The judges were very impressed by this initiative of the Aga Khan Trust Culture (AKTC) in Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti, a compact, self-contained urban settlement that is home to 18,000 people. It receives thousands of visitors daily to the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, the revered 13th century Sufi saint after whom the area is named. The area has many heritage sites, ten of them of national importance, and is rich in cultural traditions, like Qawwali music, poetry, food and rituals that have defined both Hindustani culture and Sufism. This public-private initiative led by the AKTC with the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, the Archaeological Survey of India and the Central Public Works Department demonstrates admirably how the urban renewal of a historic city can improve the quality of life for residents and meet tourism objectives. Local men and women have been trained as heritage guides. Eleven local women have received assistance to open a restaurant selling traditional Nizamuddin dishes. A group of 100 local women are making and selling handicrafts. All this against a background of improved streets, landscaped neighbourhood parks, improved health and education services and much a cleaner Nizamuddin Basti with its network of pay and use waste collection at the household level and two community-managed public toilets that are used by approximately 800 residents every day and 10,000 pilgrims a day during pilgrimage days.

Judge’s Choice Award - K Rupeshkumar, State Coordinator, Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission

K Rupeshkumar has played a prominent role in developing Kerala as one of the leading Responsible Tourism Destinations in the world. He was an active participant in the mass movements against the unscientific and unethical development of Tourism in Kerala, especially in Kumarakom. He was also a part of the mass movement that demanded alternative tourism activities in Kumarakom become a part of the Kerala Responsible Tourism movement from 2007. Rupesh is currently the State Responsible Tourism Mission Coordinator of Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission.

RESPONSIBLE TOURISM PATHFINDER

GOLD: Takam Nabum, Chairman of the Ghora-Aabhe Society in Arunachal Pradesh

Takam Nabum leads the conservation efforts as the chairman of the Ghora-Aabhe Society, which works around the Pakke Tiger Reserve, and leads the Nyishi community to be the forest’s guardians. Under the Society’s stewardship, led byTakam Nabum, the Nyishi community has taken the first concrete steps towards establishing and effectively enforcing fines and hunting regulations in the Reserve Forests adjoining Pakke.

GOLD: Jibi Pulu, Conservationist in Mishmi, Arunachal Pradesh

Jibi Pulu runs Mishmi Hill Camp, an eco-tour agency in the Roing region. Jibbi is passionate about educating people on the adverse effects of dams on the Dibang river. “When I met Jibi a couple of years ago, he was someone who was working with his community where hunting has been the way of life for centuries. At the risk of being ostracised by staunch traditionalists, he steadily educated and helped them embrace conservation using the tool of eco-tourism. Despite the generic association of the Mishmis with hunting, it is one tribe that has never touched the cat family for according to folklore, the tiger is their revered elder brother...Jibi has convinced his community to collectively pool thirty thousand square meters of unadulterated rainforest to form the Elopa community forest and preserve it as a mark of respect to their ancestors. And it is remarkable, in more ways than one.”

SILVER: Paras Loomba, Founder, Global Himalayan Expeditions

An electrical engineer by profession, Paras merges technology and tourism to create local entrepreneurial models for remote areas advocating sustainable tourism solutions. Three years ago, he came up with the idea of Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE), which is a group that brings solar-powered light to some of the remotest villages of Ladakh, promoting ‘impact’ tourism. GHE has influenced more than 2,000 lives with almost no carbon footprint. With a degree in electrical engineering, Paras designed solar-powered LED TVs for the villages, and GHE has successfully set up micro solar grids in multiple remote villages.

BEST HOMESTAY

GOLD: Koh Hee, Mayabunder, Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Saw John Aung Thong, a second-generation Karen settler from Bruma, decided to turn the home his father built into a homestay to sustain its maintenance and to create awareness about the cultural heritage and traditional lifestyle of the Karen community. This is a genuine homestay with the family living on the ground floor and the guest rooms on the upper floor. The homestay is managed by the family and they connect the guests to local bird-watching and nature guides.
As Saw John Aung Thong explains: “I have decorated my homestay with handicraft products of wood, bamboo and cane made in the traditional Karen style. I also use heirlooms I have inherited from my parents such as a clay pot to store drinking water the traditional way, wooden pestle and mortars, and also built and use a traditional firewood stove also, for aesthetic purposes and practicality. I have also used many posters of flora and fauna found in the Andaman islands to share wildlife and environmental awareness.”

