A brief Introduction To Homestay in Nepal

A brief Introduction To  Homestay in Nepal

Heaven is a myth, Nepal is real!! A land of diverse cultures and populations which embraces each one of them with equal warmth & love also has an equally unique traditional and cultural way of life. Filled with ancient stories and beautiful temples, it is also home to the world’s most magnificent mountain ranges.

Nepal is also known for its hospitality as Guests are always looked upon as gods and Nepalese consider it an honour to welcome visitors, including strangers and passersby, and treat them with kindness and courtesy.

In today's article I am going to talk about Homestay Tourism which is ideal for travellers with an aim of understanding the local communities and the cultures. It is significant as it is only the way of showcasing real Nepal to the rest of the world because I personally believe living in hotels or resorts is a plastic life which consists of plastic hospitality. Hospitality should come from Heart. 

Though, Travel has different motivations for different people. For most, it is either leisure or business. Still there are travellers who visit a country to learn the culture, or the arts and language. For them Homestay is very vital. 

The concept of Homestay is not new. For ages, we have visited our friends & relatives, stay with them for a short or long duration. The same concept to unknown visitors for a day/couple of days or weeks in exchange for monetary or any financial compensation is home stay.

Homestay encourages the villagers to support responsible ecotourism. It provides an important passive income which will reinforce and promote the conservation of their cultural identity and environment. The community can receive proper economic benefits from the tourism operation which can be remunerated for their daily livelihood.

In recent days, home stay is becoming very popular in Nepal. several communities and local Homestay are being promoted. We can see a lot of People being attracted to these homestays, with thousands of visitors every month, it is also indirectly promoting internal tourism and blending communities across each other which make them respect each other's culture and traditions.

In Homestay, The visitors have their own privacy, as they are given room per choice, and also they have the option to share the evenings in the host living room, chat with the owners, watch the TV, play cards or simply enjoy a long dinner drink before dinner. Literally everything is shared. 

The home stays are now more well organised in Nepal than before. The bookings are regulated through the tourism department committee in the village or can also be made directly. The local authorities nominated by themselves keep a watch on the quality of rooms, food, hygiene and health of the staff working in the home along with the discipline of guests. Travellers have to register themselves with the local authorities.

Recently I visited Namje village Homestay with my students. My experience as a guest in this community home stay was great. We were welcomed as an honored guest, though we went without reservation (our mistake). It was a college Tour. Honestly, it was a modest home where they had the basics. They had electricity, running water, and a barbecue zone. The family was great and the entire village managed lodging for us and enjoyed cooking food for our group. We were accommodated easily in the village. It was a good time and good experience to witness Magar culture generosity, but, unluckily we Missed Maruni & Hurra dance, our bad!

Most home stays are on a bed basis but the option for lunch and dinner is available to the guest. The stay is also definitely going to cost you less than staying in Hotel. However the pricing strategy entirely depends on transportation, better the transportation, cheaper the price.

Home stays are also a wonderful way to present culture and hospitality to the visitor on a very personal level and in a very understanding way; it offers the visitor experience of local customs and ways of life very closely and is a weapon to bring cultures, traditions and civilisations together. 

But,There are several things the visitor needs to understand before travelling for Homestay. For instance, The conflict should be minimized so that staying doesn't become a burden to both. There can be conflict because of language/culture barriers or whatsoever. 

Secondly as a guest in a person's home, you are there to see how they are living and their culture. You are not meant to impose your beliefs or your views on how they live. They have been living that way for a long time and after you go they will keep living the way they do. Even though you think you are right and they are wrong it's their way of life and we are there as guests to experience it. So, there should be no interfer to their way of living.