Help Tourism with Expert Klaus Schaette started 2008, at first, a pilot project in Lava, Neora Valley addressing the waste problem, to avoid burning all waste in open fire on the streets, a common practise in India; a smelling, health hazardous procedure and not envi-ronmentally friendly. This time, we addressed the waste problem in three new areas up-coming for Tourism, where people already feel the awareness, that littering waste creates problems.
In Assam, Bongaigaon and Abhayapuri are fast developing into a new tourist destination and acting as a Gateway to Manas National Park, Tiger-, Biosphere Reserve and World heritage site. The Bamungaon picnic spot, is next to the newly opened Astha nature camp.
Picnic spot
This beautiful picnic spot at the green hill-ocks, co-managed by community and forest department, is said to be a demonstration site of participatory conservation; as already visited by many local tourist, it looks like a dumping site, littered with paper, plastic, cans and bottles.
The local N.G.O (Bamungaon eco society) asked Helptourism for assistance, a good opportunity for us to give the locals an exam-ple on proper waste management.
In Abhayapuri we found used oil drums and a work-shop, where the incinerator was built.
Our program started on February 8th at the picnic spot for around 40 interested people.
Manufacturing a simple incinerator from an used oil drum
We all collected the waste, separating it for recy-cling, dumping or burning; to burn only the light plastic in the newly built incinerator without smell and smoke. To keep the picnic spot beautiful, we introduced waste baskets, a Pit for dumping and one for compost (organic waste, dry leaves). At the end, the local NGO invited all for a waste free lunch on organic plates. With the NGO we discussed offering local food specialities to picnickers, instead of selling chips packages, thereby avoiding the pollution of the picnic spot with plastics.
In Bansbari, Central Manas Forest Re-serve, the Forest Department and the Helptourism Tourist camps Maozigendri and Ultapani were our partner in the pro-gram. Altogether we could attract almost 100 participants, included local schools for the joint activity.
The separation and burning can be seen in the pictures.
In Ultapani, a village in the Manas Bio-sphere Reserve, the local guides organized our program. We had more than 100 participants, among them many interested villagers. The separation and burning was a big attrac-tion with training effect, the dumping pit had been prepared at the spot.
In Singalila Forest Reserve, Manebhanjan near Darjeeling, West Bengal the Local Guides Asso-ciation had asked Helptourism to assist in the Waste Problem at the Singalila Trek. They showed us the waste at the Trek; in our discussion we developed a self-help concept with baskets, dumping pits and Incinerator.
Community workshop "Waste Management in Singalila"
They organized a training program with almost 40 guides, Forest Guards and villagers.
The simple system of waste management presented in the program, is a self-help concept and primarily for remote areas, as Tourism Camps, with limited access to recycling. It is about waste separation, to keep the place clean, introducing waste baskets and a Pit for Dumping and Compost. The burning is reduced to “light plastic (Plastic-bags and wrappers) in a self-built incinerator, generating more heat, to avoid smell and hazardous smoke.
Not for Burning are:
- pieces for recycling as Water-bottles (PET), PVC (Pots, carpets, cables, Flip-flops), Glass- bottles and metal
- Organic waste, kitchen waste, dry leaves and straw give excellent compost
Aluminium foil packing are a major waste problem
These packages for chips, tobacco and sweets are on sale everywhere; once empty, you find them littered all over the landscape. They will not rot like paper, cannot be recycled nor burned, since they are coated with metal. To clean the environment, they should be kept only in a dumping pit!!
But they are rather good for the business, the industrial food industry.
by Klaus Schätte – kschaette@freenet.de
Kurseong, a part of the Darjeeling Hills in the East Himalaya houses the World Heritage Site, the DHR (Darjeeling Himalayan Railway), but the sense of ownership by the local people was missing as their livelihood had no relation with the DHR. This is when the DHR Director, Kurseong SDO , Divisional Forest Officer and several other persons from the administration and political parties decided to support a local group of youth from Kurseong and adjoining areas to start ecotourism and hence their name Himalayan Ecotourism Welfare Society.
