Rajkali Rawat of ward 7 of Patarasi Rural Municipality in Jumla, in mid-western Nepal, had not heard about homestays until a few years ago.

Now, along with five other women, she runs a thriving community homestay.

She is busy nowadays offering hospitality to her guests. Her homestay offers food made from traditional cereals like buckwheat, millet, foxtail millet, marsi rice, and beans, among other crops. Tourists are attracted to the organic dishes and traditional culture offered in homestays.

“I used to think operating a homestay would be a lot of hassle. But I was wrong,” said Rawat. “It has become a good source of income.”

In a homestay, tourists live in people's homes, share meals, and experience local life and culture. Living in a Nepali village as a homestay guest is perhaps one of the fastest and best ways to get to know the real Nepal. Daily cultural activities are a major attraction of the homestay scheme.

The women of Patmara opened their community homestay four years ago, and since then the model has spread to other areas.

Locals said the homestay greatly promotes traditional dishes, preserves local culture, and observes natural beauty.

Patmara village is a gateway to the popular Rara Lake. Trekkers visiting Rara Lake often go to Patmara.

After opening the community homestay, the model has also been replicated in other areas.

According to operators, a homestay normally earns Rs300,000 to Rs400,000 a year.

Rawat said that since homestays are new to Jumla, they usually hold monthly meetings to discuss improvements in hospitality. Facilities and services are reviewed, and they address complaints made by tourists to improve the experience.

The community homestay in Patmara started four years ago, and the community has held more than 100 meetings. Before operating the homestay, the women visited Pokhara and Ghale Gaun, a popular scenic tourist destination in Lamjung, where homestays are popular.

Kalashi Budha, secretary of the community homestay, said many homestays focus on decoration. “But here, natural beauty is enough to attract tourists.”

During the monsoon, tourists can enjoy the green highland pastures. In winter, they are mesmerised when they see the pasture covered in snow.

“The view and traditional food make tourists happy,” said Budha.

Initially, the women took out loans of Rs 100,000 to start the homestay, and now they invest from their earnings. Women are also financially independent and support others by providing loans at low interest rates.

Rawat said women used to ask for money in their homes to run the family, but now they take care of their children's and husbands' expenses.

Rawat's husband, Nara Bahadur, has been in Saudi Arabia for the last two years. Before that he worked for five years in Malaysia. His income has also been invested in homestay.

Alcohol is prohibited in the homestay.

The homestay offers buckwheat, wheat, and barley dishes, including bread, cake, lentils, beans, and marsi rice. Tourist favourites are chicken, marsi rice, and potato dishes.

Food is prepared according to the tourists' preferences. Tourists also admire boiled local potatoes and local potato chips.

Other villages have also started operating homestays and welcoming guests.

According to Budha, more than 1,000 tourists from Australia, the US, France, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan have stayed in the Patmara homestay.

Women have kept a list of tourists.

“With the arrival of tourists after homestays were opened, sanitation in the villages has improved,” said Budha.

“Most of the tourists arrive by making phone contact, while some arrive after visiting Rara Lake,” said Budha.

Women operating homestays also have other roles. Once a month, they monitor the community forest to control illegal wildlife and herb trade.

They are particularly concerned about the conservation of red pandas as most tourists come to see these shy animals.

Conservation efforts are underway to save red pandas, and Maharudra Community Forest has been designated as a pocket area for their protection.

The Red Panda Network, Kathmandu, and Hatemalo Nepal have been helping to manage and operate homestays.

Hoarding boards have been placed in community homestays to promote the red panda.

Patmara is located just beyond Urthuchautara, on the way from Khalanga. Tourists use the shortest route to reach Rara Lake, so 10-25 vehicles arrive daily.

In 2011, the government announced the Nepal Tourism Year, which set off the homestay trend in the country in anticipation of a surge in tourist arrivals.

Homestay was conceived as an alternative arrangement for an expected hotel room shortage during the tourism campaign, which aimed to attract one million tourists.

Homestays then became a permanent feature of Nepali tourism. Hundreds of homestays started to pop up across the country. The government gave homestays legal status by drafting a regulation. Homestays became a success.

However, many individuals and community homestays folded due to the Covid pandemic.

The history of homestays in Nepal dates back to 1980, when the late Captain Rudra Man Gurung opened the first homestay in Nepal, Sirubari Homestay Retreat, which was a new kind of hospitality service in the country.

Located in a hill village in Syangja southwest of Pokhara, the homestay started by the former Indian Army officer put Sirubari on Nepal's tourism map, and it became a popular village tourism destination.