COMMUNITY ENTREPRENEURSHIPCOMMUNITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Source: Rediffmail.com

Sham-e-SarhadSham-e-Sarhad

COMMUNITY LED TOURIST RESORTCOMMUNITY LED TOURIST RESORT

LOCATION

65 km north of Bhuj, at the 65 km north of Bhuj, at the edge of the Rann of Kutch edge of the Rann of Kutch near the border with Pakistannear the border with Pakistan. .

The drive from Bhuj to Hodka opens up the subtle drama of a flat, scrub-covered landscape. When a tourists arrive at the resort, they begin to imagine how an oasis might feel to a desert traveler.

The even mud finish wraps over the rising contours of open spaces, and envelops the cluster of traditional bhungas (circular, thatch-covered mud huts) in the background. The traditional painted decoration on the mud surfaces brings delicacy into the spare, sculptural feel of this composition.

Located in a remote landscape of dry and unending flatness, it was built in 2005 through a partnership between the village community and a Bhuj-based NGO called Hunnarshala Foundation.

The project as a whole was the result of a partnership between the village of Hodka, the district collectorate, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Kutch Mahila Vikas Sanghatan and Hunnarshala Foundation.

Performance by traditional musicians during night time is made all the more memorable by the pitch darkness in the landscape around, an almost impossible environment in our towns and cities.

The resort is small (Three Bhungas, two family tents and

seven double-bed tents adding up to only 2,000 sq ft of built up area), but it offers the luxury of neatly designed open spaces finished in a layer of fine mud.

The bhungas and tents are broadly arranged around the central open space which also has a platform for traditional performances near the tented dining facility.

"All design decisions of the resort were made with the villagers at the centre of the process. They also built the resort themselves using traditional methods. As architects and engineers mainly helped rationalise some decisions and also to design the plumbing and other services".

Some of the craftspeople have also landed work in bigger cities and towns. Ramaben, the woman who designed and led the execution of all the painted decoration and murals, has successfully completed a commission in Rajkot after the success of the resort.

More important than involvement in construction is the fact that the resort is a project owned by the community itself. Rarely do host communities directly initiate tourism enterprises or control them once they begin

Sham-e-Sarhad is a rare example of a community-run tourism project, and was part of a nation-wide endogenous tourism project which had the support of the local administration, the UNDP and local NGOs.

Project like Sham-e-Sarhad approaches tourism differently. The fact that the host community itself sets the agenda is crucial. It helps ensure that the community's self-interest would constrain the way tourism alters or appropriates the landscape, people and culture.

Sham-e-Sarhad indicates how community-run

tourism projects can be a win-win situation for everybody. Visitors at Sham-e-Sarhad are thought of as guests interacting with "owners" of the resort (who also serve them) and custodians of the local environment.