SILVER: Tanhau Homestay

Tanhau is located close to Corbett National Park in the Kumaon region. Sunando Sen built his family home there to live close to nature and wildlife with a light carbon footprint and help in the preservation of the rich biodiversity of the Corbett landscape. The family later realised that they could benefit the local community by employing and involving them in it and by opening the eyes of more people to the magic of nature, hopefully making them pro-conservation and sustainable travel. They have created four full-time posts and a livelihood for Bharat who grows vegetables organically, raises free-range chicken for eggs and meat and has two cows for Tanhau’s dairy product needs. Tanhau helped Bharat with the initial capital to get this going, and now he has a good steady income.

Ones to watch: Eshab Homestay, West Sikkim

The main objective of Eshab Homestay is to make people aware of the Sikkimese lifestyle which was fading away by attracting tourists and showing them their rich culture to conserve and preserve it. The main focus has been on saving the tribal lifestyle, the bees, birds, trees and plants, which their ancestors used for herbal medicine.

ONE TO WATCH: Eco Harrymans Homestay, Ramnagar, Nainital

A family-owned and operated homestay with a communal kitchen for hosts and guests. They actively engage their guests with an Experiential Learning Program (ELP) for schools and colleges, annual events like Spring Bird Festival, Titli Utsav (Butterfly Festival), in collaboration with Titli Trust and a small museum which includes a board of pugmarks of animals to spark interest and a number of birdhouses, which are decorative and serve as homes for the birds visiting their campus.

BEST TOUR OPERATOR

GOLD: No Footprints

The concept that drives No Footprints is simple but the impact is significant. While in rural areas visitors can relatively easily connect with indigenous communities and their culture, this is much more difficult in cities. No Footprints enables visitors to connect with the communities that have made the city what it is over generations, to meet with them, and to hear their stories. No Footprints offers opportunities to meet with the Parsi, Bohri, the East Indian and the Queer communities of Mumbai. The judges were particularly impressed by their Queer Day Out tour that the community curates and leads, ensuring its authenticity. When homosexuality was decriminalised in September 2018, No Footprints created a unique experience: “… a full day of flirting with various aspects that frame queer lives of persons in the city. Travellers gain insight into the Queer culture of the city. Its legacies, politics, dirt, the gossip, pleasure culture, oppression faced by the communities, the lingo, the fashion, the conflicts and more!” No Footprints is archiving oral history and creating employment for five walk leaders, two artists and five drag artists. Their food tour has been placed in the top 20 best food tours in the world in the UK’s Guardian and they achieve very high scores on TripAdvisor.

SILVER: BuDa Folklore

Backed by over 40 years of field research, BuDa’s folklore tours explore folk living and its relevance in the modern world. It strives to highlight the fading aspects of symbiotic living between man and nature, leading conscientious culture travellers on eco-tours to highlight the turbulent transition that many native tribes and indigenous communities witness as they struggle to keep pace with modernity. BuDa Folklore currently works with five tribes along the seashore (Halakki), rivers (Gammokkalu and Gondasnd) and in the forests (Kare Okkalu and Siddis). BuDa Folklore organises the playing of kabaddi between the villagers and urbanites getting down in the dirt and mud together after the monsoon. Their urban travellers are exposed to villagers at a basic human level while villagers see the urbans at play in a way they can relate to This greeting, meeting and playing together of the urbans and the indigenous groups is now a tradition that brings much richness to the monsoon Mungaru Festival. The tours are facilitated by traditional quilters, basket weavers, boatmen, storytellers, nature trailers, fishermen, drummers, dancers, epic singers, mat weavers, and traditional toolmakers.

Ones to Watch: Holidays in Rural India, UK

Holidays in Rural India offers carefully curated trips to less-visited parts of India. We believe in slow-paced travel, focussing on a few well-chosen destinations. The company focuses on opening the mind of the tourist and benefiting the local community and/or the wildlife creating tourism that “shows we have more in common than divides us.” The company uses local guides: “A guest is going to have an infinitely better experience and a villager will feel infinitely more comfortable if the visitors are being shown a place that the guide knows like the back of his or her hand.” The company was only registered in 2015 and it has admirable and unusual business principles of not asking for freebies and paying promptly. The judges recognised its ethics and progress to date and look forward to seeing it again in a year or two.

