The Bandipur Eco Cultural Tourism project takes place in Nepal which is, as everybody knows, located in the Himalayas.
The small village used to be a big marketplace between Tibet and India, but the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950 closed all trade routes. From this time, little by little, a desertification started in the village.
An English entrepreneur, Tony Jones was looking for a location to build a guesthouse. In the late 90’s he decided to launch an adventure tourism business which offered white-water rafting and trekking expeditions. He chose Bandipur for its location near Kathmandu.
Activities were growing in the village, the community decided to create a committee in 2003 to support local enterprise and revive economic activities. This committee found a partnership with two Europeans cities and presented their project to the EuropeAid Committee. To their great joy, the project was selected.
EuropeAid has given 697 967 Euros since 2003. It has helped several projects: the paving of the pedestrian road, the renovation of a second hotel, and the visitor information centre building.
Activities were developed too: there is a bazaar, Newari and Magar (main ethnic groups) Festivals with folk singers, paragliding and rock climbing among other activities.
There are at least 100 visitors per day visiting the village in high season from September to November; many jobs depend on that touristic development. This new income has had a great impact on the local inhabitants whose quality of life has greatly improved: sanitation, clean drinking water, use of harvested rainwater and solar energy, and health facilities now exist.
The committee no longer exists in its original form. A new partnership has started between Bandipur and North America: Bandipur Official Website
TELLING KAZBEGI 