achieve and what

it

The implementing agency choice should be made at the time of choosing of site. The
competencies
of the

not be able to achieve

implementing agency to

When
ing

a project

is

sanctioned and implementit

make
vision

capacity building linkages and work on

agency chosen

would be useful

for

them

social mobilization

as well as work with the

to visit
in

and

interact with other identified sites

and values

of the

ETP
of the

the region and with other implementing

Interest

and capacity

community

to

agencies and communities on the ETP as an

orientation process

adopt and /evolve and implement models of

103

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

endogenous tourism that they desire

locally available materials

be used, technologskill

Documenting

the

social

criteria

for

the

ical

innovations, use of local resources,

of facilities

community
this nature

to

make an
to

"informed choice" on
project of

and knowledge, kind

ity

and

rational-

whether they wish

engage on a

of pricing, etc.

and

to give

them the

right to

say

Thearchitectsshould bebroughtinattheinitial
stages
itself to

no to tourism

help facilitate the dialogue with

community and implementing agency

Guidelines - Tourism Product: Creating the experience

The DC should work with the empanelled

architect

and

or local architect to facilitate the

Keeping key tourism attractions at the core

terms of the USP
ventions,

in

process. The

DC should

not hand this over to

&

existing resources - Inter-

another government department / contractor

infrastructure

development

and

Households that could participate

in

home

capacity building
building on,

programmes to be aimed at expanding and innovating around

stays were those that have some asset like land

or

an extra room

to

be rented

to the visitors.

them

Guidelines should

ensure a more inclusive

To
like

ensure competitive advantage aspects

service quality, pricing, sense of value for

process that ensured that the "schemes" did

not privilege only the haves, and helped those

money, issues of connectivity and ensuring

that basic tourist expectations of sanitation

who

did not have assets to build

some

Infrastructure has

been mostly divorced from

process.

and hygiene are met are

critical

capacity building and has not gone through

Createanenvironmentthatwillhelpthe tourist
experience
rurality
in

any rigorous

institutional

All

infra-

and not rush

want"

to create the

structure development should be linked to

urban comforts
is

a rural setting, because that

capacity building programmes.

what the

"tourist will

Guidelines - Infrastructure Development

Guidelines Business plans

Marketing,

Promotion,

Infrastructure

development under
into three

this project

Marketing involves product/service development, place (location and distribution), and

pricing

can be categorised

broad sections:

> Direct links to tourism

(accommoda/

and promotion
of marketing
is

tion, restaurants, tourist information

The complex part

nicate
potentially be,

to

commu-

interpretation centres)

what the experience and

of that site could

>

Geared

to

overall

village

develop-

attracting those tourists

ment and
(toilets,

indirectly benefiting tourism

who are
it

looking for that. Through this process

pavements, footpaths, street

is

about empowering the communities to

lighting)

think,

choose and shape what kind

be

of tourist

> Purchase of certain assets (adventure

tourism equipment, furniture)

destination they wished their village, their

home and

It

their locality to

Based on the requirements

renovated / created

to

assess and

is

important to understand the form and

will

balance the infrastructure that needs to be

content of promotion that

for the site

be attempted

and to

identify

and

strategically

use

At

all

stages of infrastructure planning

&

the potential spaces and linkages to promote the site

implementation - the community should be

engaged

in

the process of decisions (what,

Marketing and Promotion to be seen as a

powerful opportunity to impact and change the

why, where, design)

To ensure artisans, craftsperson, labourers

are from local/nearby places

minds
be

of tourists - that they

would "see" more

than just the product or the view but actually

willing to
little

There

is

a need for constant dialogue with the

like

experience and be impacted and

community on aspects

-the extent to which

even a

changed by that experience

104

RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES

All

sites at the appropriate time should

work on

Youth -have been involved very

little

in

the

the business plan to project volumes, pricing,

processes of decision making. To attempt to

investment

in

marketing and promotion and

engage them

in

institutional

matters as this

is

benefit sharing of tourism

the foundation for them to help develop their

skills

on taking charge and on responsibilities.

in

They have been engaged

very few aspects

in

Guidelines - Equity, Empowerment, Social Justice and Development

like

guides and hospitality, but

the VTC body

the membership has often been limited

Ensure some basic aspects of development

are already
in

place as the ETP and even

Guidelines

Institution Building
instituis

subsequently "successful" tourism may not

To attempt to work with the existing

tions that are already
in

be able

to bring in or

ensure these aspects

place,

if

this

not

Community
gives the

participation

& engagement
to

is

feasible, then to explore creating

new ones

enabled through a longer PRA exercise that

and

sensitively design linkages with existing

community time
in

understand the

institutions.

implications of working on a tourism project.

To

initiate

the process of informal groups

(insti-

This

results

the possibility of informed

ability to influence

tution building)

once the community

is

aware

consent, as well as an

the

about the

project, identification of

what one

form of tourism.

wants

to

work on and develop

as

Participation of

women

in

decision making

To attempt to work with a process of equity

over equality while forming these groups
this
is
-

-to consciously identify and build the spaces

and capacity women who can be part of the process and especially women from the
marginalised, backward sections. To look at
innovative ways of engaging

a project for the marginalised, youth

of

and women. However with the adoption

equity principles

comes
in

conflict.

