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In Mishmi Wren-Babbler’s land

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

How does the sun set? It goes down into the sea. It hides behind the mountain. And, what if you do not allow it the space of the sea or the privacy of the mountain? It just dissolves in the sky.

Trust me. I saw the crimson ball look like a half-eaten cookie in minutes and before you could make sense of the changing tones of the silver slivers criss-crossing the valley, the cookie was just a speck, and soon it was gone!

Sipping tea at the bamboo balcony of the dining hall at the Dibang Valley Jungle Camp, I watch the orange orchard surrounding the resort plunge into darkness. And, in the remoteness of far away across the criss-cross of rivers, where I had presumed nobody must have set foot ever, I see flickering lights. One. Two. Three! About seven or eight, in all. So, there are people living there, I wonder.

Mishmi Women dancing during the REH Festival in Arunachal Pradesh - Photo by Chinmoy ChakrabartiHow did they reach there? Did their flight from Kolkata land at Dibrugarh after an inordinate delay? Were they forced to abandon their onward journey—much after crossing Tinsukia— to spend the night at the Dihing Jungle Camp in Dibrugarh? Did they also cross the Brahmaputra at Dolaghat with their cars on the boats — yes, you read it right; cars, buses and trucks, are all ferried across the river in boats. And, the only people to feel surprised or scared even when the river is on a spate, are tourists— like we did? Will they go back to the “mainstream” that I came from after the three-day Reh festival? Stupid questions clutter my mind for I am full of disbelief as to how can people be living there their daily lives — buying toothpastes and taking their children to school — in a place so remote; where development has turned its back on.  

As I sip the sunset with my first evening tea at Help Tourism’s Dibang Valley Jungle Camp, I realise it is this zeal for life of people living in such difficult conditions that makes Arunachal special, awe-inspiring. And the festivals are just a way of celebrating this spirit.

It’s the first day of the 43rd Reh festival (celebrated between Feb 1 and 3) of the Idu Mishmi tribe here at Roing. Amounting to not more than 12,000 members, Idu Mishmi tribe is one of the smallest sub-tribes of Arunachal (and also India); their language and culture, for obvious reasons, in desperate attempt to survive the onslaught of modernism.

An otherwise family affair, the Reh festival is also celebrated as a community programme, participated by all the members of the tribal village. While yew, the signature brew of the Idu Mishmis, is in the air—that’s the welcome drink you are treated to everywhere— the whole town is a riot of colours with all the people out in their finest traditional attires. This is the time of the year when everybody comes home from wherever they could be studying or working. “This is one time when the tribe comes together,” Lokha Elapra, law student from Delhi, tells me in between nibbling at a roasted intestine, twirled rather crudely to a long bamboo stick and cooked in the community kitchen fire.

Mishmi Men dancing during the REH Festival in Arunachal Pradesh - Photo by Chinmoy ChakrabartiIn the day, the programmes are mostly traditional with local songs and dances being performed by the youths. The days are followed by not-to-traditional evenings where the youths come together to have fun over yew and pork delicacies. Be prepared to tap your feet to the beats of Idu Mishmi rap number—one of the many ways by which the youths are trying to popularise the local language which has taken a serious beating to Hindi over the years. After a round of the festival, I decide to spend the evening by the fireside, where the community head priest, Igu Haita, is performing the Igu ritual, chanting mantras to drive away evil spirits from the village. I am taken over by the sheer antiquity of his appearance and the ambience of the room whose walls are decorated exploits at hunting—weapons and skulls of mithuns.

Celebrated after the harvest season, Reh is the time when families come together. Especially the relatives and kins of the women members of the family are invited. Gifts are exchanged and guests are treated to mithun and pork delicacies.

It was a sea of flesh—and I am not exaggerating one bit—at the Mayu village, where a community kitchen had been set up. At one end pig flesh was being chopped into cubes, all piled up to form a small hill. Busy hands skewered them in thin bamboo sticks from all sides, while the job of some people was simply to ferry the chopped meat to the fireplace. In two massive cauldrons, right at the middle of the square open area, the cooking was done by able-bodied men who could ladle the boiling concoction without much difficulty. Meme was being made by cooking rice with pork and blood, with dried bamboo shoot, dried ginger and chilly power as spices.

At the other corner was the fish section, populated by largely women, for those who do not eat pork. Dried pond fish, instead of pork, is cooked with rice to prepare the aaku. The yew, which is brewed from rice, is what you wash down your meal with. The meal is followed by more singing and dancing.

And it is not just the experience of a tribal lifestyle, but associated adventure that gives this festival tour a different dimension. And the adventure lies in not only manoeuvring long distances in back-breaking drives on narrow roads and crossing the bridge-less rivers with cars perched precariously in boats. Snug inside a sleeping bag, in a tent set up in the resort lawns, giving company to crickets all night long is no less thrilling. And though I don’t get to sight it– the bird that is unique to this region, a major attraction for bird-watchers across the globe– I quite feel like Mishmi Wren-Babbler!

Article by Anuradha Sharma

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Green Circuit officially launched at WTM London

Saturday, November 14th, 2009

Fiona Jeffery, Chairman of World Travel Market WTM, officially launched the Green Circuit during the celebrations of World Responsible Tourism Day in London. At the stand of the International Center for Responsible Tourism – India – she personally congratulated the members of the unique travel experience partnership:  Asit Biswas, Help Tourism, Sandeep Sinha and Gopinath Parayil from Blue Yonder Holidays, Ishita Khanna from Spiti-Ecosphere, Vishwaraj Gyawali from Socialtours/SocialTreks and Asit Biswas from Help Tourism.

