Socio-economic and Cultural Revitalization with Homestay Program at Amaltari Village in Nepal

Challenges and Objectives

Amaltari is a small village that lies in western Nepal in the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park. The Tharu and Bote indigenous communities lived in the area for ages and depended heavily on the forest. However, after the area was made into a protected area, they could not use forest products, which impacted their livelihood and their traditional occupation of fishing. This induced displacement and migration as well.  Hence, it was necessary to provide them with alternative livelihood opportunities to protect their identity and culture along with the forest.

There were several instances of human-wildlife conflicts and the locals breaking the rules of protected areas to go fishing and gathering forest products. The Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) program by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) initiated the formation of collaboration with the local political leaders from the Tharu community and the villagers to initiate this project in 2011. Its main aim was to enhance sustainable conservation efforts at Chitwan National Park by encouraging and involving forest-dependent communities living in the buffer zones.

Collaboration Partners and Roles

The conflict between the National Park and the Indigenous had to be mended. The Tharu community leader Prem Shankar Mardaniya realized a need to preserve their indigenous community's disappearing culture while uplifting them economically. On the other hand, the TAL program realized the importance of having forest-dependent communities participate in its conservation to make it sustainable. This was possible via collaboration between the two to promote eco-tourism in the area. This would provide the indigenous with economic and cultural opportunities and motivate them to conservation. The Amaltari Buffer Zone User Committee helped as a bridge between the community and the program.

Although the collaborators had different motivations, they realized their end goal was the same. While the TAL program and WWF primarily focused on preserving the buffer zone biodiversity, the community people had different motivations. For some, it was culture revitalization, while for others, it was economic well-being. However, during the project, these different groups figured that the collaboration could help them achieve those goals sustainably, increasing their shared commitment to the project.

Revitalisation Activities

TAL supported US$ 490.2 (NRS 50,000 per household) in 2013 to start a homestay program and generate income for the local community. 21 households were selected after being trained in homestay management and operation and fulfilling the necessary standards. A management committee was formed via election to manage the homestays, and the project was handed over to the Amaltari Homestay Management Committee for further extension.

Nine Board members elected from all the 21 (now 32) households operating the homestay tourism in the village manage the entire operation, make rules and regulations, set standards, and also monitor and regulate the operation. Sano Kisan Co-operative provided a low-interest (at 12%) loan of 150,000 NRs (almost 1200 USD) to small farmers belonging to Tharu communities to invest in Homestays. Traditional houses were built, and cultural groups were formed to feature performances and activities for the tourists.

One Cultural Centre was also built to host community meetings, gatherings, and cultural performances. The project organized several workshops and excursions on homestay management and operation, as well as English language training for the community. A women-led enterprise was created to make and sell traditional arts and crafts as souvenirs to tourists via an outlet shop at the cultural center.

Revitalisation Outcome

In the past, most of the communities were small-scale farmers and fishermen (forest-dependent) constantly fighting poverty and loss of livelihood because of restricted protected areas; the initiative has most of them switched to tourism entrepreneurs. Thirty-one households run homestays; others run local eateries and shops and work as tourist guides. They are economically more secure and above the poverty line.

Conservation of biodiversity has been the central focus of the initiative. The community is less involved in illegal fishing or unsustainable usage of forest products as they have alternative livelihood opportunities via homestay tourism. They are also more motivated to protect the forest and its wildlife as most of their guests come to enjoy nature, and community people see nature as their most important asset.

The project worked on promoting and preserving the cultural practices and knowledge of the Tharu community, a significant cultural heritage of the area. It helped further strengthen the community bond and networks as they have to perform dances and other activities for the tourists collaboratively.  Mostly, women are the operators of homestays, which is a significant step in empowering minority women. Providing youths with diversified job opportunities via tourism has also helped control youth migration. Following the success of Amaltari homestays, TAL launched 15 other indigenous homestay programs.