women and men

To ensure representation, space and voice of

the marginalised

together on a

The mindsets
sensitization

common platform of men need to change -gender

workshops or elements need
to

the institutions

After

considerable engagement and stabito

lisation

look at formalise /

registering

be designed

into

the project for both

men and

the groups - by adopting a legal framework

(Societies, Co-operatives,

women

SHG, and Federathe

Incentives,

encouragement
critical role -

to

be given to

tion) with

which they can function

discussions
roles,

women where
and playing a
ity

they have started participating

Regular

amongst

group
rules,

whether

in

capac-

members on

responsibilities,

building, institutions, etc

visits to

regulations, functioning to bring about clarity

Exposure

encourage, experience what

also
is

and understanding

women can do and

a process of making

them confident their To document good

capabilities

practices

of

engaging
this in

model Rules and regulations to be documented in relation to 3-4 broad areas - membership of the committee, land
Draft or
clearly

women

at different sites

and sharing

issues,

how

will

income be

distributed,

as well

different

spaces
is

as
a key

some

rules for overall functioning of the

As gender equality and empowerment

goal, to

VTCs. Communities could use this as reference

material

ensure that the design of the project

and evolve what works

for

them.

has

this indicator "built-in"

to.
in

and not paid

lip

Information on the workings of these institutions to be shared with

all

service

community members
with the

To ensure that

respect of children the objec-

- to

ensure a process of transparency and

for dialogue

tives of social justice

and development are

spaces

& engagement
and

met, there

is

no exploitation of children and

community members on developments

the rights of the child protected

A system

of rotation

inclusion of

more

105

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

members

of the

VTC

if

put

in

will

provide
village

There
level,
It

is

a need to factor

in,

depending on the
after a
skills

checks and

balances so that the

a basic + plus advance course

to design a

committee does not become a private enterprise of

is critical

way by which

some people
is

round of training they can practise their

always space for more
is

To ensure that there

and assimilate

their learning

people to join

in

/ be part of this
in

process

Need

to find

ways

of retaining

and engaging

should they choose to engage

Criteria

the future.

the people

can be put

in

place, but not

out.

ones that

who have been trained so that when the time comes to put this into practice
earlier,

would exclude/ keep people

they are available

Implementing agencies should ensure that

they
role.

As stated

the synergies between the

play

only

facilitative

and

guiding

infrastructure developed

and

training given

They should stay away from holding

lead to conflict of interest

needs

to

be ensured

key positions within the institution as that

may

Guidelines - Implementing Agencies

A working manual
to

for

implementing agencies

Guidelines - Capacity Building

be developed on systems and processes

Capacity building efforts can be categorised as

> As an entry point strategy >

Middle

and

smaller
in

organisations

need

much more support

and

terms of resources,

Awareness

on

tourism

capacities, skills
It

development issues
> Tourism linked skills

is

recommended

that while Panchayats are

in

and

livelihood

the LSGI and have an important stake

project, they

the

> Alternative livelihood skills > Institutional

may

not be the best direct imple-

management
of capac

menters
Create a pool of resources.
It

A balance between the various types

ity

is

important for

building

needs

to

be developed, too much

the implementing agencies and the funders

on general awareness has not been very

useful

(based on experience of prior projects) to

identify

what are the resources,

-

skills

and
liveli-

project of this nature cannot "involve"

-

all

capacities that are required

in

rural

people
direct

important to identify

who can be
indirect

hoods, tourism, marketing, institution building,

beneficiaries,

who can be

government procedures and norms,

of experts in

etc.

beneficiaries (farmers, fisherman, shops,

and

A group
can

these identified areas

help

communication
of the entire

facilities)

alternative livelihood

and who can be the group. However interests

to

be

brought together to

provide

the additional support to the implementing

community need

be kept

in

agencies as and when needed

mind while planning and implementation

Closing the loop

Expecting participants to

develop

skills in

one go does not always work.

106

Main Menu

Annexures

frS^syv^^Z3

ANNEXURE

Annexure 1 Review Framework

The review framework

relation to the

is

a set of broad guidelines (and by no

means
be explored

comprehensive) developed on the various dimensions need

in

to

ETP-RTS as a part of the review and documentation.

Approach
Tourism
A.
B.

to the

Review

Broad framework
of the project

Understanding/ expectations
Tourism Products
Business plan

C.

D. Quality
E.
F.

Marketing

& Promotion

Imaging
Tourism Impacts - Tourist - community interface

G. Aesthetics
H.
I.

Mechanisms

to

assess and mitigate tourism impacts

J.

Interpretation function

A. Infrastructure
B.

Development- construction and maintenance

Capacity building

C.

Synergies - Infrastructure Development and Capacity Building

.A. Social Justice

.

B.

Community engagement

C.

Women

D. Conflicts

IV. IV.

A. Institutions
B. Institution

Building

V.

Project

Management

107

SUSTAINABILITY

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I.

Tourism

I.A.

Understanding/ expectations of the project

Ministry of Tourism

UNDP
District Administration

Implementing agencies
Local

community

Advisors

I.B.

Tourism Products
> Kind of tourists > Kind of experience > Focus + niche - resulting
in

Defining the product

competitive advantage

> Nature and scale of benefits > Nature and scale of impacts > Criteria behind choosing particular art/craft forms for training

&

conservation
I.C.

Business plan Economics + break even analysis

Numbers -Carrying capacity

Market survey

Employment
Investment plans and patterns - non
Quality

UNDP/ MoT

I.D.

Standards and benchmarks

I.E.

Marketing

&

Promotion

Marketing

vs.

promotion -conceiving of a product

Positioning of site on the tourist

map
rural culture will not lead to

Steps adapted to ensure marketing of

'commodification

and standardization'

Linkages developed between the private sector (such as travel agents and tour
operators) and project sites, impact of these linkages

Marketing project sites and project as a whole

I.F.

Imaging
exists

What

between marketing and aesthetics

Process of stereotyping/ standardising

Creating constructs and categories The politics of the process - what gets put of communication products
Recognition that the result
is

in,

what gets

left

out - resulting

in

a set

for 'consumption'

and when

it

hardened

it

slowly

moves
I.G.

into

the 'non-negotiable' - happens by a subtle consensus

Aesthetics
> Tourists (which kind of tourists?) > Project holders and implementers >

From whose point of view?

Community

I.H.

