Tourism is a rapidly growing industry globally and India is one of the fastest growing tourism destinations. Its critical value rests particularly in its contribution to sustainable economic growth, without creating regional or economic disparity.
There has been a growing interest and focus on a “Rural - Indian Growth Story” and initiative to spread awareness of organic foods, healthy living, clean environment directly linked to the rural opportunity. We have been receiving multiple requests, interest, and demands from various stakeholders including Indian / International tour operators, grassroots entrepreneurs (farms/ heritage properties etc), and end-customers towards promoting such a concept.
This demand coupled with our corporate yearning for fundamentally self-sustainable and growth oriented model, is expressed as “Sahaj Morarka Grameen Heritage Tourism”. Grameen Heritage Tourism is an innovative and consistent value-packaging to present the Indian farm sector set-up and it’s associated benefits to the hectic paced urban world.
Destination Rajasthan
Rajasthan has often been representative of the international tourist’s fantasy of an ‘Indian experience’. Sticking to the tradition, we have introduced the concept of ‘Farm-tourism’ from our beloved state of Rajasthan. Farm-tourism is of particular significance in India due to contribution of the agriculture sector to our economy.
Given the natural richness and diversity offered by Indian countryside we have tried to create specific products to capture one or a few of these aspects:
Rich Heritage Experience
Deserts of Bikaner and Jaisalmer
• Traverse the desert soils, on a Camel back
• A four wheeled safari through the barren un-ending deserts
• Demonstrate the livelihoods prevalent in these difficult terrains and the shift in last 2-3 decades
Educational and Experiential learning can be organized through
• Visits to the adjoining farms to understand a variety of farming techniques,
• Field applications of Principles of Organic Farming - vermi-culture, water harvesting, plant nursery etc
• Participate in some voluntary work at grassroot level through attaching to one of the local progressive NGOs
The guests are welcomed to join in to some of these activities based on the friendliness with the visiting farmers.
Our approach
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We have approached “Grameen Heritage Tourism” as a socially conscious initiative and simultaneously a customer centered sustainable business. Towards meeting this dual objective, we manage our tours at following two levels:
1. A high degree of “community participation” in our programs inherently promoting the local economy. This also helps in bringing out the natural flavor of the place and sharing of local experiences and anecdotes about the place
2. Additionally, we have a team of experts who assist our guests in appreciating the true beauty and nuances of specialized areas like “wildlife diversity”, “wildlife photography”, “organic farming”, “conservation of heritage properties”, and others
We are committed to provide a meaningful and delightful “Authentic Indian” experience to all our National / International travelers.
Some of Our Entrepreneurs in Rajasthan
1 – Rajput Haveli - Bagwara, Jaipur – Bagwara is a small town close to Jaipur, located in an exquisite natural setting, with an ancient haveli, similar to those in the Shekhawati region. The Bagwara haveli belongs to the well respected “Rajput” family who have been the caretakers of the village till the pre-british era. It is a majestic and exquisite structure, designed to complement the rustic, rural and agricultural surroundings. The structure showcases an architectural wisdom & represents the traditional lifestyle in Indian towns / villages governed by the local maharajas. The haveli range between one to five storey’s high around courtyards and encompass rich heritage & represent legendary themes. This region is easily accessible (about 25Kms from central Jaipur) and well connected to major towns of Rajasthan through NH 8.
The quite village of Bagwara offers a peep into a typical rural lifestyle and the Bagwara fort represents the royal lifestyle, customs and management responsibilities of a ruling the kingdom in ancient India.
2. Katrathal Village - Sikar – Katrathal is a small village township located close to Sikar city. It is a beautiful village with a mix of modern buildings sprung out in the same old lanes of the village and blending with the older havelis of Katrathal. The accommodation facilities have been arranged in one such Haveli and a provision is also available for a farm based stay and individual family stays with local villagers.
Our local village hosts are a very well respected Rajput Family of Katrathal and their family has been an excellent host to many national / international guests. In Katrathal we spend time with the rural folk, learn farming principals in the fields, share the smallest of their pains and pleasures, and see the world from their unadulterated eyes.
3. Lotwara Haveli – Lotwara, Dausa - Lotwara is a small village on the Agra jaipur highway, almost midway between Jaipur and Agra. Located in an exquisite natural setting, the Lotwara havelI provides a complete view of the village and overlooks the huge expense of Lotwara farms. The Lotwara haveli belongs to a very well established and highly regarded “Rajput” family of Lotwara. It is a majestic and exquisite structure, designed in complete synchronization with the rustic and agricultural surroundings. The structure showcases an architectural wisdom & represents the traditional lifestyle in Indian towns / villages governed by the local maharajas.
The Haveli provides an excellent destination to soak in the local village culture, experience the royal lifestyle of Rajput Rulers, and simultaneously visit the places like
• Abaneri Bavri - The architectural marvel of Abaneri Bavri is unique in Rajasthan. It is famous that you can not retrace the same path to come up as you use to go down.
• Kala Kho – The village is becoming a popular destination for erstwhile visitors of Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary because of the rich avian diversity it attracts
• Banda rej – One of the very few villages, so close to modern customs, but yet running most of their daily business through the traditional barter system
4. Ranthambore National Park – We are working with some local level villagers and some wildlife experts and activists to provide a eco-friendly and a rich and natural wild-life experience. We have created a couple of specific camping and wildlife travel programs on these lines in our product packages.
5. Dausa, Bikaner, Alwar, Jodhpur – We are in the process of identifying and training a network of entrepreneurs in these areas. We would love to have some of our guests volunteer as a break-in group at these places and help us in the endeavor of creating good hosts and a tourist flow in Rural Rajasthan.
WE WELCOME YOU TO EXPERIENCE REAL TIME
