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A young mother gives bath to her son in a washbasin in Kohima. With water scarcity in Kohima, posing a serious problem especially during winter, water is an expensive commodity. em images/sorei mahong
Eastern Mirror weekend supplement
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December 8, 2012
Experiencing Naga hospitality through Rural Homestays Homestays are the way forward for tourism, says Nino Zhasa
Fabienne & Nino Zhasa
If there is one reason why most people travel around the world, then it is definitely to experience as well as get to know more about other cultures and people. The most appropriate step towards this goal is the entrance of Rural Homestays, which is the ideal concept in hosting tourists and enabling them to feel and live the life of the Nagas in its fullness.
N An interior view of Greenwood Villa
Greenwood Villa
Morung Lodge
ino Zhasa, a passionate traveller from Kigwema village, has over the years enjoyed hosting visitors from around the world even as she strives in her own little ways to promote the rich cultural heritage of the land that is more popularly known as the land of festivals. She had hosted her first German guest way back in 2002 before she moved to the United Kingdom to pursue Hospitality and Tourism from Thames Side College. Having gained rich experiences from working with different sectors related to tourism such as the Kingfisher Restaurant, Dinner Stone, White Hart, Garden Centre, etc, for 6-7 years, she came back to Nagaland in 2010 to follow her heart, which, of course is tourism, the way it’s supposed to be. ‘Greenwood Villa’, beautifully placed amidst pine trees and abundance of natural beauty along the highway, and so strategically located just a mile away from the Naga Heritage Village, has served as home for tourists from across the world ever since. With airy balconies that are receptive of warm skylight, tourists definitely enjoy the breakfasts served at their table so wholesomely. It is without doubt that they also feast their eyes on the beautiful countryside that is not just limited to landscapes but terrace fields and kitchen gardens that are intricate parts of all that is Naga. On the menu for breakfast are millet and sticky rice with honey straight from Mima village, among others. Truly the ultimate experience that any traveller looks for, the visiting tourists are also thrilled to take walks along the fields, cross a river and get on to the next village. Apart from Greenwood Villa, Nino Zhasa is also instrumental in starting a lodge in Kohima last year called the Morung Lodge at Midland. This year, Kere guest house constructed under the initiative of the Tourism Depart-
One of the neighbouring houses (in green) amidst golden fields that provided home stay for tourists
Vishü Rita Krocha | EM News Network
ment at the Kipfüzha area, Kigwema, had been inaugurated just a couple of months back and has further come to great use to cater to the demand for accommodation during this time of the year. Nino has further helped neighbouring homes set up rooms for guests as part of the rural home stay concept, which, they are more than willing, not only because they get to learn more about people who come visiting but also because they generate some revenue out of it. Bed, Breakfast and Dinner, and the tourists are happy exploring the villages, spending time with the local dwellers and learning more about them, which more or less fulfils their purpose of travelling to another part of the world. The greater news about rural home stays is that it enables the local families to also mingle and get some exposure, learn something about other parts of the world while at the same time earning a neat little income from it all. Towards this end, Nino has been able to give part-time employment opportunities to several young people straight from the village, who have also confessed that it has been a great and happy experience for all of them. In the past week, Greenwood Villa, Morung Lodge, Kere Guest House, and the neighbouring houses that provided home stay to several tourists coming in for the great Hornbill Festival have counted over a hundred visitors coming from places like Australia, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, England, France, USA, Nepal, West Bengal, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Pune, Sikkim, Goa, IT Bangalore, New Delhi, Kerela, Mumbai, Calcutta, etc. While many of them come and go as per their travel itinerary, a few of them, including Fabienne, a lady from Belgium, has been around in one of the rural homes till the last day of the Festival of Festivals. She delightfully told Eastern Mirror that it feels so good to be welcomed here. “I love the delicious food”, she affirms while also pointing to her hostess, saying, “She makes everything that is wonderful and I am definitely going to
A rolls car that was driven in by one of the tourists who stayed at the Greenwood Villa this Hornbill
come back. The Hornbill Festival is also like an opening to the North East India. You are all very beautiful people.” Back to Nino Zhasa, sparkling with energy, she insists that the real purpose of tourism should be about giving that ultimate experience - the whole package that includes food, culture, and even handloom. Confessing that the avid traveller in her travels to experience other people’s culture, she strongly expresses, “I am sure they come here to do that too!” The interesting fact about the rural home stays that she manages every Hornbill, and occasionally throughout the year, is that people get in touch with her through word of mouth. She never really had to advertise because those who come to stay take their stories back to their land and that’s how she is busy handling calls apart from hosting people, especially this time of the year. Having seen the potential of rural home stays, which meets the
needs of both the visitors and the locals, Nino is a great advocate of the concept and has been doing her bit to help villagers and youngsters in the area to pick it up. It can be taken up in all villages and not only around Kisama, she says. Some of the tourists have gone around villages, visiting rural homes, sharing a cup of tea, or sipping wild apple juice at the kitchen hearth, simply relishing the experience; or sometimes watching the village children play with no toys but something as basic as a stick or rubber slippers, just as they eat and share meals in the host family’s kitchen truly the Naga way. Essentially, rural home stays are the way for tourism to grow and expand, and Nino Zhasa has definitely set a great example for many more families or individuals to follow.
Published on Dec 8, 2012
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