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Began to fight the shortage of job alternatives on this Meghalaya village, Traveller’s Nest is an ideal place for journey lovers who want to attempt every little thing from caving and canyoning to waterfall treks.
Amid dense forests and enchanting landscapes is a small village known as Mawlyngbna booming with life. Nestled within the East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, the area is famend for its dwelling root bridges, the place nature intertwines with human ingenuity. Journey fanatics can partake in trekking, mountain climbing, rappelling, exploring the undulating hills and discovering hidden waterfalls like Kyntang.
Whereas the world boasts wealthy landscapes and wonder, it remained comparatively unknown for a few years. With restricted avenues for revenue, the youth of the village struggled to outlive. Apart from farming, there have been few work alternatives.
In an effort to handle this problem and enhance tourism within the space, Bisharlang Kharnaior initiated Mawlyngbna Traveller’s Nest—a homestay that gives perception into the village’s tradition and gives a plethora of actions, together with tenting, canoeing, and wildlife treks.
“Mawlyngbna is a small village however it’s bursting with actions and life. Nonetheless, for a few years, it remained unknown to the world. We need to open it to extra individuals and convey extra tourism within the village,” Bisharlang tells The Higher India.
‘Our homestay displays Mawlyngbna’
Born and raised in Mawlyngbna, Bisharlang, affectionately known as Bishar, grew up in his serene village, cherishing the simplicity of life.
As he navigated the complexities of maturity, he discovered contentment in his days as a beekeeper.
“I used to be happy with no matter my household and I had been incomes, however I might see that there have been quite a few untapped alternatives for the youth. In addition to farming, there have been virtually no different work choices,” he displays.
Observing the youth departing from the village, Bishar felt an pressing must take motion. “My sentiments had been shared by many within the village, and we got here collectively to discover a resolution,” he remembers.
With collective efforts from the villagers, the Mawlyngbna Multipurpose Co-operative Society Ltd was established. “Regardless of our breathtaking panorama, our existence was comparatively unknown to the broader world. The youth confronted the dilemma of both leaving the village or struggling for survival. The cooperative society aimed to create new avenues for revenue technology,” he explains.
“After we had been brainstorming, the primary thought that struck us was to advertise tourism within the village. Elevated tourism not solely advantages the village straight but additionally contributes to the expansion of native companies,” he opines.
“One in every of my pals from Shilling who was within the tourism trade was the one who gave us the braveness to take the leap. He helped us with establishing the property,” he informs.
Beneath the society’s umbrella, Bisharlang initiated Mawlyngbna Traveller’s Nest, a singular mixture of a homestay and tenting web site for vacationers.
“There’s a lot to see and discover within the space however most individuals flock to the mainstream hills station. We wished to do one thing that draws vacationers and that is how the thought of an journey camp got here up,” he says.
“Beneath the society, we’re 240 members who work in bringing new job avenues for individuals. By means of the homestay and camp alone, we now have skilled 40 individuals in numerous duties like hospitality, housekeeping and trek guiding and given them jobs on the homestay,” he says.
Journey, nature and tradition
Speaking in regards to the preliminary response of the vacationers, Bishar says, “We began again in 2014, whereas it was a very good dream, the preliminary response was not how we anticipated,” he says.
Whereas there have been numerous thrilling issues that the place needed to provide, a lack of know-how prevailed. “It was through Fb and Google search that a couple of individuals began to go to us. With phrase of mouth, we began getting an increasing number of guests,” he says.
“Now we have hosted almost 300 individuals this yr alone. The recognition has elevated and we get numerous inquiries,” he provides.
Speaking in regards to the numerous actions that the homestay gives, he says, “Now we have a couple of actions at our homestays. Now we have divided them in keeping with the season — monsoons and winters. Most of them are associated to water sports activities like Cliff Leaping, River Canyoning, Kayaking, and so on. We additionally organise treks to discover the close by areas,” he says.
There are two forms of treks — brief and lengthy treks. “A protracted trek is round 4 hours and a brief trek is about 2 hours lengthy. On these treks, you possibly can benefit from the landscapes, get pleasure from bathing in 4 waterfalls, you possibly can see the fossils and the magnificent rock formations,” he says.
The homestay additionally arranges cave exploration for the friends on request. “Now we have skilled almost 40 locals as trek guides to assist individuals in these treks,” he informs.
In addition to exploring the wilderness, the homestay additionally organises village excursions and cultural actions like consuming genuine meals. “We additionally need to introduce individuals to our tradition and heritage. We serve genuine Mawlyngbna meals to the individuals at our homestay throughout their keep,” he informs.
The property presently includes two cottages and a campsite, offering lodging for the friends. Bishar emphasises, “We’re dedicated to giving again to nature as it’s the very essence of our livelihood. We try to be environmentally accountable by making certain that every one our treks are plastic-free. Moreover, we utilise bamboo for crafting storage areas for our friends.”
Reflecting on his journey to date, Bishar expresses, “I imagine we possess immense potential for progress, and it’s really thrilling to witness the regular progress of tourism within the village yr by yr. We’re optimistic that at some point the village will provide an abundance of alternatives, eliminating the necessity for anybody emigrate to the town in the hunt for employment.”
(Edited by Padmashree Pande)
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