In May 2019, women took the lead in managing homestay issues in the Mai Pokhari area in eastern Nepal by formally transforming the Sandakpur Village Development Deurali homestay management committee to an all-women committee with nine members (later increased to 15), with five men in advisory roles. This encouraging development led to the committee securing NPR 1 million funding from the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment of Province 1. The committee invested this fund in toilet renovations and solar power, geysers, and heaters in nine homestays.

We identified women-led homestay committees as an important foundation for long-term homestay tourism development around this wetland in Ilam, eastern Nepal. Since 2016, in collaboration with the Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology (RECAST) and the Ministry of Forests and Environment, we have been focusing on capacity building for Mai Pokhari’s women homestay operators and have been supporting members of the all-women committee to attend knowledge exchange events and regional tourism festivals. We are also supporting the development of a five-year homestay operation strategy in coordination with the committee and provincial and local government bodies. This can help establish a sustainable business model for homestays in Mai Pokhari.