Tuesdays for Tomorrow

~ An On-Going Effort ~

In 2007, as a member of the Madhya Pradesh Government's Ecotourism Board, Mandip and and his team decided to look at the possibilty of bringing tourism into the dreaded Chambal area. Although rich in biodiversity (being home to dolphins, crocodiles, ghadials, Bar-Headed Geese, Ridley Turtles and many others), the area is notorious for its bandits and dacoits, and was considered to be generally unsafe for tourists.

The team went in to meet the community accompanied by 3 armed policemen - although the recommended number of guards was 20 - to talk to them about bringing tourism into their homeland. Training the youths to be guides and naturalists, much like his work in Kerala and Nagaland, as an alternative to gain their livelihood.

The first interaction was met with a positive response from the villager youths and their families.

In 2011, the team returned, this time accompanied by the chairman of the World Heritage Organization Committee. The Chambal regions terrain and it's Jurassic Park-like environment gives it the potential to become a Natural World Heritage Site.

Today, with the support of a donor agency, the MP Ecotourism Board hopes to realize their ambition within the next year.