Rural Tourism & Rural Development

Rural Tourism - Are "Family Rotations" good?

I am running multiple businesses targeted at increasing income in Rural India. One such business is Rural Tourism. The objective is to provide Quality Experience (Homestay / Hotels / Activity experience) to tourists, while enhancing income for host families.

The dilemma on Host Family Rotation i am posting here is an example of many operational questions i keep raising to myself and take a stance which seems most appropriate at that point. I though i will share one such dilemma i was discussing with a client a while back.

Initial logic for “Family Rotation” - I intended to host 4-5 groups (approx 10-15K of total income) at a single family unit in a village (possibly in a season) and then do rotation (change host families). The logic was simple:

1. avoid farmers perceiving tourism as the major source of income
2. maintain the hospitality quality (craze for guests, enthusiasm)
3. allow other village families to benefit from rotation (financially, socially, hygiene training etc)
4. keep the primary occupation (e.g. Farming, weaving etc) as the natural attraction for tourist interested in specific vocations

Current Status – We are already hosting many tourists from France and some from US and UK. In the process some of our host families have got really well trained at hosting guests (don’t read as professional).

• Some host families maintain their traditional ways, but have matured (open, giving space etc) to make guests more comfortable and have a good time.
• Some decided to go professional and have developed infrastructure (modern huts etc). They are in-between a normal farmer and a guest-house accommodation
• We have Hotels / Resorts / Heritage properties for luxury travelers providing the privacy in midst of a rural setting

My Dilemma

Most of them still make only a fraction of money from tourism, not to warrant a risk of dropping out of their primary occupation. They are well trained host families providing a great customer experience. There families are responding greatly to the cross-cultural exposure.

Should I change them, just because they have hosted 4-5 groups?

An even stronger argument could be, if I should give them any tourist in next season also?

Rural Education - Free Vs Paid Education

Let me put across my point a little differently covering a broader spectrum of education.

"Free Education is not compulsory and definitely not sufficient for a country".

I am not sure of other countries, but free (or subsidized education) is a smashing hit in India itself. However, this is only true for "Higher Education". Look at places like IIT, IIM, AIIMS, SPA etc. The success of these institutions is governed by following factors

1. maturity, intelligence and established commitment of students applying at these institutions, further ensured by strict screening tests, and

2. the strict governance (and monitoring of teachers) in these institutions

3. there is an immediate commercial (tangible) recognition for these highly educated youth, validating the quality of education and hence propelling best of the talents to flock these institutions.

Though a Indian senior scientists and an educational expert sitting on panel US universities recently pointed out some very serious (and qualified) flaws in the education at these premium institutions as well. However, I can possibly cover it in a separate article later.

Primary education unfortunately does not immediately ensure you a corner office. However, it equips you to receive quality higher education. Coupled with this lag in immediate return, it is difficult to motivate children in School even in urban India J.

You need well motivated parents and teachers to keep pushing children to ensure quality basic education. In my experience, paying a good fee is proving to be a good motivation for village parents to follow up on their children’s education. Once they see the difference, they don’t mind paying a premium for good education.

In summary, for primary education there are three main factors going against "free education",

1. scale is too large and a proper monitoring system for teachers is missing. Almost every single government teacher has an excuse of being busy with government census data collection and hence not being able to teach in school. Though their private tuitions usually flourish

2. Students come from different backgrounds and are usually not as self motivated as in higher education. This is also reflected in school drop out rates

3. The cost of providing primary education is much less and hence does not warrant large subsidy. Most parents in India can afford to pay for it, as far as they find enough value in it.

Current "free education regime", does not dissuade parents from patronizing private schools charging higher fees and at least making the children attend the school regularly (a lesser evil in case of rural India).

I also agree with Rohit, that the college education can be well funded through bank loans. It shall definitely reduce the subsidy burden on the government. That will also help reduce the criticism about students (IITians) receiving premium education at government cost and flying away abroad. Incidentally, we never heard a criticism of somebody studying in free government school and going abroad as wastage of national resources. In fact such a person will usually be praised as "An Example" by the press, social and political leaders alike.

An Option in Higher Education - In case of government run colleges, if somebody does go for higher education or lower paying jobs in India itself, there can be a provision for college to pay back these loans. Yale has a similar program, where they repay the loan if a student opts to join an NGO or "Not for Profit" companies. There can be some misuse of this scheme, but then we are doing 100% subsidization right now. So, no harm trying.

In private sector, we are witnessing many colleges charging very high fee, showcasing education loans options. Some people believe that it is bad, as many kids don't get jobs during recession. However, I think the students (and parents) opting for such options need to consider the pros and cons and take a calculated risk while going for expansive education.

First Entry

Hi all,

I am new to this, as says my Blog Title... I had been asked by lot of my friends to start blogging and sharing my weird ideas with the world. I guess it was as good a time to start as any. It is interesting how the blogging site asks you so many things like "Title of your blog" etc. I guess it does say something about your state of mind when you are creating the Blog. For instance, it was the contemplative mood, which made me choose my Blog Heading.

Actually, i felt it was appropriate as well, as they are my musings, that i want to share and start talking to "like-interested" people. I would certainly appreciate like-minded people as well, but people with differing opinions (and minds) will be most welcomed to participate in my blog.

I will start with sharing my thoughts from an immediate concern area on which i was writing for one of my company websites.

Education in Rural India and a debate if education shall be free (and hence remain a regulated subject). Please let me put a disclaimer, the thoughts given below are completely based on my own experience and interpretation from having started a school in rural India. These thoughts are not representative of the overall school management either.

Is Free Education good?

Conceptually speaking, pricing should have nothing to do with Education as far as somebody (government / philanthropists) is willing to foot the bill. However, in practice, I believe that schools should not offer “free education” as an incentive to study. It sends a wrong signal to the society as a whole. If a family cannot afford to pay for teaching their children, then enable them to earn more and afford their family expenses like children education. Their are government schemes like NREGA, that practically insure employment to rural poor. We need to teach rural India the concept of paying for basic services, instead of expecting them to be dolled out in a platter as a right.

I have more specific reasons to insist on dissuading free education based on my own experience in rural India.

In general perception (very true for Rural India) the things which come free are not always of good quality. When a villager works hard to get something, the perceived value attached to the achievement also increases. This is very critical aspect for Education in Rural India, where many parents do not even know the location of their children’s school. Some critical values attributable to “Paid Education” include

• Every self respecting parent shall work towards the education of the child, and hence take a sense of responsibility to monitor their wards progress.
• Paying for education, compels parents to evaluate the “Value for Money” by checking on children and school alike. It acts like a self-reinforcement for children and also a natural check on school management to deliver quality services.
• It is imperative to develop schools on sustainable basis, to be able to provide quality education through well trained teachers