TRPAP
Tourism For Poverty Alleviation
After the completion of five years of implementation of Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Program (TRPAP), the remote parts of Rasuwa district have shown how investing small amount of money to promote local culture, building infrastructures and making hygienic lifestyle can maximize the rural income through tourism. Although it has beautiful mountain peaks Langtang, Goshaikunda and others and has rich and unique ethnic Tamang culture, a large number of poor people in Rasuwa district, 100 kilometer north of capital, don't realize that these existing things can bring prosperity to them. As the TRPAP –whose first five years period was marked with political instability and intensification of insurgency- is on the stage of being phased out, it provides a model how tourism can be effective to reduce the poverty
By KESHAB POUDEL in Gatlang, Rasuwa
For Chersingh Tamang and his team of Gatlang village, they had never realized that attracting a small group of tourist can bring about Rs.3000.00 (45 dollar) a day. To earn this income, the villagers have to provide, lodging and fooding and show cultural performance.
 |
Villagers : Mixture of culture and nature
|
Living under subsistence agriculture, this is a huge sum of money for local people generated without hard labor. For the poor residents of Gatlang village, tourism is slowly but steadily bringing about changes in their life styles and contributing to increase their annual income.
In the past, they used to sell some surplus products like bean, barely, millet and sweet potato, there were no other ways for generating cash other than to go out side villages fro work. Tourism is now coming as savor to them.
This is the reason whenever a group of tourists come to live in their multiple communities building, almost all young and old villagers gather to ensure that the tourists' stay will be happy and peaceful.
According to Nepal 's Human Development Report 2004, Rasuwa is regarded as one of the poorest regions with overwhelming majority of people living under absolute poverty line.
Due to n ominal possibility to maximize the income through subsistence based agriculture and livestock, for centuries the villagers have been living in absolute poverty without any option to increase their incomes. Surrounded by beautiful mountain peaks of Lantang, Kerung of Tibet and Goshaikunda, nature has bestowed upon great resources to this village.
TRPAP's Contribution
.jpg) |
Chersingh Tamang : Upbeat mood
|
For the people like Chersing of Gutlang village, the TRPAP has come as a savior. At a time when the country was embroiled in conflict, the TRPAP continued to receive overwhelming support form the local people and all political parties to develop the infrastructures and grass root institutions for tourism promotion. This is the reason villagers like those in Gutlang are able to generate additional income through the tourism.
Constructing Tamang Heritage Trail- which covers more than half a dozen villages of northern remote Rasuwa with the majority of population living under absolute poverty line, TRPAP has made a significant contribution.
Supporting to develop a wide range of rural infrastructures like trekking trails, bridges, community lodges, water schemes and alternative energy systems, the TRPAP has already invested money to build physical infrastructures. The TRPAP also supported to develop appropriate institutional support in the respective districts and villages which can work in the future.
For many other villagers, TRPAP has been supporting to increase their income. Lawang Gyalpo Tamang has different story to tell as he has maximized his annual income through the loan received under a micro credit program. Tamang is now producing the trout fish worth of Rs. 200,000 (US$ 3000) a year.
"I produce fish targeting the tourists coming to visit Dhunche. My trout fish has good market in Thamel, a tourist hub in Kathmandu ," said Tamang. Others, too, are benefiting from similar approach. Many other groups are producing local handicrafts through the soft loan under the micro credit programs.
Unlike in the past, there are strong group of people who can mobilize villagers in the area of tourism promotion at village level. Based on participatory approach, TRPAP's program is backed by community as a whole.
.jpg) |
Tamang dance : cultural attraction
|
Based on pro-poor tourism program, TRPAP is currently running its program in six districts of Nepal –Taplejung, Solukhumbu, Rasuwa, Chitwan, Rupandehi and Dolpa. Launched in September 2001 with assistance from United Nations Development Program, United Kingdom 's Department for International Development (DFID) and SNV-Nepal, TRPAP has shown that a successful community based sustainable tourism program can contribute to alleviate poverty in the remote rural parts of Nepal .
Implemented through the District Development Committee, the TRPAP implemented its entire program through the local community at the village level. "Since TRPAP have built all the infrastructures though the community participation, it is the local people who will protect them. The success of program is that local people are main beneficiary and stakeholders," said Chet Nath Kanel, training specialist of Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Program. "This project has shown that tourism, if properly managed can contribute to alleviate poverty."
Income Generation Through Tourism
Not only in Gatlang, villagers in Chilime and Syaphrubeshi, Khanjim, Dhunche and Thamuchet have reasons to rejoice. Maximizing the income through promoting the tourism has become reality in the lives of rural poor.
Growing number of visiting tourists show that the village has much potential to attract tourists. In the course of bringing tourists in the villages, they have changed their life style cleaning their households making toilets and building the tap water supply.
For foreign tourists, the local Tamang folk culture and trekking along the Tamang trekking trail with beauty of Lantang, Gosaikunda and Kerung Himalayas of Tibet are life time experience. For the domestic trekkers, the natural hot water spring at Tatopani and taking dip in Gosaikunda and Parbati Kunda are religiously significant.
