from the mailbox: Hodka Village - endogenous tourism in Kutch, Gujarat

jan 26th

sounds interesting, i guess 'endogenous' is another new term for 'ethnic'? kerala has succesfully pushed 'ethnic' tourism recently.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: s

Received the following from elsewhere, please pass on this info to your
friends. -- S

I am writing to ask for your support in spreading the word about an
Endogenous Tourism Project initiated by the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan
(Kutch Women's Development Organisation) in Kachchh, Gujarat, india. KMVS
has been working in Kachchh since 1989 with women in the villages on
empowering women socially, economically, financially and politically. There
are now four women's organisations with 12000 members in 165 villages.

For this project, we are being supported by the Ministry of Tourism,
Government of India and UNDP. We have put up our website - www.hodka.in

Would it be possible for you to share this information with colleagues,
family and friends, both in India and elsewhere?

Also check out http://www.exploreruralindia.org/ - this has info about all
the 31 villages in this (Endogenous Tourism) project.


More on Hodka:



Hodka village is situated in the Banni grassland, on the edge of the Great
Rann of Kachchh – the large salt desert in Western India. The village is
famous for its craft and craft persons who have received several national
and state level awards. They receive many visitors each year from all parts
of the world who come to learn their craft,
share ideas or simply to appreciate craft.

This has been capitalised upon by UNDP, who have chosen Hodka village as one
of their 31 sites in India for an Endogenous Tourism Project owned, built
and managed by the community. The project has been initiated with a resort,
the Shaam-e-Sarhad (Sunset on the Border). Accommodation here is in
beautiful tents or the traditional bhunga, a
conical mud structure. While the ambience is rustic, the comfort is that of
any modern hotel with attached bathrooms and running water. The kitchen
provides traditional Kachchhi and Gujarati food with special snacks of the
area also being made available.

Shaam-e-Sarhad can accommodate 26 persons comfortably. It is an ideal
location for undisturbed work as there is no television on site and phone
access is limited.

Day trips can be organised to nearby attractions such as Kala Dungar,
Flamingo City, the Rann, etc. with local guides who are fully conversant
with the history and culture of the area and take pride in sharing it with
visitors.


The Project will move on to facilitating home stays with crafts persons
imitating the ancient Gurukul system so that those interested can learn
craft to the level that they desire – over a week or over a year.

While the members of the community are still learning how to run the
Project, professional support is being provided by trained staff through the
Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS) and its sister organisations. KMVS has
been working in Kachchh since 1989 with women in the villages on empowering
women socially, economically,
financially and politically.

The District Administration has also been very supportive in ensuring that
the Project is provided with all facilities for its successful running.

Bhuj is accessible by road, rail or air. From Bhuj, Hodka is 63 km by road.
Transport can be arranged on request. Jet Airways flies once daily from
Mumbai (to Bhuj). There are daily trains connecting Bhuj to Ahmedabad and
Mumbai and less frequent connections to Delhi.