Sustainable livelihood generation, including support for the development of a village tourism product based on traditional arts (such as folk painting) and intangible cultural heritage trails.
UNESCO India and Kolkata-based social enterprise Banglanatak. EU-funded (Investing in People - Access to local culture, protection and promotion of cultural diversity).
We got involved at many different project stages. Coordinating a team of researchers, we were responsible for scoping and planning tourism trails, linking tangible, intangible and natural heritage assets, and piloting tourism capacity building in participating villages. We contributed to the delivery of an international seminar for funders, policy makers and international agencies. Our team also delivered the design of three ‘resource centre’ buildings in the villages involved.
We used participative methods to draw village communities into the planning and management of their own low-impact tourism, and produced a strategy for the West Bengal Department of Tourism for the development of cultural tourism. Three resource centres constructed and utilised by local communities.