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	Feature of the Week
	The Dolpo Dream for tourism and development
	By Archana K.C.
	Dolpa is remote. It is rugged. And it is a radiant beauty in its setting of Himalayan glory. The Dolpo experience, will fascinate visitors from abroad and Nepales as well Yet, very few tourists visit Dolpa. Barely about 400 trekkers visited Upper Dolpa in 2003. This number is still an increment as compared to the year 2002 when there were fewer than 150 tourists in Upper Dolpa. It was three years ago in 1999 that Dolpa tourism boomed with the release of French movie Caravan , bringing about 800 tourists in the area (together Upper and Lower Dolpa). Since then security situation has only looked downhill; the difficult access and extremely high royalty to be paid to enter Upper Dolpa ($700 for 10 days, and additional $70 per day per person after the initial 10 days), do not help either. The locals are hopeful though. Enthusiastic young people work for the development of Dolpa; and they are positive that things are going to change soon. Ask 19-year-old Kamala Ukheda about tourism development prospects in Dolpa, and she stresses the need for tourism facilities and the use of local products for Dolpa to prosper as far as tourism is concerned. Despite her young age and apparent inexperience as a social mobilizer, Kamala is bright and talkative, very willing to be an interviewee. She is not the only woman social mobilizer in the group. In fact, there are a few more who are just as ready for an interview to give a piece of their mind in hope that their voice is heard somewhere among the urban crowd of Kathmandu. Kamala attributes this positive change in Dolpo women to the continuous awareness programs conducted by the local development projects. One such project is Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) / HMG project Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme (TRPAP). TRPAP, which also works in 5 other districts: Rasuwa, Chitwan, Rupandehi, Solukhumbu and Taplejung, is a joint venture of UNDP, DFID and SNV, that works in these remote and tourism potential districts for poverty alleviation through tourism. In Dolpa, TRPAP works through the local NGOs like Dolpo Educational Social and Environmental Reservation Team (DESERT) and Development Association of Dolpa Tourism and Generation (DAD-TAG). As in other program districts its activities are pro poor, pro environment, pro community and pro women. As a part of its mission to work pro women, DDC Dolpa / TRPAP has carried out gender awareness, income generation trainings and other programs related to tourism in the VDCs of Dolpa. These awareness programs have made considerable difference in getting women out of their houses and getting into the community. Sujit Shrestha, Village Tourism Adviser to DDC/ TRPAP Dolpa has seen the change in the women of the TRPAP VDCs of Dolpa . In the past year TRPAP has conducted leadership programs, and incorporated a section on gender in other awareness programs. During trainings, TRPAP has tried to have a 50:50 ratio of men and women as far as possible. However, the presence of women depends largely on the nature of trainings, according to VTA Shrestha. "In the previous years only a few women from well to do families used to come to my office when there were things to talk about or help to be asked for," he says. "But this year it has been different. Women from different background go to community organizations as per their need. They speak. Ask for their rights." Even though women are still shy in villages, in general "Women are not shy.but they're more familiar now in places where awareness programs have been conducted. Women are motivated toward learning and development," says Roshan Hamal, 24, community officer of DESERT through which TRPAP works. Born and brought up in a well to do family of Dunai, Roshan is keen about the development of Dolpa. Despite having had opportunity to move to Kathmandu, Roshan holds on to her job as tourism development worker in Dunai, traveling to different villages of Dolpa, interacting with local community and hoping that one day Dolpa will be recognized as the number one tourism area of Nepal. Roshan identifies lack of services and facilities as major drawbacks of Dolpa in light of tourism. "There were not many tourism organizations working in the past," she says. "Awareness has started of late. If people have direct benefit from tourism, then it may be easier to develop tourism facilities." Such an example is China Maya K.C., 47, also from Dunai, who has won acclaim for her rise from a housewife working in the kitchen garden to a successful businessperson and the vegetable supplier of Dunai. In the dry, dreary land and weather of Dolpa, China Maya grows variety of vegetables, and sells it in the Dunai market where vegetables are scarce and otherwise usually brought from Nepalgunj. China Maya is also an active contributing member of the community and could be a resource person in terms of training other women like her in Dunai and surrounding areas. "I want the whole organization to prosper; not only me," China Maya says. "If we can have a Haat Bajaar, we can sell well." She realizes that this will also contribute to tourism development in this region of Dolpa. However, the most important aspect for tourism is peace, China says. "Fear, anxiety will not lead anywhere." she says. "If only we had peace," Even though peace and development seem a far-fetched dream for these women, there is hope in most eyes. "There are many well wishers of Dolpa and I hope they do not lose heart because of the present situation," says community officer Roshan Hamal. "Changes will happen is my belief." *- Rural Tourism Feature - 14/ TRPAP*

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