Tourism Impacts - Tourist - community interface Awareness of tourism, its opportunities and its impacts - decisions influenced
nature of the tourism to be developed
Integration of tourism
-

to the

issues of authenticity, commodification

Extent of localisation that

maybe sustainable backward

-

linkages both to 'stakeit

holders and non-stakeholders',

demand & supply

does

set off

in

the local

economy

vis-a-vis

the local consumption / needs

108

ANNEXURE

Migration -

in

and out

what are the factors

Tourists

and Tourist

Profiling

>

What tourists

bring

in

values, actual items

and goods, interactions

> Understanding of local communities towards tourism and receiving visitors > Targeting prospective visitors > Role of community > Increase
in
-

procedure to determine carrying capacity

impact, increase duration

flow of tourists, profile of tourists visiting

-

> Average duration of stay

Economic Impacts
> Sustainable Livelihoods

Livelihoods - created and lost

what does tourism substitute

Issues of seasonality and vulnerability (women, caste, social

structure and external environment)
Livelihood promotion processes and strategies adopted

Unanticipated opportunities triggered or strengthened

Shift
in

the nature of occupation

affect on agricultural practices

and non-agricultural occupations

Impact of tourism-based livelihoods on incomes

number
in

of additional days of

- enhancement, employment, productivity

enhancement, reduction of drudgery

distress migration
livelihoods have

(leisure),

reduction

Whose

been strengthened

(poor, very

poor, well-off etc.)?

Degree of equity
Willingness to

in

livelihoods promotion

(unemployed youth,

socially excluded groups,

wage labourers)? accept new livelihoods - youth, women

Sustainability of the livelihoods created

Social

and

Cultural Impacts

> Positive interactions between tourists and local

community

or

do they

become the
> Access to

'serving host community' to the visitors?

facilities,

natural resources
(e.x.

> Cultural assumptions

about need

for privacy, issues of 'performing/

being on show'
> Marketing of culture

Environmental Impacts
> Eco-systems approach - interlinkages > Environmental footprint and consumables > Saving energy (energy-saving bulbs), > Saving water (rain water harvesting, re-using waste water for flushes) > Production of compost (segregating garbage, recycling of

bio-degradable waste)
> Solar Heating/cooking > Reduced use/banning of plastic > Site preparedness to handle environmental problems (pollution,

water management, solid waste management, etc)

I.

Mechanisms to assess and mitigate tourism impacts How does the community judge and assess impacts of tourism?
-

Codes/ Charters has one been developed?

tourist behaviour at the site

Criteria

adopted, changes observed

in

Non negotiable and

their links to culture, tourism products

will

and codes /charters

not)

(what are the boundaries - what

level - to mitigate possible

be catered

to,

what

will

Safeguards (economic, environmental,

social, cultural)

developed at community

negative impacts of tourism

109

SUSTAINABILITY

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I.J.

Interpretation function

Physical
Qualitative

Universal design (access for disabled, etc)

A. Infrastructure Development - construction and maintenance Nature of infrastructure developed - use of locally available materials

II.

Use of local knowledge, Consensus process and

invested / spent on
it)

skills
final

and talents
it

decisions regarding infrastructure development (what,

taken,

where, why, design - how was

how much money has been

-

Facilities

provided
involved

in in

the accommodation unit

rationality
-

behind pricing

Who were
local

developing the infrastructure

advising architects, contractors,

community?
technological innovations introduced - internet/cyber cafe, credit card
to maintain infrastructure

New

Systems created

Social infrastructure

and

accessibility

do they address community needs

II.

B.

Capacity building
for selection of

Procedure

people for training

in

How many have been

trained,

which areas, now earning a livelihood

Perceived outcomes and end results of the training

C. Synergies - Infrastructure Development and Capacity Building Hardware precedes software or vice versa Degree of coordination achieved the two, integrated better to address needs tourist and community

II.

of

III.

A. Social Justice

Issues of social mobilisation, equity and inclusion

Community ownership Degree of community involvement (how

Ownership of assets,
coordination?
Intervention
initial

inclusive, participation of

all

the relevant

stakeholders) of project activities and assets

and sustained
for

participation -

how does one ensure

of

this

model

in

terms of a model

development? Nature and extent

'change' sought

III.

B.

Community engagement
is

Who

community?
and power structures

Link to existing social

Nature of consensus building and

who was

involved
lie

Where does

influence of decision-making and control

Impact on the rights of the community

Impacts on certain sections of community - children, youth (demonstration effect)

Who
-

are the "non" stakeholders

why and how

did they

become non-stakeholders

what are the

C.

conflicts or stakes here

which are covert?

III.

Women

Women's empowerment and gender issues What is the recognition and vision of their contribution to the project What are the efforts to involve women in the various institutions at different

levels

Has there been a change in the economic and social status of women Different ways in which women are involved in livelihood activities, leading to economic empowerment? Degree of control exercised over incomes generated through tourism-based
activities

Reasons

or possible
for

be created

causes for poor participation of women, and factors that can an enabling environment

110

ANNEXURE

III.

D. Conflicts

Opposition to ideas, schemes, by which sections, reasons/ stake involved

Resolution

mechanisms

to deal with conflicts (various kinds of conflicts)

IV.

A. Institutions

Engagement and transactions

local

of institutions

in

terms of
into

its politics,

extent to which

communities experience

& needs are

-

taken

account, scope for feedback

exit plan

&

course correction, issues of coordination, issues of corruption and

bureaucracy) Political

Government (administrative machinery

> Ministry of Tourism

machinery

>UNDP >DC
Convergence Procedure for fund release Implementing agency- NGOs/ Panchayats Panchayats Village Tourism Committees (VTC) Self Help Groups (SHGs)

Contractors

Tourism Board,

PWD

IV.

