Kewzing, (South Sikkim), July 31: This small hamlet,
12 km from Ravangla subdivision, yesterday played host to a group
of 30 Naga trainees, who were here to take pointers on developing
eco-tourism in their state.
The students, who were selected by Eco-tourism
and Conservation Society of Sikkim, stayed with the Sikkimese Bhutia
families of the village learning about their culture and sharing
stories with them.
Kewzing, in South Sikkim, is fast earning itself a name as an upcoming
village tourism destination.
The village, chosen as a pilot project by the Sikkim Development
Foundation, and NGO, to improve the living standard and quality
of life for the people of the state, is running homesteads for visitors
since last year.
Eleven houses in the Sikkimese Bhutia community have been converted
into homesteads, turning the village into a rural tourism hub.
The task of the foundation became easier with the formation of
Kewzing Tourism Development Committee, which handles the day-to-day
affairs of the tourist destination. Executive director of the foundation
Karma P. Takapa said the foundation got in touch with Tony Parr,
known for developing Sirubari village in Nepal. `After three
visits to Kewzing, it was chosen as the pilot project in 2002,`
he said.
Today, visitors are impressed with the facilities the village has
to offer, making it an ideal tourist haunt. It is easily accessible
by road and has electricity, water and telephones. Hiking trails,
sightseeing options, river picnics, rafting and bird watching are
also on the itinerary for the visitors interested in getting more
than just the fell of the village.
Rajendra Suwal, an ornithologist from Nepal, Kevin Vang, executive
director of the Australian Foundation for People of Asia and Pacific,
and P.T. Sherpa from Nepal had come to the village to help develop
the bird-watching potential.
Suwal was able to identify 110 species of birds in the immediate
surrounding of the village in three days. Suwal also helped groom
two youths of the area - Chewang Rinchen and Karma Sonam - who were
keen bird watchers, to take up this nature activity seriously. Rinchen
and Sonam, who help their parents run the homesteads, said more
than 300 species of birds were found in the area. `Many migratory
birds are also seen during various seasons` Rinchen said.
Jorlym, one of the trainees, said Nagaland could follow Sikkim`s
example to ensure that tourism did not flourish at the cost of destroying
the ecology. |
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