Ones to Watch: Not On Map, New Delhi

Registered as a new company in 2018, the Founder Kumar Anubhav has a worthy aspiration. Through “Not On Map'' he seeks “to empower the culturally rich hidden communities by monetising untapped and endangered cultural values and practices” of those communities to create a cross-cultural exchange, employment and cultural preservation. The additional income generated offers the communities a share in the travel economy and “psychological confidence.” Kumar reports that this has helped many unskilled migrants return to their village and find livelihoods there. Active in 70 villages across Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Rajasthan, J&K, Nagaland and Assam. This is a new and ambitious company, the judges look forward to reviewing its progress in a few years when it is established.

BEST HOTEL

GOLD: Glenburn Tea Estate & Boutique Hotel

A luxurious boutique hotel with only eight suites offering walking explorations and a tea experience modelled on the vineyard experience offered in France. In 2002 The Burra Bungalow was restored revealing and retaining the style of a colonial planters' bungalow. Sixty members of the local community are employed as chefs, drivers, guides, gardeners, bearers and housekeeping ladies who have delivered an extremely high level of service over this period. They have refrained from employing any "trained" hospitality staff not from the tea estate or region. They support three government primary schools, and a scholarship programme that has 50 estate children enrolled in private schools in the region. Their Glenburn Kalakendra is a Music and Dance Academy that supports the local culture of the Nepali community that lives in this region and their Annual Workers Festival is an initiative that celebrates the talents of the community and its achievements through the year. Waste is separated and recycled items are sold or re-used. Single-use plastic is minimal and discouraged. Waste metal and glass is taken off the property and sold and they are looking for a machine that will help convert glass to sand for local building projects. The bin liners are attached to the bin, and re-used by transferring the rubbish and not the plastic bag to the larger refuse collection point. In the rooms, bin liners are not used. Room bins are washed and sanitised before the next guest arrives.

SILVER: Neeleshwar Hermitage

Natural laterite stone and recycled wood was used to construct 18 cottages, with thatched roof and the maximum use of natural ventilation and light in the local vernacular style. Local masons, thatchers and other craftsmen were employed for the construction and decoration of the cottages. The property harvests water, and greywater is used to water the plants and lawns on the property. Locally produced cotton or recyclable paper is used instead of plastics. Guests drink filtered water from jugs rather than using plastic bottled water. Over 90% of the employees are locals and they used local craftsmen for wood and granite carving, as well as the services of a small local architect’s practice. 90% of the managerial staff on-site are also local. They have ensured full insurance for all their workers, including day labourers and they have provided a lighted pathway through their property to ensure easy access for locals to the beach and sea.

BEST COMMUNICATOR

GOLD: Shivya Nath

The judges recognised the success of the “I Love Spiti” campaign originating in 2017 when a life-size art installation with over 300 discarded plastic bottles collected from the valley was constructed – as a “selfie point” where travellers pledged to say no to plastic bottled water. In 2018 Shivya got LifeStraw to sponsor four public water refill points in Spiti, in exchange for coverage on the Shooting Star blog and other social networks.

SILVER: Anshul Kumar Akhoury

The judges recognised the value of Anshul’s work with Waste Warriors, which commenced in 2015. Anshul has used social media to raise awareness and campaign on waste management, climate change and human-animal conflict.

One to watch: Dominika Hagarová

Only recently self-published on Amazon as an e-book (Travel around Darjeeling) , the judges recognised that this was one to watch. Written for off-the-beaten-track travellers the book has yet to prove its circulation. Dominika is active on Facebook and has presented at the Slovak trade festival “Cestou Neceston.” Her work is interesting in that it is addressed to both hosts and guests in the remote areas that she enjoys travelling in.

BEST WILDLIFE CONSERVATION PROJECT

GOLD: Mud on Boots Project by The Sanctuary Nature Foundation

This award goes to four project leaders in the Sanctuary Nature Foundation’s Mud on Boots Project. The Sanctuary Nature Foundation is an Indian nonprofit foundation founded in 2015 building on the work of Sanctuary Asia, a wildlife magazine launched in 1981 and which has developed a network of conservationists, naturalists, scientists, writers and photographers. It runs projects in environmental policy, advocacy, science, on-ground support, wildlife habitat management.

