A push towards sustainable and responsible living is dawning on our collective consciousness. RARE India is fortunate to be at the forefront with many pioneers each working in their corner of subcontinent - India, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. We were able to bring them together, making it possible for the discerning traveler to join in and become a part of this celebration of India's heritage. Now with this recognition of the first ever PATA Big Difference Tourism Impact Award, we are reinforced to do more. Here is what Shobhana Jain, Head of Sustainability at RARE, has to say about the laurel.
“We thank PATA India for instituting such an award, which is most essential post pandemic when we must change the whole travel narrative and when so many people are working tirelessly to bring about a positive change.
We believe what RARE India has set out to do with the ten RARE Touchstones is critical and perhaps a way out of the destructive impact of mindless and mass tourism. If the Touchstones are implemented and adopted, it can transform travel experiences into authentic and immersive ones with a minimal ecological footprint. Moving ahead, RARE India will continue to nudge the community within and around us to continue to improve the existing responsible tourism practices, learn from each other and create a positive impact".
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RARE touchstones are those attributes that set the RARE community apart to create a bubble of knowledge, ideas, interests and stories. Evolving slowly over the years and mostly set out as a side story, a slow revealing of this idea.
The pinwheel is the innocent, playful and hopeful symbolism of harnessing the energy that earth bestows upon us. A pinwheel wielding child is ecstatic with joy, movement, curiosity and unalloyed wonder.
Is that not why we all travel?
The pinwheel then is the perfect representation of travel that is light and ecstatic guiding us where the wind blows. The blades of the pinwheel that catch the wind are home to the Planet Friendly Touchstones and the folds, important for the integrity of it all, house the People Friendly Touchstones. The pivot is the human touch as a heart of two tiny thumb prints, its definition vastly expanded to be omnipotent and inclusive.
As we expand our horizons, we realise that energy though indestructible is limited only by the laws of nature. We recognize it as the canvas on which all existence plays out, ever changing in time, with time. It binds together all our ethos in a complicated tapestry understood only by those intensely aware or supremely spiritual. Preservation of heritage, building a community or conservation of wildlife, energy conservation and efficiency drive all sustainable endeavours.
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Our view that the land and resources first and foremost belong to the community and every hospitality project has to plan around this principle urges that a hotel, from its location to design is cognizant of the impact it can create.
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Sensitive destination discovery nudges your curiosity, builds trust, creates lasting memories while ensuring travelers participate in creating value for the community as well as the destination. The reason tourism should be propagated in the first place, despite its obvious carbon footprint.
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Being located in ecologically sensitive areas, most of the RARE Partners are aware of their role in preserving the indigenous flora and fauna of the destination. To this end a number of activities and programs are undertaken for wildlife conservation, aligning with other organizations.
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'Water footprint' is one of the most important environmental indicators. Our ‘Save Water’ touch stone is one of those areas which is consciously evolving, with the community often debating on the best practices and also sharing solutions. Some of the ideas are inspiring and are natural solutions easily replicated in our homes and in our urban lives.
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Community engagement is incomplete without being backed by fair wages and supporting the team with retirement benefits, short term loans, education of the children, medical facilities, among others. In a well-run enterprise that recognizes the role communities can play in establishing the character of the hotel, the owner-hosts and their families play the role no less than a benevolent corporate institution.
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As we expand our horizons, we realise that energy though indestructible is limited only by the laws of nature. We recognize it as the canvas on which all existence plays out, ever changing in time, with time. It binds together all our ethos in a complicated tapestry understood only by those intensely aware or supremely spiritual.
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As a traveler and promoter, you are integral to the conservation success of the heritage property and with it you also help sustain several tangible and intangible elements of life and living around as mud plastering, floor art, age old skills in architecture, building among others.
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The idea of Human Touch as an important attribute for responsible travel has been inspired by the Abhaya Hrudaya Mudra as enunciated in Yoga, the Human Touch. A unique principal among the RARE touchstones - “Human Touch," denotes purpose and indeed the premise of life in its ability to touch those around us and be touched, both physically and metaphorically.
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At RARE, when we moved to actively promoting Conscious Luxury Travel, eliminating and reducing single use plastic was the first RARE Touchstone to be thought of. Few single use items namely straws, bottled water, little bottles of bathroom amenities, tea, coffee and sugar sachets, shower caps and cling film were identified as simple items to be done away with or replaced with an earth friendly option.
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The RARE Community are a set of hotels in not well trodden paths. Many are set in pristine and sensitive areas – some with access to water bodies, where there is immense biodiversity. They have taken it upon themselves to be custodians of the land and community around them to ensure that waste does not end up causing damage nor is it an eye sore. Many offer the farm to table experience where organic produce is a way of life. Thus reducing waste and segregation is a high priority.
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