Rolwaling Ecotourism Project

In remote mountain regions tourism plays an important role in stopping out-migration and improving the living conditions of the inhabitants. However, the needs and requirements of both, the local population and the tourists as well as those of the environment must be equally considered.

South of the holy mountain Gauri Shankar in the hills of the Rolwaling region, Eco Himal has been operating an ecotourism project which aims at generating new jobs through a kind of tourism designed to bring economic benefits to the region and, at the same time, promote the conservation of the environment and the cultural heritage. The controlled tourism development is seen as a contribution to a sustainable regional development.

Right from the start, the local villagers were involved in all project activities. Eco Himal established 20 Community Development Committees (CDCs), all of which were registered as cooperatives. During the first phase, priority was given to the basic infrastructure such as drinking water supply, the construction of compost toilets and the improvement of trails and bridges.

The next step was to create a tourism infrastructure (lodges, campgrounds) and to prepare the villagers for tourism. The first model community lodge was completed in 1999, courses in lodge management are underway, and a guidebook for the area was published. Workshops and training programmes to encourage co-ordinated village development will continue.