This Initiative Is Protecting Arunachal's Heritage & Local Economy

A newly-launched community-based tourism project in Arunachal Pradesh is hoping it will succeed in preserving the traditional architecture of the native populace while providing a sustainable economic lifeline at the same time.

Living along the border of Bhutan, the Monpa people of the Tawang and West Kameng regions in western Arunachal Pradesh are welcoming visitors to their repurposed homes, some acting as homestays and others as fine dining establishments, in a bid to capture the growing interest in sustainable tourism.

Run in conjunction with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India, seven women of Chug village are not only dishing out their culinary creations but also modeling a new way of doing business. The hope is that the success of their 11-seater restaurant will encourage other communities to adopt a similar approach and shift away from the conventional “line hotels” of the region. These are usually cheap roadside eateries built in the image of dhabas with poor hygiene standards and staffed by migrant labourers earning a pittance.

Nishant Sinha is the coordinator of community-based tourism at WWF-India who wanted to move the impact of tourism on local communities in a positive direction. “There is tons of data on how tourism employs a huge number of people and how it can uplift marginalised sections of society. But tourism is a double-edged sword,” he says.

“In the hands of the wrong people it can wreak havoc. Even in the hands of the right people, the wrong guidance leads to the same output. So, if a community that lives in naturally blessed locations [which have] the potential to attract tourists from [all over] the world doesn't understand how to conserve the very beauty and culture that has sustained it for generations, the world will lose something precious in the process.”

The community-based tourism project in the regions of Chug, Thembang and Zemithang are an offshoot of WWF-India’s larger goal of nurturing "community conserved areas." In order to protect and preserve the natural habitats and rich biodiversity of West Kameng and Tawang, they developed community-based tourism initiatives to promote alternative sources of income for local residents which would not lure them to destroy their cultural and natural heritage. The venture began with two main objectives in mind.

“First, to contribute to the preservation of traditional architecture threatened by the encroachment of thoughtlessly reinforced cement concrete (RCC) structures, and second, to provide a unique dining experience for tourists and locals. The overarching idea was to demonstrate that preserving heritage can be economically viable,” Sinha says.

“We want to give economic opportunities to the currently deprived [and] remove the idea that only individuals benefit from business. [We want to] create thoroughly enjoyable experiences by the community, which looks at tourism holistically: instills pride within the community, keeps their surroundings clean, keeps dying traditions alive, shares indigenous knowledge, and makes the world a beautiful heterogeneous entity.”

Community involvement and support was critical to getting the project off the ground. WWF-India found that the exposure and understanding of tourism varied across villages in the region. Through regular interactions and training, the villagers of Chug and Zemithang warmed up to the idea of tourism and the benefits it would bring them.  

“Chug only had two homestays when the project started in 2023, Thembang has only had one new hotel that came up since WWF-India first intervened in the region more than a decade ago, and Zemithang has only started seeing a trickle of tourists since the vibrant village scheme of the central government was approved in February 2023,” Sinha says.

“Most of those involved in these businesses are those from nearby towns such as Dirang, or those who work and live outside villages. Without the involvement of villagers, outsiders, be it from nearby towns or from Guwahati, are beginning to develop and run properties in the village. Hence, it is critical that the community gets involved sooner rather than later and be at the helm of tourism in their villages and not be passive bystanders. It has taken time to get them at this level of receptivity and we are hoping that in the next couple of years they will be savvy rural tourism entrepreneurs.”

The first patrons to sample the fine dining of Chug were Malaysian citizens who arrived at the end of March 2024. Since then the Monpa women have hosted more than 40 people through tie-ups with like-minded travel agencies. Their ethnic cuisine is a mix of forest-based recipes and traditionally grown hardy grains such as finger millets and buckwheat. It also includes modern dishes which allow the community to adapt their cuisine to the fruits and vegetables they grow in their farms and backyards.

“Even after paying anywhere between INR 750-1500 per person, [our] patrons have been overwhelmed with the experience. We hope the whole country and the world will take note of this,” Sinha says expectantly.

With the growing interest and demand for tourism in the northeast of India, he believes that increasing information about sustainable tourism and marketing it properly will make more visitors opt into it.

“How can [tourists] choose operators and experiences that are sustainable? They are not even aware of the economic benefits that locals are deprived of in usual tours and accommodations. Once they are told [about it and] educated [on it], they [will] appreciate it. If everyone had the choice to opt for sustainable tourism, they would.”