Satkosia Sands Resort and Nature Camp

Description of the CDT initiative:
Badmul, a remote village nestled in Odisha’s famed Satkosia forest reserve, is not well known as a tourist hotspot. However, an eco-tourism project launched there by the state government in 2016 and driven by community participation, has turned the village into the highest revenue grosser when compared to other community-based projects in the country.

Geographic location:
Satkosia South, Badmul, Nayagarh District, Odisha.

What problem they are trying to solve? What have they accomplished?
The nature camp at Badmul is managed by 28 villagers with the project providing sustenance to 5 – 6 villages. Prior to the launch of the project, a majority of the inhabitants used to migrate elsewhere or depend on forest products for livelihoods. Some even fell back on poaching and trading in the meat of wild fauna.
The eco-tourism project has obliterated poaching and ended forest fires, the two most perceptible threats to wildlife habitats. The nature camp runs a programme- ‘Poachers turned Protectors of Satkosia’ where the tourists can meet the former poachers, now rehabilitated by the forest department.
The project comprises nine tents pitched on the Mahanadi river bed and seven cottages on the hill slopes overlooking the Satkosia gorge.

More info: https://www.satkosiasandsresort.com/