Travelling safety is the primary concern of anyone wanting to travel anywhere these days. Especially when visiting rural communities and staying anywhere as a homestay guest, it is understandable that there will be additional concerns over health and safety. Family hosts may not fully understand health and safety precautions, unlike in hotels or resorts, raising doubts.
CHN’s Rigorous Safety Guidelines and Training Programs
With this in mind, Community Homestay Network (CHN) has formulated, with its partners, rigorous safety guidelines and training programs to educate the communities in our network about COVID-19 and what precautions are needed to minimize the risks of spreading the virus, thus keeping guests and themselves safe.
The training covers a general understanding of the COVID-19 virus, how it is transmitted and controlled, and the precautions that need to be followed. It provides guidance that ensures the safety of both guests and host families.
Host at Bararuli Community Homestay is shown how to disinfect rooms with proper disinfectants and equipment.
Sanitization Protocols: Keeping Guests and Host Families Safe
The training covers properly sanitising the rooms, dining, and common areas to ensure the homes are clean and infection-free. CHN also advises families on arranging their accommodation and keeping rooms separate from the main household for their guests.
As there are several community homestays close to the major cities in Nepal, they are easily accessible for weekend breaks and even day trips, with increasing numbers of local tourists interested in visiting. The health and safety guidelines, procedures and a checklist helps the hosts ensure that they have considered everything, ensuring that travelers can experience Nepal with local communities safely. We developed these guidelines regarding the guidance from the WHO and the Nepal Tourism Board and shared them with homestays in the Community Homestay Network. View our health and safety guidelines here.
Collaboration with Royal Mountain Travel and Traditional Comfort
Royal Mountain Travel has assisted with providing the logistics needed to train the communities and providing staff to give training. Traditional Comfort Hotel in Kathmandu has been used as a training venue for the trainers. Here, they have practised cleaning and sanitizing rooms and received training on using a cleaning and sanitation checklist.
Dr Shovita Shrestha Dhakal, PhD(Microbiology) Microbiologist TU Teaching Hospital, Presenting health and safety guidelines to the trainers
Mentoring and Support from Microbiologist Dr Shovita Shrestha Dhakal
Dr. Shovita Shrestha Dhakal, PhD(Microbiology) Microbiologist at TU Teaching Hospital, provides advice and support as a mentor on the health and safety guidelines and has trained the trainers. Planeterra has generously provided funding for sanitation equipment for the homestays in Panauti and Barauli. We provided items such as stands for hand sanitisers, disinfectant guns, glycerin, HM15, thermal guns, and sanitiser supplies. Additionally, we supplied posters with guidelines to be displayed in homes and community halls.
Sanitary equipment provided by Planetera is being handed to the Community
Upcoming Training Plans for Communities
Following the training of trainers at the beginning of January 2021, training was carried out in Barauli and Panauti, with all the necessary equipment provided to ensure clean and safe accommodation. Further, training is planned for the Nagarkot, Patlekhet, Illam, and Bardia communities soon.
By ensuring that community hosts and guides are aware of everything they need to do to try to keep their accommodation clean and safe, it is hoped that guests will feel assured that every precaution is being taken to keep them safe.
