By promoting homestay based tourism and the local handicrafts from these solar electrified villages, Mountain Homestays has not only connected these villages with the rest of the world but also enabled local women to earn additional income and create a sustainable, scalable social enterprise.
The access to energy has played a crucial role in positively impacting the women of these communities. They not only maintain these solar microgrids that provide electricity for their homestay but they also promote the lighting and charging facility, as a feature of their homestay, to attract trekkers. An innovative approach which has enabled these women to be actively involved in the economic activities of their households.
The women from these villages are involved in activities like carpet weaving, cutting sheep wool, apricot and apple farming. Some of the more enterprising women try learning English so that they are able to communicate with the tourists and trekkers that frequent these areas.
Chrol is village head (Panch) at village Mahey. Though she could not study much in her childhood, she is a confident women and takes care of all village affairs. She also has a formal training in carpet weaving but due to lack of market this skill is mostly fading away in this village. She runs a small shop also to earn some income. There is no tourism in Mahey. Homestays based tourism can be a big boost for her family income and her handicraft work.
Jigmet is from village Shingo. Since solar electrification by GHE in 2015, her life changed forever. There are a lot more tourists visiting her now and she is able to manage well due to solar power. Her homestay is one of the best in the entire Markha region and has set an example for other villagers as well who are now improving their homestays too. Jigmet says that she now need not to get kerosene from city to light her home and it saves both money and time.
Tenzing lives in the remote village of Sumda-Chun, which lacked electricity and hardly saw any tourists. In August 2017, the village was solar electrified by our team that brought new hope to the villagers. A homestay room was set-up in Tenzing’s house with all basic amenities. This has changed the lives of this small village where now almost 50 tourists visit every season. The incoming tourists also ensure the ancient monastery of the village is also preserved.