B. Institution Building

Kinds of collectives/institutions promoted

Procedure adopted for formation of institutions

VTC (process by which they emerged, how are they envisaged) - money contributed, who was chosen, membership, role, responsibility) SHGs (process by which they emerged, how are they envisaged, groupings based on
ability to contribute?)

Objectives, role

and

responsibilities, rules regulations of the institutions

How conducive

(enabling or adverse?) has been the project environment for nurtur-

ing people's institutions

Effectiveness of processes adopted for participation and decision-making

Benefit-sharing

mechanisms and

its

effectiveness

in

ensuring benefits flow to even

of project proceedings at

the most disadvantaged sections of the community

Involvement of Panchayat, regular meetings

the

& follow up

Gram Sabhas

Capacity building for managing institutions sustainably

Project
Project

V.

Management Management Skills

and

of implementing

agency
exist - their relevance

Reporting mechanism, process of supervision, ensuring quality of work

Legal, legislatives
policy

frameworks that

and lacunae

Issues of competency, confidence and dignity of the local communities -their

own

sense of empowerment about managing the tourism process and taking on their own terms after exit of implementing agencies

it

forward

111

SUSTAINABILITY

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Annexure 2

List of

Discussions

&

Interviews at various sites

Banavasi (February 2008)

Implementing agency

BAIF-lnstitute for Rural

Development-Karnataka

Members

of the Village Tourism

Committee
-

Contractors for infrastructure development

accommodation

Temple Committee President

Member of the Wood carver group Member of the Folk artist group Members of the Pineapple Food group Member of the Home stay group

Chitrakote (February 2008)

Implementing agency - Saathi Samaj Sevi Sanstha (Saathi) CEO,

Zila

Panchayat, Bastar District

General Manager (Marketing), Chhattisgarh Tourism Board

Block Development Officer, Bastar District
Deputy, Chitrakote Panchayat

Meeting with community - large section of the community who have

engaged on the project

(Village

Tourism Committee and as well as from

Chitrakote (who are not part

other institutions formed)

Villagers from different
of this project)

hamlets

in

Female workers Temple

Priest

in

the Aanganwadi,

SHG

taking care of

PDS

Members Members Members

of the of the

Suraksha Brigade (Cleanliness Brigade)

Kuruk Swayatya Sahakari Samiti (fishermen)

of the Sanskriti
-

manch

(Folk

Dance & Songs)

Women

trainees

Pottery

Chougan (February 2008)

Implementing Agency

National Institute Of

Woman

Child

and Youth

Development (NIWCYD)

District Collector,

Mandla

Officials of

Water Works Department, Mandla

(Village

Meeting with community - large section of the community who have

engaged on the project

Tourism Committee and as well as from

other institutions formed)

Members of the Durgavati Dance group Member of the Lantana craft group Member of the Home stay group

112

ANNEXURE

Member Member

of the Vaidh (traditional doctor) of the

group

Honey harvesting group

Karaikudi (February 2008)

Implementing Agency-

DHAN

Foundation (Dhan)

Founder Trustee, M.R.M. R.M. Cultural Foundation

District Collector,

Sivaganga

District

Member of the Homestays group Members of the Chettinadu Cuisine group Members of the Athangudi tile making group Members of the Kandanki weaving group Members of the Kottan basket weaving group

Neemrana (February 2008)

Implementing Agency - Social Action

for

Human Resource Development

(SOHARD)

Block Development Officer,

District Collector,

Neemrana
SHG's
- terracotta, tailoring, dari

Alwar

District

Women Members
Members Members Members
of the

of various

making

of the Potters group

Camel Cart Owners group

Fort Palace

of the Silver smith group

Manager & Assistant Manager of Neemrana President, Neemrana Panchayat

Durgapur (March 2008)

Implementing agency

North East Social Trust (NEST)

Members

of the Village Tourism

Committee

District Collector,

Golaghat

District

Members of the Guides group Members of the Bamboo makers group Women Members of the weavers group Members of the Cuisine group Members who had gone on an exposure

visit

Lachen (March 2008)

Implementing agency - Pipons, Dzumsa, Lachen

Mountaineering
Institute (TMI)

&The

Mangan District Members of the adventure sport group Member of the Homestay group Members of the Tourism Industry (Hotels)
District Collector,

Discussions with Youth

Raghurajpur (March 2008)

Implementing agency
Heritage (INTACH)

Indian National Trust for Art

and

Cultural

President, Village

Development Committee, Raghurajpur

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SUSTAINABILITY

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Members Members Members Members

of the Gurukal of the Craft of the

Gotipua dance

group

Guides group
group

of the Hospitality

Hodka

(April

2008)
-

Implementing agency

Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS)

Members from Sahajeevan, Qasab & Khamir (Craft Resource Centre) Members from Hunnarshala Foundation architects for infrastructure
-

development

District Collector,

Bhuj District

Members of the Village Tourism Committee Members of the Craft group Members of the Guides group Members of the Hospitality group Women members of helped at the resort
(April

Naggar

2008)
for

Implementing agency - Society

(SAVE)

the Advancement of Village Economy

Members of the Village Tourism Committee Members of the Guides group Women Members of various SHG's Members of Home Stay group Member of the cultural group

Funders and Project Coordination

UNDP Prema Gera, Head-Poverty Unit, John Borgoyary, Programme Manager-ICT & R. K. Anil-Project Officer-Endogenous Tourism Project
-

Ministry of Tourism,
tary,

Government

of India

Leena Nandan, Joint Secre-

& Amitabh

Kant, ex- Joint Secretary

Advisors to ETP-RTS

Anjun Mitra (Empanelled Architects

resource person for infrastructure

development)

Kabir Vajpeyi (Empanelled Architects

infrastructure development)

resource person for

K.K. Chakravarty (Empanelled Architects

infrastructure development)

resource person for

Prof K.VRaju (Resource person for institution building)

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ANNEXURE

Annexure 3
Tourism Perspective Plan
Developed by

UNDP

Introduction

In

the context of ETP, tourism

is

to

be viewed as a communal business,

'

i.e.

thinking as a social entrepreneur

Tourism as one component of the 'basket of livelihoods Tourism

To keep
is
it

to

be linked with 'development'

simple, the plan can be categorized into Supply Side and

Demand

Side

What does the site have to

offer?

