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Himalayan Whisperers - Empowering local women in India

The future belongs to women! Therefore, the joint project with Gebeco aims to empower a group of women in the Chamoli region in Northern India by integrating them into the tourism sector. For example, they are trained in the production of local products that they can sell to visitors and locals, thus generating their own income and becoming independent.

Project goals

  • Supporting Indian women in a rural region to generate their own income and thus become independent.
  • Creating a meeting place where women can exchange ideas and take part in the workshops offered.
  • Promoting women through linking them with the tourism sector in order to open up new opportunities for them to participate.

Women in rural areas have few rights

The region around Chamoli, Uttrakhand, is located in Northern India, in the Himalayas at an altitude of 1,515 meters. The people in the surrounding villages make a living from growing grains, fruits and vegetables (e.g. millet, red rice, lemons, kiwi), but have no way of selling their products or earning an additional income.

Due to the lack of economic prospects and the difficult living conditions, many young men in the region leave their homes to find work or a better life in the larger cities outside of Chamoli.

 

However, the women and children are forced to remain in the region under the control of the men and have to work in the fields, look after the house and family as well as the livestock, but do not earn their own income.

The situation of women in this rural region is challenging. They have few rights, often suffer from domestic violence and become widowed at a young age but are not allowed to remarry.

 

The women in the region lack a safe place where they can come together, talk about their future and feel free.

Our common goal: empowering women

The joint project aims to use tourism as a means of protecting local women and preserving traditions and cultural heritage. The aim is to create a mutually beneficial relationship where the income from tourism directly benefits the local people and nature.

 

The main aim of this project is to empower women in the villages of Chamoli through tourism and help them find work and have a better life.

How do we want to achieve this?

As a first step, a community development centre will be built to serve as a safe place for local women to meet, learn, produce their products and hold workshops for visitors. It will be a centre for learning English, traditional practices, crafts and permaculture farming, promoting skills development and preserving cultural heritage.

 

In addition, educational workshops are offered in which the women learn English, for example, in order to be able to interact with visitors to the region and sell their products.

 

At the same time, the women learn how to produce various products such as soap or spices using local raw materials. They also learn how to sell them on the national and international travel market. These product workshops are conducted by local and regional trainers and volunteers. Relationships with existing and newly created networks of local women’s cooperatives and initiatives are included.

The main topic of the product workshops is determined together with the local women. They can decide which workshops will be offered first.

 

Our long-term vision is to create a product line with various products that contribute to regional value creation and to securing the standard of living of women.

Activities

The following activities are planned

  • Construction of a Community Development Center as a training and meeting place for women from the surrounding villages
  • Implementation of at least 2 educational workshops, such as an English course
  • Implementation of at least 2 product workshops, the topics of which the women decide on together

Overview

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