Being an organic farming village, here you can not only enjoy trying out a wide range of home-grown organic fruit, vegetables and local dishes, but you can see how the villagers are going about their day to day farming activities.

On a clear day, you have breathtaking mountain views of Mt. Jugal, Mt. Ganesh and other mountains from the village.  You are invited to share in the diverse forms of organic agriculture, from seeing (or even helping) with milking the cows, taking the milk for collection, visiting the beekeepers, and seeing the wide range of exotic fruit grown here.

IMPACT

Set up in 2011, the Patlekhet Community Homestay grown out to a sustainable community. As in other parts of Nepal, the role of women is too often relegated to that of just a housewife, with little other opportunities. To challenge this, the women opened their houses to travellers from all around the world with the help of Royal Mountain Travel & us. By interacting with guests, they improved their English and found a way to make a sustainable income through tourism.

During the earthquake in 2015, Patlekhet Community Homestay was badly damaged. With help from the United Stated Agency for International Development and Royal Mountain Travels the villagers have rebuilt their houses to meet earthquake-proof standards.

ABOUT THE HOMESTAY

Patlekhet Community Homestay has 16 homes where guests are provided with comfortable accommodation. The village motto “Far from your home, but close to your heart” could not be better expressed in the welcome you receive from your hosts at this community homestay. You are fed with locally grown organic food, and you are welcome to participate in the cooking with your host family. You are welcome to try your hand at milking one of the cows that all the families keep and join them in their day to day work planting or collecting the fruits and vegetables depending on the season.

HIGHLIGHTS

Milk a cow

You may not want to try milking a cow, but the process of getting milk and taking it for collection to the main dairy in Kathmandu is well worth a look. Milk is taken to the collection points along the road in the morning where it is tested for cream content before being loaded onto trucks that will take it to Kathmandu. Nearly all families have at least two or three cows (there are a few farmers with small herds).

See how honey is made

Part of an initiate to help recover after the earthquake, several families have beehives and are making delicious honey. You can visit one of the beekeepers to see how honey is made.

Explore the village

With members of your host family, visit the neighbors and discover the village. There is a very active community centre where you might see women being trained in skills like tailoring; or have a look at the wide range of exotic fruit and vegetables that the villagers grow. You will undoubtedly be invited in for tea along the way.

Hike to the organic nursery

It is a short hike up the hill on the other side of the village to the fascinating nursery run by an American where she is growing a wide variety of fruit trees and plants, and where she teaches about how to farm organically.

Cultural show

The villagers will share with you their folk songs, cultural dances and many other traditional activities. 'Panche Baja', a set of traditional music instruments that is rarely seen much these days forms a highlight of their culture show.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Patlekhet Community Homestay: Village of milk and honey by Marianne Heredge

Meet the true colors of Life at Patlekhet Community Homestay

A Homestay in Nepal Changed My Life by Michelle Welsh