IITian transforms first digital village into tourist destination

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Within the dense forests of Melghat tiger reserve, lies Harisal, a small village in the Amravati district of Maharashtra, bordering Madhya Pradesh. With the Sipna river on one side and hills on the other, this is India’s first Digital Village. Often described as an “immeasurable beauty”, it is home to 1,200 people, including 40 tribal families of the Korku tribe.

Prakash Gupta, an alumnus of IIT Guwahati, was first introduced to this village when he joined Microsoft in 2018 to work on the organisation’s digital village program.
From solar-powered panels to accessible WiFi, jungle safaris to immersive cultural experience with the native Korku tribe to partaking in local village activities— Prakash’s Harisal Tourism initiative offers multiple attractions to visitors.

Moreover, his community-led and non-profit organisation has helped provide sustainable livelihood opportunities to the villagers as his homestay employs only the locals. Tourists can experience the rustic rural life by working with the farmers, eating the local food cooked with locally grown ingredients, participating in native music and folk dance, and by planting trees in the village.

Over the past year, the homestay has attracted hundreds of guests through word of mouth alone.

Harisal was infamous as the malnutrition capital of India. Scoring significantly low on all Human Development Index parameters— education, employment, and income levels— it was characterised by a lack of roads, irregular power, low mobile connectivity, and minimal public infrastructure.

To address these challenges, the Maharashtra state government signed an MoU with Microsoft in August 2015 to develop this village as a pilot for India’s first ideal Digital Village. The idea was that if this village, with the worst HDI, could be developed, then the model could be replicated in other villages as well.

Hence in 2016, Microsoft used its “white space” technology – the unused spectrum between two TV channels – to provide free internet connectivity to Harisal and its neighbouring villages. To provide the village with medical and healthcare facilities, the state government partnered with Amravati Super-specialty Hospital and JJ Hospital for telemedicine services.

By 2018, the Harisal village was digitally connected, and was also shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Award for excellence in Public Administration.

Next, he turned his attention to rural tourism as “immersive and experiential travel” that is the current trend in urban areas. “People want to take a break from their busy hectic city lives and relax amid nature along with proper village stay experience in traditional tribal houses,” he says.

Prakash discussed his plans with the tribal community to develop a Harisal Tourism project. It started with five homestays with basic but comfortable facilities, reflecting a cosy lifestyle with home-cooked food and an authentic “rural experience.”

Since there were minimal expenses involved, and the tourism essentially offered urban dwellers a glimpse of their lifestyle without hindering their lifestyle, the community agreed to the plan.

As a nodal village in the relatively unexplored Melghat, Prakash explains that Harisal can offer the adventurous tourist, the best of many worlds— lush jungles with thriving wildlife, the simple appeal of rural life and a scenic view of the ghats.

He explained to the tribal community that the geographic location of the village made it a unique attraction for potential tourists as Melghat is home to over 650 species of fauna, including species of deer, sloth bears, and other rare and endangered species like flying squirrel, honey badger, pangolins, and even tigers.

He also spoke about how tourism will help the villagers showcase their unique culture to the world.

Prakash’s tourism initiative offers the chance to experience farm life with an opportunity to work with the local farmers and learn about their farming practices in real-time.

Tourists are also given an opportunity to learn bamboo crafting. Skilled local tribals train the tourist to make simple bamboo items, like a woven basket, toy, and a keychain holder.

Further, the village also serves as a nodal point for monthly flea markets where people from nearby villages come and sell their products to the tourists.

A standard travel package for a family of four people, for a three-day trip, costs approximately Rs 11,000.

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