Homestay training to promote an ancient village

By Harikrishna Sharma, Muktinath (Mustang), Apr. 26: Yangjin Gurung of Marang in Loghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality-1 in Upper Mustang, has completed homestay training aimed at boosting local tourism.

She actively took part in various income-generating and self-employment training programmes run by the rural municipality and the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) office in Lomanthang, setting aside her routine household work to participate.

Although homestays had been operated in the past, they were not run regularly. As a result, many tourists visiting Upper Mustang would pass through Charang and head straight to Lomanthang. 

To attract visitors to Marang -- a settlement that reflects ancient civilization -- local women have now taken the initiative to relaunch homestays in line with proper standards.

Rijang Angya Gurung, chairperson of the ACAP Conservation Area Management Committee in Charang, said practical training on welcoming and bidding farewell to guests, room arrangement, and preparing meals and snacks has made operations easier.

“The training has boosted confidence and enthusiasm among locals. Tourists staying in homestays will also help promote the village,” he said.

According to him, visitors will be offered tours of local monasteries, ancient caves, traditional lifestyles and old houses. They will also be served local dishes such as buckwheat bread, dhindo and vegetables, along with other traditional foods. The rural municipality and ACAP have provided support for the homestay programme, which will initially accommodate around 30 tourists, with plans to expand based on visitor numbers.

Umesh Paudel, chief of the ACAP Lomanthang office, said tourists staying in homestays would help promote the village’s potential and significance. “We believe homestays will help reduce outmigration and increase women’s participation,” he said.

He added that plans are in place to develop Marang as a model homestay village and replicate the approach in other settlements across Upper Mustang by using local knowledge and skills to promote tourism.

Marang, which has 45 households, is about a 15-minute drive from Charang along the Jomsom--Korala road. The village is home to a monastery believed to have been built before those in Tibet, Charang Palace, and more than a dozen ancient cliff caves thought to have been early human dwellings.