Nature guides

A women's collective in Uttarakhand improves members' livelihoods through sustainable tourism initiatives

- MEGHA PRAKASH

WHEN I was young, I went to the forest twice or thrice a day for fodder, fuelwood and water. It got on my nerves. But over the years, the community's reliance on forests declined so much that the younger generation could not even connect to the areas like we did,” says 62-year-old Pushpa Devi of Uttarakhand's Chopriyal village. “But now, after I started conducting walking trails through our forests, I am happy to see children interested in the area,” she says.

Since 2023, Pushpa Devi and eight other women from four villages of Chamba block, Tehri district, are earning a livelihood by running homestays and conducting guided trails. As of March 2025, they have conducted 65 walking tours—on five trails developed around the villages and forest—for tourists, earning more than ₹1 lakh.