Enabling Climate- Conscious Tourism
With the climate crisis impacting every aspect of life including travel , CBT initiatives need to quickly adapt and proactively incorporate climate action and environment-friendly practices . Proper waste management and reducing single-use plastic are two major challenges that community-based homestays , in particular , need to address .
Community Homestay Network ( CHN ) in Nepal has collaborated with partners like SmartPaani to reduce the use of single-use plastic in communitybased homestays . SmartPaani is a Nepali company that designs water systems that can reduce water requirement from the municipal , groundwater , or tanker water market supply by 50-70 percent a year compared to traditional water requirements . They also conduct Water , Sanitation , and Hygiene ( WASH ) training for community members and support them in understanding the benefits of filtered water and reusable water bottles . Panauti Community Homestay , which is part of CHN and had attended this training , invested in a certified WHO-recommended water filters to assure travelers of water purity while reducing the use of single-use plastic water bottles .
Eating local and seasonal produce is another way to practice climateconsciousness . Tourists often seek nonlocal dishes and CBT initiatives try to cater to western tastes . Promoting local cuisines and delicacies through cooking classes , food walks , farm stays , and other experiential activities can help foster greater awareness and appreciation of local , seasonal foods all the while being kinder to the environment .
Marketing Offbeat Travel Experiences
CBT initiatives are marketed as immersive travel experiences . However , they run the risk of overcommercialisation under the garb of promoting and celebrating local products and culture .
“ In CBT models , we often see that the culture of the local community is commodified . Local cultures are rooted in the land that they are part of , but in tourism , dance , music , and cultural practices become performances that are put up as a show for an outside audience and taken out of context . This should be questioned , “ are we objectifying and commodifying the local culture or do we understand its deep roots ?” asks Shivya Nath , an Indian travel writer , sustainability speaker and consultant , and founder of Climate Conscious Travel . She also highlights that poverty tourism is very common in the Global South , and it was interesting for her to come across an alternative model in South Africa where she spent time with a social enterprise that organizes skill-sharing opportunities between community members and travelers , enabling genuine interaction versus a performance .
CHN in Nepal emphasizes the importance of community participation in designing travel experiences . “ The process of turning a symbol of local identity – be it a cultural performance or a traditional dish – into a unique travel experience should be inspired and led by the local community members whose stories are represented through these experiences ,” says Aayusha Prasain , CEO of CHN .
They have been able to successfully revive Panauti ’ s traditional instrument , Dhime Baja , by facilitating a threemonth workshop that not only helped revive the knowledge of playing the instrument but also provided young locals with a chance to reconnect with their cultural heritage and earn additional income , as travelers visiting the community are delighted to witness and enjoy this traditional art form . CHN has also played a pivotal role in driving other tourism activities through this participatory approach , such as Panauti Bike Station and Ranjana Lipi workshops .
Aabiskar Thapa , founder and managing director of Sharing Seeds , a non-profit organization in Nepal , presents a different challenge . “ As a new and small not-for-profit community tourism organization , we don ’ t have qualified human resources to market our community impact and activities at a larger scale . We are also lacking funding resources for the daily operation of our organization ,” he shares .
To address these challenges , Sharing Seeds is tapping into various remote volunteering platforms like Wemakechange , Chezuba , and Matchable , that connect them to volunteers from around the globe who can help with marketing , web development , fundraising , graphic design , and other requirements .
48 www . insidehimalayas . com by Royal Mountain Travel