GHT Development Programme update
Posted in: Articles, Blog, Dolpa and inner dolpo, GHT Development Programme, Humla & Limi Valley on August 26th, 2010 | Comments: none
The Great Himalaya Trail is a new way of linking existing trekking routes together to create a long distance walking route in Nepal and the Himalayas. By showing the trail’s colour-coded line on a map, it helps people see that there is more to Nepal than just Annapurna and Everest. Hopefully this will encourage more people to visit off the beaten trail places and hopefully come back year after year to visit or complete different sections of the trail.
While part of the Great Himalaya Trail Development Programme (GHTDP) is to help promote the GHT to trekkers and trekking companies alike, the main part of its work is to make sure that the people of those areas are trained and able to provide services and products to the groups visiting new trekking areas.
The traditional-style self-sufficient camping treks only provide little benefit to the local inhabitants of a region–and make for a more costly trip too.
It makes sense then to help local communities develop local services for trekking groups. This has been happening in various places throughout Humla and Dolpa, where more than 50 small businesses have received training courses over the last 18 months.
They have learned about who tourists are, what is important to them during their visit and what standards they are expecting.
The skills training in lodge management, cooking and guiding has been hands-on. Mr. Narabhum Shahi of Hotel Mount Putha in Juphal, when asked what he will do with income from tourism says: “I’d like to add more rooms and improve the existing ones. I want to invest in expanding this business a little … and of course some of it will go to educating the kids…”
Cook training in Dolpa - How to make a good ommelette!
After the training, the trainees have written action plans stating what are they will do in the coming months to put their new skills into practice..
Linda Bezemer, a tourism expert with SNV who went on these monitoring visits, says: “It is great to see how step by step small businesses are improving: personal hygiene improved, toilets are being built and kept clean, the area around the teashop is well kept and waste is properly separated.”
But training alone is not enough, you learn through practice. The most promising participants will be given a chance to get ‘training on the job’, working in a hotel in Pokhara or guiding a trek.
Guide training in Dolpa - how to make a splint for a broken arm.
In addition to training Entrepreneurs, training has also been given to Tourism Development Committees to help ensure that tourism development is managed properly in the long term.
When accommodation, cooks, locally sourced foodstuffs and local guides are available, everybody wins. Trekking companies see reduced costs, new areas become more accessible to groups and local communities earn income from their services.
To help clarify what services are available in Humla and Dolpa, Agent’s Directories have been put together for both places. While this includes some on the newly trained people, it also includes the experienced and long established service providers.
Download the list of suppliers from Humla and Dolpa below.
UPDATE:
There is a good article on Humla and the Development Programme featured in the 10th December 2010 issue of Nepali Times:
Hoping to replicate the success of teahouse treks in the Annapurna and Everest regions, SNV and its local partners have been working to develop small to medium enterprises along the trail to provide food, lodging, and other trekking services. In 2009 and 2010, 50 small businesses in the pilot GHT sections of Humla and Dolpa received tourism-related training, covering everything from the importance of boiling water for drinking to dealing with altitude sickness.
email or in a reader, join our mailing list or Nepal's Great Himalaya Trail Facebook page for occasional upates.
Tags: development, dolpa, guides, Humla