Launching Green Circuit on WTM

Launching Green Circuit on WTM

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Tips on eco-tourism: from Singapore to Sikkim

Thursday, October 1st, 2009
by AVIJIT SINHA, The Telegraph Calcutta
Siliguri, Sept. 29: In a first-of-its-kind initiative by tour agencies of the region, a training of unemployed youths in eco-tourism ventures will begin high in the mountains of Sikkim in December.
Help Tourism, a Siliguri-based tour operator, and Hee Bermiok Tourism Development and Heritage Conservation Society have tied up with Jet Airways and the Singapore Scout Association to open the centre at Hee Bermiok in West Sikkim.
“The aim is to train the youths of Mangalbari, Kaluk, Rinchenpong, Hee Bermiok, Dentam and Uttaray, all in West Sikkim, on eco-adventure tourism in the region,” said Raj Basu, associated with Help Tourism and the conservation society. “The centre will be run by the Singapore-based organisation which will train the local youths on a long-term basis so that they can be part of a participatory model of the venture. The youths can also work for sustainable development in the area keeping in mind the conservation of nature.”
Gopal Lama, the deputy director of the state tourism department, north Bengal, appreciated the initiative to train unemployed youths. “It is a first-of-its kind effort,” he said.
Hee Bermiok, on the fringes of Barshey Rhododendron Sanctuary in West Sikkim, is over 150km away from Siliguri. The hamlet located in the idyllic surroundings and has potential to be developed as a centre for adventure sports like mountain biking and cycling, trekking and camping.
“We want the pristine natural surroundings of the area to be protected for which it is important for the local people to know the pros and cons of eco-tourism and eco-friendly development,” Basu said.
The conservation society will provide land for the centre while the scout association will raise funds for it. “The Singapore body will also send volunteers to execute the project. A delegation from Singapore has visited the area early this month and another team of 12 volunteers from Singapore will reach Hee Bermiok on December 1 and stay there for a fortnight ,” Basu said.
The Singapore team that visited the site this month included Gerry Oh, the regional vice-president of Jet Airways (southeast Asia), Tan Si Jie, an expert on environmental conservation, Patrick Tan, a photographer, and Christopher Khoo, a tourism consultant.
“They interacted with the local people on training, skill development, followed by promotion of tourism and conservation of nature,” Basu said. “The response was good and they have agreed to go ahead with the project, supported by the Changi Airport Group and India Tourism office of Singapore.”
During the visit, the team members also went to Kolakham village located on the fringes of Neora Valley National Park in Kalimpong subdivision.
“We want two model centres to be developed in Darjeeling and Sikkim. Kolakham is also ideal for a centre for eco and adventure tourism. These will complement the initiatives of the state and central governments to promote tourism in the region and can also contribute in employment generation,” Basu said. “Neora Valley is equally attractive like Barshey and houses the red panda and tiger.”

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090930/jsp/siliguri/story_11555317.jsp

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Best NGO engaged in Sustainable Tourism

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

India’s No.1 business channel, CNBC Awaaz, was looking for the best in travel and tourism.

CNBC AWAAZ Travel Awards is divided into 41 award categories which include 28 research based categories, four categories decided by the jury panel and 9 citations.

One of those categories honored what Help Tourism is all about: The Best NGOs engaged in Sustainable Tourism. And…

WE GOT IT!!!

cnbc-awaaz-award-2009

Here’s a media review on the Awards

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Help Tourism launches Peace Park on World Environment Day

Friday, June 12th, 2009

Help Tourism in association with WBFDC launches first-of-its-kind Tourism Peace Park in the country

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Help Tourism in association with West Bengal Forest Development Corporation (WBFDC) has launched the first-of-its-kind Tourism Peace Park in Noam Chel Teesta situated near East of Teesta River and between Neora Valley National Park, Garumara National Park and Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary. This part of the said area, North of Oodlabari is mostly under the management of West Bengal Forest Development Corporation (WBFDC) and the South area is mostly managed by the Baikanthapur Forest Division, therefore a major concern is the conservation of the rich natural resources. This Park has been launched in order to promote Community Based Tourism (CBT) in the East Himalayas. This information was divulged by Supratim Raj Basu, Ecotourism Consultant, Help Tourism.#

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In addition, CBT initiators have tied up with ten villages in the North of West Bengal where they provide various activities such as home stays, trekking, nature study, camping, cycling, forest drive, cultural encounters of six different communities et al for tourists visiting the Park. The main idea is to develop Community Based Tourism (CBT) and provide support to maintain peace and harmony among different communities existing there. They also provide various packages of six nights and seven days ranging between Rs 500-Rs 1,000 per person, per day. According to their brochure most villages situated inside the Park are not known and no modern development has been undertaken there as yet unlike other parts of West Bengal. The inhabitants find their livelihood from nature around them. The area is home to several animals like leopards and elephants etc.

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According to certain sources, the initiative for developing the Tourism Peace Park was led by Pallab Basu of Oodlabari Tourism Development Association, officials of WBFDC and Help Tourism members. They had their first meeting regarding the same in December 2008 at a factory of Assam Bengal Veneer Industries (ABVI). The meet was attended by 61 local stake holders from the several villages.

Source: Travel Biz Monitor, www.travelbizmonitor.com
Thursday, June 11, 2009, 17:00 Hrs  [IST], By Anish V Punnackattu | New Delhi


more pictures from the peace park

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