Project Dawn · Case study
Valleyof River.
A rural tourism initiative in Uttarakhand: three villages adopted in the Ladhiya Valley, developed through responsible travel, adventure training and documented community work.
The place
The valley sits in the Champawat district of Uttarakhand, reached via the Chalthi-Tanakpur road and then on foot: the field team trekked 70 kilometres, crossing the Ladhiya river thirteen times, to reach the villages it would go on to adopt.
Documented GPS locations. Tap a village to open it on the map.
Documented problems
What the villagers face.
Data gathered by adopting the three villages, recorded in the Project Dawn rural tourism report.
Migration away from the villages
Basic amenities
Women's hygiene
Education
Electricity
Access to hospitals
Means of daily wages
Water scarcity
Connectivity to the nearby village and city
Jobs
The tourism model
The project
A project to understand rural tourism and develop communities living in remote locations.
Adoption
Three villages adopted in a remote location of Uttarakhand, to understand needs and meet the villagers' requirements.
The mix
Eleven SDGs mixed with outdoor and adventure sports to work toward the upliftment of the three adopted villages, as a pilot.
Valley of River
The area is introduced to the travel community as the Valley of River, inviting them to join curated trips: survival techniques, wilderness courses, river courses and treks, village tourism and volunteering in schools and villages.
Revenue
Income generated for the villages through homestays and local guiding for rural tourism.
Livelihoods
Improving villagers' and school children's prospects: new farming techniques, an introduction to adventure sports and digital literacy.
Programmes conducted
The valley opened its doors.
2020
The first Valley of River programme runs in December, before COVID. A small group treks, rafts and camps in the valley.
2021
Programmes resume after lockdown, with groups of two, five and eight travellers hosted across the editions.
2023
Programmes continue after 2023, alongside the Boom Rafting and Nandhaur Range wildlife expeditions developed for the area.
Outcomes
Homestay revenue for local villagers, a 1.5 kW solar panel, a hand pump, repairs to the trolley, roller and generator, stationery, pads and medicines, each recorded in the field report and on the evidence page.
The valley is a beginning,
not a brochure.
Current operational status of the pilot is being re-verified before new travel programmes are published for the area.