This project is executed in collaboration with Challo, a social enterprise that seeks to 1) improve local livelihoods and 2) contribute to regional biodiversity efforts in the Indian Himalayas. In Aug 2020, Challo was awarded the NUS Alumni Start-up Catalyst Award – with a validation award of S$10,000.

Challo was born out of a trip to the Kumaon region in the Indian Himalayas. Eco-tourism is one of two core industries in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, India. According to 2019 India Ministry of Tourism data, Uttarakhand saw >36mm tourist arrivals in 2018 – of which an implied >15.0mm visited the Kumaon region. However, there is a scarcity of information around activities and services available in the region. Even if there were any, the information would be scattered across multiple sources i.e. there is no one-stop portal for ecotourism. Furthermore, local livelihoods are highly dependent on the flow of tourists into the region. For instance, local NGOs like CEDAR provide training and accreditations of nature trail guides, whose main source of income is derived from paid guides tours to tourists. However, marketing for them is largely conducted through word-of-mouth or personal social media channels like Facebook. As a result, there is a low volume of customers with low marketing spend.

In light of the above, Challo envisions a one stop platform that aggregates all information and amenities in the region to facilitate ecotourism and nurture local livelihoods. As a one stop platform for travel needs in the Indian Himalaya, tourists do not have to struggle, across a vast array of sources and sites, planning for an ecotourism trip to the Himalayas. We bridge this gap by marketing the services of local guides. Coupled with a booking management system and in-app messaging, this allows ease of coordination between tourists and the local service providers.