Resources: > Cultural >

Who

is

the Visitor?
tourists'

Profile

Human

(including Gurukul)

Sample

survey

> Natural

Endowment

Market Survey/ research

> Analyzed using Baseline Survey

and

SWOT

Conversion of Resources into Productive Assets, via:

Capacity Building
> Awareness (uniqueness, resources, heritage)

What

is

the Tourism Product?

>

Skill

development (products,

(What does the visitor get?) A 'Unique Cultural Experience' > Knowledge (of traditional
practices)

services)

>
its

> Hospitality/ cuisine

See/

participate (events/ chores)

skills)

Documentation of tradition (and

relevance to tourism)

> Learn (new

> Eat (local 'ethnic' cuisine) > Purchase (goods and services)

> Written > Visual

> Audio > Oral history

Documentation of natural

endowments
> Bio-diversity
>
(flora

and fauna)

Do Nothing (be with the nature) Itinerary: Time and motion studies to understand how long it takes to get from point A to B in the village, and by what means Pricing - to emerge from cost
>

Tour

Monuments and

structures

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SUSTAINABILITY

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Supply Side

ANNEXURE

Annexure 4 Framework for

Base Line Study
Developed by

UNDP

Introduction

The

Endogenous Tourism

'software'

Project

aims

to
its

support
rural

the

Government
initiatives,

of India's National Tourism Policy, especially

in

tourism

by developing alternative models

thirty-one pilot locations

across the country and, further, to position such models as engines

of

economic growth. These locations were

skills,

identified

on the basis of

the country's vast and diverse craft

cultural

and natural assets,

keeping

in

view their proximity with existing tourism

circuits.

The

Project's

primary

beneficiaries

are

the

rural

poor,

through

complemented by GOI Rural Tourism Scheme brick-and-mortar 'hardware'. The 31 locations,

capacity building/direct training/marketing 'software',

thus identified within the ambit of Project funds, stretch across the country's
six

conceivable parts: north, south, east, west, central and the north-east.

'Hardware' and 'Software' Work Plans for each location have accordingly

been formulated by the location focal points

(i.e.

District Collectors/

Magistrates) through discussion with key

community stakeholders.
be community owned and driven

The new

alternative

model

of tourism will

and structured on
It

India's traditional craft, culture

and natural

heritage.

will

strengthen national identity by combining the arts and crafts

rural
life

dimensions of
the Project
will

while aiming to preserve the environment. Ideally,

provide inputs to the

Government

in its rural craft,

culture

and natural heritage based, community-driven pro-poor tourism The National Tourism
in

policy.

Policy

2002 aims

to

undertake poverty eradication

an environmentally sustainable manner by enhancing "employment

potential within the tourism sector as well as to foster

economic

integration

through developing linkages with other sectors" by attempting

to:

Position tourism as a major engine of

economic growth;
for

Harness the direct and multiplier effects of tourism

generation, economic development and
tourism;

employment
rural

providing impetus to

Focus on domestic tourism as a major driver of tourism growth;

Position
India

as

global

brand

to

take

advantage

of

the

burgeoning global travel trade and the vast untapped potential of India

as a destination;

Acknowledge the

critical

role of

the private sector with government

117

SUSTAINABILITY

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working as a pro-active

facilitator

and

catalyst;

Create and develop integrated tourism circuits based on India's unique

civilization,

heritage and culture

in

partnership with states, private sector

and other agencies;

Ensure that the tourist to India gets physically invigorated, mentally

rejuvenated, culturally enriched, spiritually elevated and "feels India

from within".
To achieve the overall vision for the development of tourism,
strategic objectives have

five

key

been

identified:
priority

Positioning
activity.

and maintaining tourism development as a national

Enhancing and maintaining the competitiveness of India as a tourism

destination.

Improving India's existing tourism products and expanding these to meet

new market requirements.

Creation of world class infrastructure.

Developing sustained and effective marketing plans and programmes.

The

Project demonstrates

UNDP's focus area concerns as enshrined

laid

in

the

Millennium Development Goals, key indices

out

in

the

Human

Develop-

ment Reports and the Millennium Development Compact.

Rapid population increase has pushed
livelihood
diversification

many

rural

communities towards

strategies for supplementing traditional farminter alia, by out-migration or,

based income. This has been attempted,

on tourism
circuits,

by providing visitor services. Given the geographical

India,

spread and cultural diversity of

which make

it

a multiple-interest
significantly to

and all-season destination, tourism earnings can contribute

rural livelihoods

and the national economy.

Despite infrastructure constraints, to be addressed by the Centre and the

States, substantial untapped livelihood potential exists through sustain-

able tourism strategies based on

craft, culture

and natural

heritage.

The

tourism income route can bridge the shoulder period to the 'lean' season,
with

income flows from a

variety of craft

and culture-based tourism

products, as well as nature-based circuits focusing on the country's varied

bio-geographic zones.

The tourism income route thus holds special

livelihood potential for the

most disadvantaged, especially

ships.

in rural India,

through stakeholder partnervisitor

As a non-polluting, sustainable livelihoods supporter, the

income route also provides a major marketing opportunity

to differentiate
in

and
a

position the Indian tourism product as a unique visitor experience

rural,

low-impact setting. However, strategic safeguards are required to

harness the sector's livelihoods capabilities without irreversible negative

impact on
bio-diversity.