The innovative ‘Goat Bank’ programme implemented by Joydeb Pradhan in villages in the Howrah District of West Bengal addressing human-fishing cat conflict. Over 26 families have benefited from the scheme, receiving a goat if their own is preyed upon by a fishing cat, and incidents of retaliatory killing of fishing cats have completely stopped.
In Maharashtra, Malhar Indulkar implemented a fish plot conservation project along the Tillari river to stop unregulated fishing in paddy fields during the monsoon. Malhar was successful in convincing six farmers to stop their fishing practices in the spawning season, successfully protecting 14 acres of paddy fields for fish to breed in.
In Arunachal Pradesh, Anoko Mega runs a small-scale habitat restoration project in collaboration with Eketo Mendo, a local Idu Mishmi farmer on whose land is a patch of forest in which a family of hoolock gibbons resides. Over 200 saplings of native species have been planted there with support from the Idu Mishmi community.
Sajal Madhu filed compensation claims with the government on behalf of 60 families that were impacted by human-elephant conflict in the Dharamjaigarh Block of Chhattisgarh. These families, from marginalised communities, would not have been able to claim compensation without Sajal’s assistance. His support helps negate some of the animosity felt by the community towards the state and wild elephants, as they struggle with the situation.

SILVER: Preserving What’s Precious Project by the Corbett Foundation

The judges recognised the success of the Foundation’s comprehensive landscape-level conservation project with the involvement of local communities. This holistic approach to tiger conservation in Bandhavgarh Sanjay Dubri Corridor (BSDC) in Madhya Pradesh has delivered for wildlife and local communities. Over 18 months, 83 hectares of degraded forest land has been restored with removal of invasive weeds and plantation of over 41,900 saplings of local tree species. They have also distributed 1,257 energy-efficient stoves in 17 villages to reduce the firewood usage by around 40% when compared with traditional chulah used in rural households. Also, 22 solar-powered pumps were installed and waterholes created in corridor forests for the benefit of wild animals, along with fencing of 779 open wells in 21 villages to prevent animals from falling into them. They have provided vocational training to 117 unemployed youth (male and female) in sewing-tailoring, bamboo handicraft-making and basic hospitality, and placements were found for them. They have trained and equipped 324 frontline forest department staff to the same standard as in tiger reserves. They have distributed 122 medical and first-aid kits to these chowkies located deep inside forests and where access to primary healthcare is often very difficult. A Tribal Museum will open shortly to promote tribal art, culture and tourism. The corridor study has identified 7 resident tigers and 15 resident leopards.

One to watch: Devalsari Environment Protection and Technology Development Society

The Devalsari Environment Protection and Technology Development Society was set up to promote conservation and livelihoods through ecotourism and beekeeping in Uttarakhand. In 2014 the Society began to engage the local community at Chiana Khud where five local Van Panchayats meet to protect the forest and plant new trees. The local communities are now burning LPG, the tree cover is restored, the water catchment is restored and the biodiversity has returned. The area has become a “hotspot for butterfly watchers” and it has been recognised as a growth area for birdwatchers. The judges recognised their success with this project and the traditional wall beehive project for which it has trained over 4,500 farmers across Uttarakhand. The Society, run entirely by volunteers, has attracted over 1,500 visitors. The judges are concerned that insufficient management is in place to protect the Chiana Khud Tilti Park and would welcome another application when steps have been taken to avoid potential degradation by tourism.

BEST SOCIAL IMPACT PROJECT

GOLD: Nizamuddin Urban Renewal Project

SILVER: Himalayan Farmstays

Ice Stupas store the winter water in the form of an artificial glacier and this water becomes available for the village in Spring to be used in agriculture. The main benefit derived from Ice Stupa tourism is the improvement in water availability to villages in Spring. Thirteen villages made an Ice Stupa for the first time in 2019, with an average of 2-3 million litres of water made available from each Ice Stupa. Himalayan Farmstays has been providing grants to upgrade home facilities and washrooms and conducting training to upskill the hosts in hospitality and cooking. Himalayan Farmstays is now active in five villages and working with 40 farm stays and planning a circuit to create multi-day itineraries that will create employment opportunities for local guides and trek leaders in Ladakh.

Disclaimer:We have tried to ensure the operators listed here are responsible towards local communities and the environment. We, however, urge travellers to do additional checks when choosing an experience/accommodation.