HOME-STAY TOURISM BOOSTS GHALE GAON’S ECONOMY

Nestled on the lap of Mt. Mansalu range in the East, Lamjung Himal and Annapurna II in the North and Mt. Machhapuchhre in the West, ‘Ghale Gaon’ is positioned at an altitude of 2070m from where the horizon changes into spectacular hues of peach, pink and orange during dawn and dusk.

The village with its terraced farmlands and bird’s-eye-view of the closely packed Gurung (Ghale) settlements has earned repute for its neat home-stays for tourists willing to experience traditional Nepali culture and hospitality.

Locally called Koiule Nasa, Ghale Gaon lies in ‘Off the Trek’ route of Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP). It was recognised all over Nepal and abroad only after it was marketed as a village for ‘home-stay’ tourism over a decade back. Today, we can find many internal and external holidaymakers visiting it to savour the tang of natural aura and its unique cultural traits.

Both ACAP and the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) deserve kudos for its role in promoting village tourism in the area by highlighting its lifestyle, biodiversity, and culture to support the rural economy.

"Most of the youths have migrated abroad or to cities leaving only the elderly behind in villages where agriculture is the only source of income. However, when the then chairperson of Lamjung District Development Committee, Jabindra Man Ghale, took a few of us to Sirubari--the first village to offer ‘home-stay’ tourism--we learnt how the village was earning a living for all its residents through tourism, so after learning every aspect needed to promote specific tourism activity, we started to promote our area as a tourism destination in 2056 B.S," recalled Lila Bahadur Ghale, the vice president of Ghale Gaon Gramin Tourism Development Committee. The township has now turned into an exclusive tourism borough.

According to Tourist Check-Post and Information Centre helper Dhan Prasad Gurung, over 1,500 internal and over 200 external tourists visit the destination annually. In addition, as it lies in the famous Annapurna trekking route, a foreigner has to get the passes worth Rs. 2,000 first either from Kathmandu or Pokhara to enter the village, and if one does not do so then he/she has to pay double the amount to get a pass in the tourist check-post there.

A closely packed settlement of 115 solar lit houses (mostly two storied-- the upper floor used for granary and ground floor for kitchen and family living)--thirty-six houses with toilets and bathroom facilities are now offering the ‘home-stay’ for two guests each at once. When a visitor enters the village, the mothers’ group welcome them by putting them ‘tika’ and garland so that the new comers feel homely environment, and as they enter, they are served with local products like bhuteko makai (popcorn), Dhindo (hot porridge), roasted soya beans, gundruk (fermented greens) and chicken among others.

"We welcome our guests according to our culture, and people visiting here just love it," said Krishna Maya Ghale, one of the members of the mothers’ group. "The menu price of food and lodging is fixed by the committee so the profit is equally shared, we charge for every activity that we do to entertain our visitors."

For the guests, the village has also maintained a cultural museum, which has a collection of various artifacts, agricultural tools, dresses and ornaments so that the vacationers could know their culture, people and their livelihood pattern in an easy way. Apart from this, they have also prepared a hall, where they display cultural dances like Ghat, Krishna Charitra and Sorathi.

To ensure that no one is excluded and the earning is equally shared, the tourism committee has maintained a directive that says if one keeps a visitor today then he/she can’t keep the visitors the next day, and for those who cannot offer lodging, the households sell local products like food, meat and handicrafts (Doko, Namlo, Thunsi, Bhakari, Dalo, Ghum, Radi, Pakhi, Bakhkhhu, Chakati). The committee also charges 5 per cent of their income so that it can use it for community development later.

Lying just west of Kathmandu and east of Pokhara, it is a day trip from Besisahar, Lamjung, but now as transportation services have started, the visit has become easier. Now one can reach there in over two hours of jeep ride.

A Japanese visitor Ikuyo Nakazawa, who was enjoying sunrise and the breathtaking environment, said that the hospitality, environment, people, and culture attracted her there. "This is my 13th visit to Nepal and here (Ghale Gaon), the natural beauty, environment and hospitality are superb so I feel that its elegance with a traditional touch should be maintained forever. Though development is of utmost necessity, the virginity of this place should not be overshadowed by modernization," she said while relishing herself in the pleasant milieu.

Adding to what she had said, her friend Toshiko Kobari said, "When we entered the village from the stone-paved paths, we saw garbage littered around though there were dust bins. Therefore, I deem that to maintain exquisiteness here garbage management should be highly prioritized."

Talking about the development of the village, Khadga Dan Gurung, president of the tourism development committee, informed that ACAP has helped them a lot. "From tailoring, adult literacy to cooking training and making the paths, ACAP has always lent us support. In 2054 B.S, they also taught us how to plant tea giving us 5,500 plants and now we do not have to purchase tea from the market," he said.

When asked if sex-trade was practiced to boost tourism there; he denied it. "It is just an idle talk, nothing such happens here."

Despite the fact that home-stay tourism has helped in creating economically independent communities by boosting small and cottage industries, and preserving their culture, some of the internal tourists nitpicked that Ghale Gaon is becoming just too commercial and the services provided there are not worth the price.

Although the village is being developed day-by-day, telephones, computers, police stations, health post (which is half an hour away) and electricity are still a-far-cry. Recently, the electricity poles and lines have been put in place but the service has not started yet.

Apart from these, with the development, the traditional round houses (typically known as Gol Ghar) with thatched pine wood roofs have been replaced by normal houses with corrugated zinc sheets. Only two round houses are in place. The villagers said that those houses were difficult to maintain.

Ghalegaun, today is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country but carelessness is seeping-in and the management needs to focus on ways of making the vicinity an ultimate home-stay location in the country. Take for example, ‘Ghale Gaon Festival’, which is being annually celebrated from the last six years, was criticized this year because for selling imported alcohols, lack of hospitality and many other aspects.

Source www.gorkhapatra.org.np artcle by Prasun Timilsina 25 Aug 2009