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ANNEXURE

Objectives of the Base Line Study

The base

line

study aims at several goals:

site: existing activities,

Map

the current state of the

physical

and human

assets. This includes visual (photo, film) stock taking.

Identify

and assess the community's

is

livelihood needs.

Map

potential capacities ("what

possible") to be used during the

course of the programme.

Brief the location's population

about the

project.

It

is

the most

vital

task to ensure that the whole local population

becomes aware

of the

programme

objectives as well as activities.

Mobilize

all

the social groups of the village and arrive at a

to

common
to a

consensus how

implement the programme. The PRA (Participatory

is

Rural Appraisal) approach

strongly

recommended, compared

simple household survey.

Duration

The study should be undertaken

in

a limited time span of 1-3 weeks.

Methodology
The study
will

be conducted

in all

18 Endogenous Tourism

Project
All

(UNDPsites

GOI) sites as well as the

will

13 Rural Tourism Scheme

sites.

(GOI) sites.

31

report on the
of

same

subjects/thematic areas. This process

will

allow a

minimum

comparison between the project

To ensure the participation of

all the social groups a PRA approach is recommended. Making use of PRA methods will ensure that situation assessment is participatory and people's views, opinions and perceptions

are heard on a variety of issues. Intervention strategies

will

automatically

be more

realistic.

Specific information for

all

sections of the local community should be

obtained. Gender and environmental concerns are crosscutting and should

be addressed

in

each constituent

of the thematic areas.

Visual media, such as photo

and

film, will

be used to document the present

and relevant aspects

of the village.

Thematic areas to be covered

The Nine broad thematic areas that
below.
this study

should cover are outlined

A tenth section has

also been provided for any other

community

specific issues that could impact the Project/location.

The thematic areas have been divided

would provide a detailed
ing qualitative
all

into

sub-themes. The base

of
all

line

study

profile

and analysis

these subjects contain-

and quantitative data

in

indicating trends
will

and patterns across

reality

social

groups present
will

the village. This

present a clear

on

the ground and

enhance the
and

project planning

and work as a future

tool

of evaluation throughout

at the completion of the project.

119

SUSTAINABILITY

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The framework proposed

edge the
individual

is

purposely open and flexible so as to acknowllocal

approach of each

Implementing Partner.

A comprehensive set of subjects to be covered under the base line study is listed below. The nine areas cover a broad range of subjects keeping tourism and livelihoods as the main area of investigation. This list is not exhaustive and can be further expanded. The tenth heading has been left
for local specific issues.

Some

of the data

under the different headings

in

is

expected to be overlapping,

i.e.

same

data could be used

two or three headings.

Economy
Income: Look at
Natural
water.
all

a)

possible income sources of the village, including:

Resources: land, forest,

Common

Property Resources (CPR), livestock,

Arts/crafts:

What kinds

of crafts are practiced

in

the village?

What
is

is

the current and

is

potential productivity/income from

each craft? What technology

being used and

there a potential of upgrading.

Agriculture:

What

is

the income activities related to agriculture?

What

is

the income

from Agriculture

for

each social group? What

is

their seasonality?

Tourism related income: Tourists may be coming to the village already. Does the
district

administration have any indicative

numbers? What

is

the number of tourists

visiting

each year? What increase

keep tourists

in

tourism does the village wish to expect?

type of tourism would the local community wish to

villagers like to
initially

What welcome? How long would the on an average? What income does the village
poor, poor, rich etc.,)

expect to get from each tourist visiting?

income groups (such as very Income from any other source

Identification of different

Livelihoods analysis

may

also be carried out.

b)

Migration: seasonal/permanent Economic impact of seasonal migration

c)

Seasonality: Reflect upon the seasonal activities and

Is

how this

influences the income/

livelihoods of the local people. livelihoods by

there a particular season/period that could

augment

an increase

in

tourism activities?

Agricultural practices

Forestry activities

Animal husbandry

activities

Govt/other development interventions: List out all types of governmental or other development projects ongoing as well as planned/convergent that contributes to the income of the local population. What is the average income from these activities and
d)

which social groups

II -

profit

from these schemes?

Tourism aspects at location:

a)
b)
c)

Access.

Host population/age groups/migrant (male/female).

Physical features: altitude, rivers, adjoining areas.

d) Ecology/natural assets: landscape/flora/fauna.

e) Heritage precincts.
f)

Cultural

assets/monuments/vernacular idiom infrastructure.

deity,

g)

Places of worship: presiding

h) Fairs

and

festivals.

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ANNEXURE

i)

Handicraft

skills.

j)

Cuisine features.

k)
I)

Gender focus.
Goodwill potential from student

programmes

for location's legacy.

m) Ayurveda/yoga/indigenous systems. n) Convergent initiatives: government

corporate/other,
o) Hospitality traditions.

(including

Rural

Tourism

Scheme)

p) Proximity to visitor itineraries: (a) special interest (b)

general

(c)

gateway,

q)

Host community numbers dependent on or receiving tourism earnings through:

Home

stay (lengthier stay potential?).

Hospitality/accommodation unit handling.

Souvenirs.
Visitor supplies e.g. cattle/livestock-based or local

processing

facility for oil/condi-

ments etc which could

Cuisine.

integrate with tourism supply chain.

Guides.

Tourism reception center/signage/wayside amenity maintenance.

Local event handling.
Folklore

documentation

(print/film/electronic).

E-centre facility supervision.

Local transport.

Tourism-related equipment.

Promotion/publicity/marketing.
Facilitation of cleaner technology.

Maintenance

of local

monuments/heritage precincts (ASI/state

dept).

Ayurveda and Yoga potential.

