Holding a mixing bowl in one arm, Sarala pulls a small handful of sticky
dough from the mix, then offers the bowl to me while gesturing that I should do
the same. She flattens the dough into the palm of her hand, scoops a mix of
minced chicken and spices into the center, then adroitly manipulates her fingers
to close the dumpling — known locally as a
momo — with an artistic, braid-like
fold.
I’ve never met a dumpling I didn’t love, but this is my introduction to momos —
a classic Nepalese dish. This introduction is particularly special, though:
Not only do I get to eat them — I get to make them with Sarala in her home,
where I’m also spending the night.
My two-night stay with Sarala and her family in
Nagarkot
— as well as two nights with my host, Bimala, and her 20-year-old daughter,
Binita, in Panauti — are
experiences offered through the Community Homestay
Network (CHN), which hosted my recent
visit to Nepal. CHN is a social enterprise supporting a wide network of homestay
accommodations and activities across Nepal. In doing so, they’ve developed an
increasingly popular community tourism model that prioritizes and benefits
local women while offering travelers unique and culturally relevant
opportunities.
Homestays in the travel context are what they sound like: An opportunity to stay
as a guest in someone’s home. Importantly, they are different from short-term
rentals
— where guests can rent out an entire accommodation — or boutique
properties
that simply have a “home-like” or “local” vibe. Homestays incorporate both
in-home accommodations and the experiences that result from spending time with
locals in their home communities.
This is a form of community tourism — or “travel experiences owned, led and run
by communities” — as defined by Planeterra, a
non-profit organization that helps co-create and support these experiences to
create positive impact. A growing number of tour operators — including
Planeterra,
Astrostays,
G
Adventures
and Intrepid Travel — are centering their offerings on the model.
“Community tourism is not just about creating economic opportunities,” CHN
founder and chairman Shiva Dhakal
told Sustainable Brands® (SB). “It is about sustainable practices that
respect local cultures and environments.”
Through homestays, this positive impact manifests itself in many ways: Because
they are run by women, the fees travelers pay provide agency and a consistent
income — which is particularly relevant in Nepal, where there is a severe
gender wage
gap.
The hands-on activities offered to travelers are representative and true to the
community, and therefore preserve and celebrate the local culture.
And, having tried my hand at folding momos in Sarala’s kitchen and stitching
together tapari (plates made of leaves) in Nagarkot’s
community center with the local women, I can attest these are distinctly unique
experiences that I’ll never have anywhere else.
As travelers become increasingly
aware
of their impacts on the places they
visit
and curious about getting “off the beaten
track,”
homestays are a natural win-win option. However, they need to be “tourist ready”
(safe, logistically operational and findable) while also preserving the local
culture, avoiding exploitation and benefiting the women who run them.
This is where CHN plays an important role. Working with partners including
Planeterra, it has identified 36 communities across Nepal where homestays either
existed or had the opportunity to develop. More than 350 families host guests.
In a country known for its lucrative mountaineering and trekking tourism, the
dispersal of travelers and tourism income is significant. At CHN’s recent
Community Connect
event,
which I attended, Dhakal implored attendees to help “ensure that, as Nepal grows
as a travel destination, it grows with its people at the heart of its focus.”
The CHN team works with each community to co-create the place-based and
culturally specific experiences that travelers can participate in while visiting
these mostly rural areas. These experiences — which include everything from bike
tours to pottery making, provide something for guests to do and they tap into
local businesses — providing additional community members with income. CHN’s
work with women across Nepal has financially benefited nearly 1,800 people —
including the hostesses and their families; and local vendors including food
suppliers, shopkeepers and others in the host communities.
CHN also provides ongoing training with hosts; a recent gathering of artisans
covered topics including work ethics, booking procedures, and managing payments
and billing.
While important, none of this matters if travelers can’t find these homestays —
and that’s where CHN’s primary, public-facing purpose shines. As a curation
platform, CHN serves as a one-stop-shop for travelers — who can browse and book
homestays and experiences across all communities in the network. Additionally,
the organization has created “circuits” — pre-built, multi-day experiences that
string togeter several homestays and community tourism experiences.
This makes it easier for travelers to manage the logistics of longer visits in
Nepal, but CHN must also manage traveler expectations of what it means to stay
in a rural Nepalese home.
“It is still a traveler-centric world,” CHN CEO Aayusha Prasain told SB. “When
travelers pay their money, they want their facilities — so we standardize up to
a certain level. But we can’t just go to a community and say ‘have this or
that.’ They live there, and they’re living fine.”
In the grand scheme of the tourism industry, CHN’s reach might seem small — but
the ripple effects of responsibly developed and executed community tourism at
scale can be profound. And as more people become curious about community
tourism, it also has the potential to change the way they approach travel.
“This is a good way for travelers to have a cultural exchange and to learn,”
Prasain said, adding that “being humble through the process is a good thing.”
I take these words to heart as I hold the momo fixings in the palm of my hand.
It’s my turn to follow Sarala’s lead and tuck them neatly into the dough casing.
Admittedly, my folds look far less polished than hers; but the momos are
delicious, and the experience is enriched by enjoying them
with my hostess and her family around their kitchen table.
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JoAnna Haugen is a writer, speaker and solutions advocate who has worked in the travel and tourism industry for her entire career. She is also the founder of Rooted — a solutions platform at the intersection of sustainable tourism, social impact and storytelling. A returned US Peace Corps volunteer, international election observer and intrepid traveler, JoAnna helps tourism professionals decolonize travel and support sustainability using strategic communication skills.
Published Jan 8, 2025 8am EST / 5am PST / 1pm GMT / 2pm CET