Mountain Homestays

They have created 22 homestays in their solar villages through partnership with local villages. Most of these villages are remote and poor, facing issues of urban migration and culture loss. They are promoting these homestays to alleviate poverty and preserve the local art & culture. All these homestays are run by village women who take care of visiting tourists. Since Aug 2016, 300+ tourists visited these villages, adding income to these families & engaging in local village life. They help in farming, learn about the regions history, folklore, try local dances, and the Ladakh’s favorite recreation, Archery.

The harsh mountain terrain and remoteness make these communities most vulnerable to climate change, with unprecedented rains, rising temperatures and melting glaciers already creating problems for these communities. All the homestays they are promoting are in solar villages. Before their intervention, these villages lacked access to electricity and relied on kerosene lamps for lighting in the night. With 53 villages solar electrified, Mountain Homestays have saved an enormous amount of carbon footprint. Four of their solar villages are inside the Hemis National Park, the largest protected area in India, containing the highest density of snow leopards in the world. Working closely with these communities, and promoting responsible tourism ensure protection of endangered species and other wildlife that share this habitat with these villagers.