Sambalpur: In a new initiative to attract tourists, Odisha’s Debrigarh on Tuesday launched a rustic ‘homestay’ facility at Dhodrokusum village situated on the foothills of the sanctuary adjoining Hirakud Wetland.
This is the first homestay facility in Odisha managed by Forest Department through local forest dependent communities for providing them economic benefits, making them stewards for forest and wildlife conservation and exploring ecotourism potential of these landscapes.
Spending time in Dhodrokusum highlights immersive ways to connect with nature responsibly, while supporting livelihood through sustainable homestays by incredible wild stories & folklores on wildlife, culture, religion & tradition of the place, officials said
About Dhodrokusum Homestay:
All five homestay rooms are uniquely made from natural clay, mud, cow dung & husk, modern toilets and houses with modern classy furnishings for a warm & authentic experience. Every article is crafted by local village artisans with Sambalpuri touch. Each room has solid base of brick & mud, hence ensures safety. All 5 rooms have attached bathrooms. Water and electricity backup is also available. Outdoor fireplace & children’s play area is available. These five homestay rooms are managed by three families as below:
While Laxmi homestay with two rooms is run by Laxmi Guru, another facility with one room belongs to Rebati Bhue, whose husband is sick & bedridden since years. Other two rooms of homestay belong to Sujata Bhoi, who used to run a small shop in the village. She, for supporting her family decided to transform two rooms of her house into homestay.
Each Homestay room offers exclusive dining facility & menu is fixed. All these families have been trained in hospitality at Debrigarh and all are good cook as such.
Revenue sharing for Homestay management:
Booking of Dhodrokusum homestay is online through www.ecotourodisha.com (booking charges includes fooding) and revenue
generated will be utilized in similar way as it is in Debrigarh Ecotourism. 35% of revenue share will go towards salary/wages of the owner of homestay, 25% recurring expenses, 10% towards village development, 10% infrastructure development and 20% towards Corpus Fund of PCCF (WL) for expenditure on training & capacity building, exposure visits etc. of the community members.
All Ecotourism related EDC’s adjoining Debrigarh Sanctuary in consultation with authorities of Hirakud Wildlife Division decided to utilise the 10% of the revenue under village development share (EDC share) towards initiating homestay at Dhodrokusum village.
In the year 2023, under guidance of Debrigarh sanctuary authorities, Dhodrokusum villagers unitedly made the village “Green village” – Village free from open defecation, all are using toilets constructed by Debrigarh authorities, zero plastic & compulsory use of dustbins by every household, all 48 households are using Gas connections. Firewood use has reduced over the years.
Dhodrokusum is nearly 500 metres from the entry gate/ ecotourism booking counter of Debrigarh Sanctuary. Majority of families of Dhodrokusum are engaged in different activities of Debrigarh Sanctuary, some work as Mahout, some in Enforcement Squads & some in Debrigarh Ecotourism. Therefore, safety of visitors are ensured here.
Activities:
Homestay visitors can avail all the packages of safari, Hirakud Cruise, Birding Trails, Island Café, Trekking & Hiking, cycling, Site visits (visit to Hirakud Dam, Samaleswari Temple, Handloom markets, weavers villages, Bhimamandali caves, Hma & Ghanteswari Temples etc.) available for visitors of Debrigarh with same charges. One Ecoguide will specially take care of sightseeing of the Homestay visitors. Wifi facility can be used at the Booking counter of Debrigarh Ecotourism free of cost.
According to Hirakud Wildlife Division DFO, Anshu Pragyan Das, sustainable homestay facility at Dhodrokusum is a model which combines wildlife conservation with local culture and tradition. It is a well thought conservation intervention as local communities are navigating through human-animal conflicts daily.
It is a sustained grassroot action for driving conversation through community partnership in the co-existence zone and eco-sensitive zone of Debrigarh where local stewardship is important in achieving long term conservation goals, the DFO said.