Hotel/guest

house/other

bed

capacity

(category/occupancy

and

data

source)

& Incoming tourist data

(with source):

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

III -

Quality of

life

a)

Health
Access/quality of health
lage?
facilities:

What kinds

of facilities are available

in

the

vil-

What

is

their state of operation?

is

Prevalent epidemics, diseases: what

being done to prevent these?

hygiene awareness
in

Hygiene awareness: What

(e.g.

is

the

level of

day to day

activities

cooking, washing clothes, cleaning)?

b)

Education: The

level of

education

will

help assess the

amount and type

of training

required to develop local capacities for the programme.

Levels

Formal/informal:
Vocational
skills:

What What

kind, kind,

what what

level?

level?

c)

Public health
ture.

& sanitation: Tourism

is

needs a certain amount

Is

of basic infrastruc-

What

kind of infrastructure

available already?

there a potential for further

development?

Access to water

for

human consumption
in

Quality/quantity of drinking water

different

seasons

Garbage

(solid/liquid) disposal

& management

Sanitary/(public/private)/latrines

d)

Housing: Housing practices may

village architecture

reflect

the village community's awareness of their

as a tourism attraction.

Type of

facilities,

architecture (traditional/modern)

IV -Culture
a)

Festivals/customs:

List all

the festivals that could serve as tourist attractions.

What are the

b)

festival

seasons?

Crafts
level of skills
list

of crafts available

number

of practitioners

c)

Marketability of crafts/cultural forms: Commensurate with the host community's

acceptance, what aspects of

ways:

local traditions/culture

is

marketable and

in

what

design support potential

packaging
domestic/international marketing

V-

Infrastructure
will

This part of the study

provide feedback to the 'hardware' part of the programme.

Outlining existing, functional infrastructure

a)
b)

and necessary improvements.

Common space
Roads

(such as a

Community

Hall)

c) Electricity

d)
e)
f)

Telecommunications
Drainage system
Rural industry

g)

Water (wells/tanks/water harvesting

structures...)

h)

Any other

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VI

Gender

In all

UNDP

projects,

gender concerns must be addressed with

state of

priority.

This section

documents the current

a)

women,

their rights, social status etc:

Status of health, education, income, participation,

threats specifically to

empowerment

b) Potential

women

VII

Enhanced Pride
indicator of the

in their

whole village/location
well being
is its

A good

community's

pride

in

traditions

and

culture.
their

It

also provides an indication of the village community's motivation to

village to tourists.
a) In crafts b) In

showcase

customs/practices/festivals

c) In history

d) In local architecture
e) In

natural/manmade assets

VIM

Environment

&

Ecological Sustainability
is

Environmental sustainability

an

integral part of a sustainable tourism initiative.

What are the

initiatives that currently

in

harm

or protect the environment?

The environ-

mental analysis should be seen

a systematic approach:
outputs.

What

are the inputs and

how are they used, and what are the

a.

Resources: What natural resources (water, forest produces, pastures, waste and
cultivated lands etc.) are the village consuming,
in

what quantities and how?

What increase

in

resource consumption

is

anticipated as a result of increased

tourist activities?

What

is
is

the

maximum

resource consumption sustainable by

the environment?

What

the average fuel consumption per household?

What
b.

kind of fossil fuels are used?

village

Wastes: How does the

manage the

disposal of

its

waste
is

(solid

and

liquid)?

What

kind of waste

management system/infrastructure
What

present at the

village level?
c.

Technological Interventions:
for

kind of technological interventions developed

the tourism project are environmentally sustainable?

etc.)

d.

Landscaping/construction: What kind of beautification (footpaths, plantations,

or construction (roads, guesthouses, etc.) activities are being undertaken?

e.
f.

Natural assets:

list

of flora/fauna

and

its

ecologically sustainable usage.

LAC

(limits of

acceptable change).

IX

Peoples' sustainable institutions/networks

level of social capital

Discuss the
a)

present

in

the

village.

Number

of self help groups (SHGs), youth groups, cooperatives etc.,

b) Level of their participation in

c) Activities

the community-activities (both social and economic)

d) Their status
e)

and impact
level

Democratic decision making at community

X - Any other
This section
is

issue (specific to your location)

any other community specific issues that could have an impact on

for

the project.

123

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

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A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Annexure 5
Promotion
Developed by Prof

Questionnaire:

Institution Building

and Livelihoods

K. V. Raju,

IRMA

(Advisor/ Resource person for institution building)

Name Name
1.

of the Project Village: of the

Implementing Agency:

Institution Building

A.

What are the different forms of community based organisations and how many, (for example, SHGs of crafts persons, Village tourism Committees, Cooperatives etc.) that your NGO is promoting in Endogenous
Tourism Project (ETP)?

B. Briefly

describe the processes

(for

example, awareness creation meet-

ings conducted, stakeholder meetings, collection of

membership

fee,

user fee and other funds, framing of rules / by-laws, registration, con-

duct of elections, training

in

accounts, book keeping and maintenance

of records etc.,) followed by your

NGO

in

formation of these community

based organisations
2. A.

Basic Business Concepts

Are the community based organisations promoted by your
oriented?
If

NGO market

so,

how?

B.

Are community based organisations profitable?

How does

your

NGO

ensure this?

3. A.

Micro Enterprise Promotion

What are micro

that your

enterprises

(for

example, petty trade, services

like

PCO,

small restaurants, production of candles/agarbattis, handicrafts

etc.,)

NGOs

is

promoting?

B.

Are these micro enterprises individually owned or group based?

C.

Does your NGO help

accessing credit
marketing,
(for

in

the following?
in

If

so,

how?

example

obtaining bank credit),

purchase of raw materials,

skills training

and enhancement

124

ANNEXURE

4. Institutional Sustainability A.

and Empowerment How does your NGO ensure the sustainability of the community based organisations after your NGO withdraws?

B.

How many

of the organisations

promoted by your

NGO

can do the
this.

following on their

own?

Explain your

NGO

role in

ensuring

C.

Accounts and Book Keeping

D.

Conduct meetings
Take Decisions and Implement

E.

