Community Outreach

• Himalayan Homestays, Ladakh, India An exceptionally farsighted program, Himalayan Homestays couples tourism with conservation in the higher Himalayas as a means to support local mountain communities and protect the endangered snow leopard, a species endemic to the region. Begun in collaboration with the Snow Leopard Conservancy, the Mountain Institute, and regional tour operators, the program trains villagers—mostly women—to coordinate culturally and environmentally friendly homestays for some of the 5,000 visitors who pass through the region each summer. Our judges noted that by putting guests into villagers' homes and elevating the standards of their stay, the program has created an ecologically sensitive tourism infrastructure—and one that delivers funds directly to the communities themselves. It has also single-handedly transformed the common perception of the snow leopard, from that of a dangerous predator that attacks livestock to an animal whose presence draws travelers and provides important economic opportunities to villagers throughout the region. With locals now increasingly involved in efforts to protect the snow leopard, Himalayan Homestays is a model of a self-sustaining—and profitable—conservation program. www.himalayan-homestays.org