Eco-tourism has become a trend in the last few years. People from big cities are moving to villages to enjoy village life. They stay for a few days in the villages, meet the people, enjoy the culture and food there. Three friends living in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand converted their barren land into an eco-tourism centre on this model.
Today tourists are coming here not only from all over the country but also from abroad. With this, they are doing business of 40 to 50 lakh rupees annually. He has also linked more than 50 people with employment.
Shekhar, 36, and Naveen, 39, are both brothers while 50-year-old Rajendra is a resident of his village. Shekhar's father used to do agriculture. The income was not very high. There was no other source of income for the family. For this reason, Shekhar had to leave his studies after 12th.
Shekhar says that we worked in the tourism field for a few years. A private organization also did tourism work here for a few days. We were also associated with him, but later due to some dispute, he had to leave from here.
Shekhar says that we had a love for tourism and got a decent experience of work. So we wanted to convert our little land into an eco-tourism centre. But this task was not so easy, because forests cannot be prepared in a day.
In the year 2011, the three together started converting their agricultural land into a forest. Planted new trees one after the other, gardening. Along with this, tent camps were also set up for the tourists to stay. These tents were made of American Safari. For this he had to take a loan from the bank.
Shekhar says that this camp was seasonal. That is, in a particular season, tourists used to stay here, visit the forest and villages and then leave. It used to earn some money, but in the rest of the season, time had to be spent empty-handed. We also had less budget then that's why we were not able to develop new and modern camps.
After a few years, when we started earning little money, they started building a permanent camp. So that tourists can stay here in every season. For this, instead of cement, they built mud houses so that it is completely eco-friendly and reflects the culture of the village. It also has separate washroom and toilet facilities.
They named it Mud Camp. There is a forest around the camp that contains different types of plants. There are also habitats for more than 50 types of birds. Along with lodging for the tourists, there is also arrangement for their food that too in a completely traditional and organic way. In this, only the products grown in the fields of the village are used. At present they have 15 tents and 9 mud camps.
Shekhar says that even though this camp is in the village, every facility has been taken care of in it. Tourists coming from any big city or abroad also do not face any kind of problem. We provide all the accommodation arrangements for the tourists like a hotel but in an eco-friendly manner. We have constructed houses in such a way that they are weather friendly. There is a system of cooler for summer days and natural fire for the winter season.
Clean water to drink. Food cooked on a traditional stove. And hill tea is available to the tourists. Any tourist can stay for as many days as he wants. Here also there are different charges according to the convenience. There is a special facility for the tourists to visit the jungle, visit the villages, meet people, see farming closely, learn, understand the local culture, see the beauty of rivers and mountains. There is also facility for cycling and an adventure park. Guides have also been kept for all this, who help in moving the tourists.
Shekhar and his team have named their Eco-Tourism Center Camp Hornbill. It is located in Kyari village of Nainital district. This camp is located at a distance of about 250 km from Delhi. If you want to come via road then you have to come to Ramnagar from Delhi via bus. You can also come in your own car. If you want, you can also travel from Delhi to Ramnagar by train. This camp is just 10 km away from Ramnagar. Local car is available from here. Or on the call, Shekhar's team also comes to receive. If someone wants to come by flight, then one has to come to that Pantnagar airport. This camp is at a distance of about 100 km from there.
According to Shekhar, tourists from all over the country come here throughout the year. Many school-college students also come here for camp. He has typed it up from schools. Along with this, hundreds of tourists also come from many other countries including Australia, America, Singapore. In the last year, due to Corona, his speed has definitely slowed down, but now slowly everything is returning back on track. He has also linked about 100 people with employment through this business.
The eco-tourism model means the tourism centres developed completely naturally. Due to which there is no harm to the environment, but it gets more support. Nowadays such models are being developed in many places in the country. Many people are also running startups as agro-tourism models. That is a place from where villages and forests can be visited. Enjoy the culture and food of the village.
If you also want to develop such a model in your area, then you have to take care of some things. For example, the location of your land should be such where people can easily move. Big cities are nearby, there should be a road system to reach the centre. Electricity and water should also be available. Nowadays internet connectivity is also in demand.
At least two acres of land would be required to develop an eco-tourism model. The budget of about 5 to 10 lakh rupees from above. It may take 4 to 5 years to develop the vacant land as a forest. If there is no river or pond around then you will have to dig a pond yourself. You can also do fish farming in it. For this, a loan of up to Rs 7 lakh is also available from the government. The variety of the plant should be different. Seasonal fruits and vegetables should also be kept in this so that you do not have to buy anything from outside.
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