"As law and order situation has improved, the infrastructures built under the TRPAP will be now fully utilized to achieve its goal to eradicate poverty," said chief district officer of Rasuwa. "The program gave us a lesson how to run successful projects. This is now our responsibility to replicate in other villages also."
In the last few months, the number of domestic tourists visiting Tatopani, a natural hot springs in Chilime has greatly contributed to enhance the income of the local residents.
.jpg) |
Development of infrastructures : Towards tourism promotion
|
"This year about 2000 domestic and more than 400 foreigners visited Tatopani," said Sonam Dorje Tamang of Chilime Village Sustainable Tourism Development Committee. "According to our experience, a domestic tourist spends Rs.500 (US$8) for lodging and fooding per night. The numbers of visiting tourists have contributed to raise the income of the people living in the trail of Tatopani," said Tamang.
Following the implementation of TRPAP, sustainable Tourism Committees were constituted to execute the programs and for social mobilization.
"Our studies have shown that a tourist stays on average for 10 days in the districts spending Rs.1200-1500 (US$ 15-20) per day," said Ramchandra Shedhai, tourism consultant of TRPAP's Rauswa. "Similarly, domestic travelers also spend money contributing to increase the annual income of rural poor."
Despite such potential, the villagers, though they used to see a lot of tourists coming to Kyanjing and Bridim, had hardly realized in the past that the tourism could bring money to them as a supplementary to their subsistence based agriculture.
Situated just behind the Lantang and Goshaikunda Mountain range, the people living in the Gatlang, Chillime. Goljung, Thambuchet and Bridang villages have rich tradition and culture. But nobody noticed in the past that these elements can contribute to reduce the poverty level in the village.
Living in unhygienic and dirty conditions, trekkers, though mostly traveled through nearby village, ignored them. Neglected from the mainstream tourism development, poor people or northern Rasuwa - whose daily income is less than a dollar – have now reason to rejoice. From domestic tourists who come to bath in natural hot water springs to foreigners coming to see the traditional unique life of Tamang, all theses growing tourism activities help to generate the additional income.
In the past, tourists coming to Langtang and Gosaikunda confined to Wangal, Khanjim, Bridim, Lingling and Timure. Other equally interesting places like Chilime, Thambhuchet, Gatland and Goljung were out of the tourism picture.
.jpg) |
Tamang trail : Brath-taking experience
|
"This year more than two hundred foreign tourists visited our village as trekkers and watched Tamang dance and culture," said Chersingh Tamang, chairman of Gatlang Village Sustainable Tourism Board. "Tourism generated the supplementary income to us."
Inhabited by ethnic Tamangs, many villages of northern parts of Rasuwa district have all kinds of potentials to attract tourists. From beautiful mountains to unique Tamang culture, one can find all kinds of rural tourist attractions in this area. Besides that, natural hot water springs and numerous ponds and lakes with religious importance are there to lure domestic travelers.
"TRPAP has already explored the number of new areas as a tourist destination. Stricken by rampant poverty, the villages like Gatlang, Shyaphrubeshi and Chillime are taking advantages," said Binond Singh, Local Development Officer of Rasuwa district. "By investing a small amount of money to build infrastructures, the tourism can economically transform the society of remote rural areas."
After the implementation of TRPAP in 2001, along with Gatlang village, Dhunche, Syaphrubesi, Chilime, Goljung, Bridim and Thuman the villages have gone through the process of social transformation. Under the program supported by TRPAP, the villagers living in the remote north have many things to boast.
During the last four years, villagers have built institutions as well as infrastructures to attract tourism, most importantly, the hygiene conditions of Gatlang, Thambuchet, Chillime and Goljug has drastically changed.
"The water wase polluted and the sanitation condition was so bad that the entire village was a public toilet resulting in disease infection. Along with constructing the stone paved trail in the villages, TRPAP also supported to construct toilets and drinking water tap," said Sonam Dorpe Tamang of Chilleme Village Development Committee Sustainable Tourism Board. "We convinced the people that clean and hygienic environment bring tourists and additional income."
Although Langtang and Goshaikunda have been popular trekking areas for trekkers for long, only a few areas and limited number of population benefited from them. Goshaikunda –which is one of the popular religious sites for Hindus –attracts large number of domestic tourists twice a year but it has not made any significant impacts on the life of rural people.
Based on community mobilization, TRPAP has shown how pro-poor people oriented program help to reduce the poverty. "This kind of program need to continue for another few years till local stake holders are in a position to continue it," said Tenzing Kesang Tamang Chairman of Langtang National Park Buffer Zone Committee. "TRPAP has done both the conservation and poverty reduction through the local mobilization."
According to the report of Lantang National Park , 13166 foreign trekkers entered into the Langtang area in 2001 but the number declined to 4122 in the year 2005/06. Had the tourists arrival continued to climb at the pace of 2000/001, the situation would have been much better now in terms of transforming the local economy. Despite the intensification of insurgency and drastically declining the number of tourists, the villagers have something to boast anyway.
As people are uncertain whether TRPAP will continue or not but the program has taught a lesson to the policy makers and planners that tourism can help to reduce the poverty in the remote parts of the country. What is required is community's involvement in the process of project implementation.