125

SUSTAINABILITY

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A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Annexure 6 Questionnaire
Sustainable Tourism
Developed by EQUATIONS

Project Site:

Implementing Agency:
I.

General / Base line data

(text in

bracket are indicators, please expand)

rain-

1.

Geographical (General topography/ terrain, climatic conditions,

fall,

Watershed area)

2. Local

tions,

economy (Employed / Unemployed (Men, Women), Main OccupaEconomy Sectors, Availability of Basic Infrastructure (electricity,

water, telephone), connectivity)

3.

Environmental / Ecological (Types of ecosystems, Resource

Threats to the area

utilization

by local communities/ dependence on ecosystems, Land use patterns,

-

timber

felling,

encroachment, poaching, degrada-

tion/fragmentation of habitats, existing mining/ industrial operations,

Solid waste

management

practices, sewerage, recycling)

4. Social

(Demography (Gender

ratio,

age, population, migration), Literacy

&

Health)

5. Cultural (Local

arts/ handicrafts, Traditional knowledge systems and

practices)

II.

Base

line

data of the rural tourism project

1.

Year of

initiation

2. Total 3.

investment/ Project Outlay

(a)

Investment by

Central

Government

(b)

State Government

(c)

Other

Investment agencies
4.
5.

(d) Private

investment

Any

tie-up with agencies for implementation of project -

From the baseline exercise

who do you

define as the stakeholders

and as the non-stakeholders

Planning for Rural Tourism

of the project

III.

1.

What has been the process adopted

stakeholders on the project?

to

engage with the community and

2.

What

is

the level of acceptance and understanding on tourism

&

tourists

amongst the various stakeholders, community?

126

ANNEXURE

3.

What are the expectations

tourism?

of the

community with regard

to tourists

and

4.

If it

is

a site that already has seen tourist/ tourism

it

activity,

what

is

the

nature of

and what
'rural

is

the profile of the tourist, duration of stay?

5.

What

is

the

experience' that

is

being planned?

What

is

the profile

of the tourists you are aiming to target?

6.

A key

objective of this project

is

to also help transform the

life,

experience and understand rural

to help bring

culture, etc -

what

is

way tourists being done

about

this

change?
to

7.

What

is

planned

what has been /

be implemented and by whom.

activity.

Also please give details of investment for each

a. Infrastructure

(Hardware Component) - what

is

is

the infrastructure being

is

created which
to village

linked directly to tourism

and secondly which

this

linked

development
of the

(indirectly linked to tourism) in

please details the

engagement
b.

community/ stakeholders

process?

Capacity Building (Software Component) - what has been the entry

point strategy to engage,

what have been the other capacity building

and
liveli-

trainings - linked to awareness, for developing tourism skills

hood, for alternative livelihood and for institutional

management

c.

Convergence
Marketing

(in

what areas and with whom)

d.

What

is

the marketing strategy (product, price, place and promotion)

in

keeping

mind the

overall nature of the project?

What would be the pricing policy? What has been the progress and impact so
Impacts of Tourism
benefits are being perceived

far?

8.

What

SUSTAINABILITY

IN

TOURISM

A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

a.

What are the mechanisms

in

place to check impacts?

b.

Are charters for sustainable tourism being developed?

c.

What has been the mechanism adopted

what
is

for
it

developing the charter,

in

the strategy for dissemination,

is

bringing

some change

in

the tourist behavior at the site?

9.

What has been the system adopted / put

in

place to ensure collecting

of project

and analyzing data (during the various stage related to benefits and impacts.

development)

IV.

What aspects /

principles of sustainability are being adopted

in

during project implementation and

what way?

V.

What

are key tourism concerns with regard to the project?

VI.

Additional information

VII. 1.

Brief Profile of the

implementing agency

Name

of the organisation:

2. 3.

Key areas of work:

Contact person: Contact Details
a.
b.
c.

4.

Address:

Telephone:
E-mail:

d.

Website:

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ANNEXURE

Annexure 7 Questionnaire on ETP

Site

Readiness
UNDP

Developed by

Dear ETP Partner,

As many ETP
sites

have already begun/will soon begin to receive

level of

tourists,

we request you

to provide

us with further details on the

to

"readiness" of your project location. Kindly take a few minutes

list

respond to the questions below, which

the basic

minimum requirements

for a site to

be

regarded as "operational.

ETP Location:
Site Readiness (Please tick the appropriate box)
Overnight accommodation

Software Implementing Partner:

1.

is

available within the project village

If

Yes
2.

D
what
is

No

No, by

when

will

this

be ready?

(month/year)

If

yes,

the type of accommodation?

Home

Stays

Guest house created under RTS

Hotels

Others (please specify)

3. Local tourist

guides are available

Yes

No

If

No, by

when

will

they be available?

(month/year)

4. Traditional cuisine is

provided on site
If

Yes

No

No, by

when

will

this

be provided?

(month/year)

5. Local crafts (including souvenirs)

are available for sale

If

Yes
6.

No

No, by

when
Place

will

they be available?

(month/year)

People's Charter for Sustainable Tourism

in

Yes

No

If

No, by

when

will

this

be

in

place?

/
is

(month/year)
established

7.

People's institution for governing tourism

(e.g. Village

Tourism Committee)
this

Yes
8. Interpretation

No
Centre set up

If

No, by

when

will

be established?

(month/year)

Yes
9.

No

If

No, by

when

will

this

be set up?

(month/year)

Promotional material developed

Site brochure

Posters

Website
place?

Film

If

No, by

when

will

these be

in

(month/year)

Approximate
April
-

number of 2005 December 2006

visitors

who

made

overnight

stays

in

the

project

village,

from

Name:

Signature:

Date:

129

SUSTAINABILITY

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A RURAL TOURISM MODEL

Acronyms & Abbreviations

BAIF

ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS

SDM