Village Ways offers eye-opening experiences in India, Nepal, and Ethiopia. In each destination guests can experience the essence of the destination by spending time with families and communities. Each place of stay is an autonomous business belonging to the community, typically a specially constructed or restored village guesthouse, providing direct benefits to your hosts.
Here’s a snapshot of some of their key achievements, and reasons why Wild Asia has identified them as one of our 2014 Finalists in the category Best in Community Engagement and Development…
- Many of the homestays guests can experience have been lovingly renovated. Village Ways provides funding for renovation at properties they wish to send guests to. They provide 40% grant and 60% interest free loan, payable only if they send guests there. Communities form committees and manage the enterprise together, empowering them through the running of their own business.
- They have established a charitable trust as a model to help wider community development, with the objective to provide skills and capacity building to rural communities, to help them improve their quality of lives.
- Spread benefits by ensuring that the committees have a member from each household.
- 100% of Village Ways staff is local.
- In addition to providing training within destinations for accommodation entrepreneurs, they take trainees to different areas to get exposure of industry.
- Village Ways operates in many untouched destinations, providing immersive experiences with cross cultural interactions with families at homestays.
- Building communities through tourism, Village Ways ensures local people are involved with the whole process of implementation. They have values of inclusivity and have encouraged women to take on guiding roles.
- Communities have commented that the process of establishing tourism projects has brought people together and strengthened the community.
For more information about Village Ways, please visit their website.