THE RURAL TOURISM SOCIETY OF INDIA
@
6/30 B, Agraharam, Thimmakudy Village,
Baburajapuram Post,
Kumbakonam - 612 302 Tanjore District, Tamilnadu INDIA.
Fax: +91 0435 2481705 Mob: +91 94444 10389
www.indecohotels.com
RTS WAS ESTABLISHED WAY BACK IN 1990 TO INTRODUCE RURAL CENTRIC SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUSTAINABLE BUSINESSES IN INDIA WHICH WOULD DIRECTLY HELP IMPROVE THE PER CAPITA INCOME IN RURAL INDIA AND OFFER EQUAL SURVIVAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PEOPLE.
TRUSTEES
STEVE BORGIA- CHAIRMAN
ARUN BUDHIRAJA
MARIAPPAN
NITHYA RAJENDRAN
THIRUGNANAM
BVS MANI
CHANDINI
DEEPTHA JAYAKAR
SINDHU JAIKUMAR
The MISSION...
The Practice of Low Impact, Educational, Ecological and Culturally Sensitive Travel That not only Benefits Local Communities and Host Countries but also protects, conserves, preserves and propogates their nature, heritage, art, culture, belief, lifestyle and practices. ALL WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF
WHAT THE VILLAGES AROUND
KNOW, HAVE & DO
FOR ECONOMICAL & SOCIAL BENEFIT.
IN 1996 A PILOT PROJECT WAS ESTABLISED TO REALISE THE MISSION AND DEVELOP A PROTOTYPE.INDECO LEISURE HOTELS WAS BORN.
"MUCH MORE THAN ENVISAGED THIS HOTEL NOT ONLY INCREASED THE PERCAPITA INCOME OF THE 18 VILLAGES AROUND BUT TOPPED THE DISTRICT."
MENTORING
OVERSEAS
STUDENTS
DELIVERING
DREAMS
INDeco
is institutionalising its mission on sustainability and is now in a position to
offer short term experiential programmes to professionals,communities and
international university teachers and students in select disciplines within its
mission, under the mentorship of STEVE BORGIA, a passionate Indologist. (www.steveborgia.blogspot.com)
There
is something about India that seems irrestible. Starting from Alexander to the
French,dutch and the English….Everyone came in for some reason.Everyone came in
for different reasons.What ever the reason..India never failed to enthral the
visitor.And centuries later nothing hs chsnged .The rubric form of INDIA ever
entrals .Inspires aswell. This ancient civilisation contains somuch and
has so much to give the modern man,
There
is something called DIVINE INTELLIGENCE and that is not CLASSIFIED or
TERRITORIAL. It is UNIVERSAL and does not offer DEGREES. I believe this ever
present ENERGY is GRACE and is available to all. YOU and ME.
Imagine
an university that’s over 2000 years old.Speaks about 2000 languages.Writes in
about 50.Contains cities that are older than history,15000 publishing houses
publishing about 70000 new tittles every year.Where you can design your own
syllabi with over a million subjects and about 2000 languages to chose
from and find over 100000000 00000 ways to earn those extra credits.
HERE IS
AN INVITATION
TO BE A
STUDENT IN THIS UNIVERSITY
THAT
STRETCHES ACROSS 10000000 SQ.KILOMETERS..
ON A
PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIP.
Well
that’s what INDeco has to offer.INDIA ,a magical experience where you will set
your mind free and soar into heights beyond your imagination,where you will
watch your soul expand as you absorb every glorious nuance of the worlds
oldest,greatest,classical civilisation.YAY..What if all this comes with a
holiday where you will learn to love this country as much as we do.
INDeco
is INDIA ECOLOGY … not meaning just environment, but in a broader sense meaning
co-existence, harmony, equal opportunities, preservation etc. Desirably, INDeco
chose the business route than an NGO or a mere educational one. The tourism
business seemed supportive. Most countries have
realized the economic liberation that THE
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY can provide to
the economy & HOSPITALITY is most suited for Rural DEVELOPMENT & Equal
OPPORTUNITIES. Established in 1996 in southern India, the mission
flourishes.
INDeco
Hotels was born to support this mission. They co-exist with the neighbourhood -
sell what they have and do what they know. In the process they preserve and
propagate local culture, heritage and lifestyle and livelihood . And build a
SOCIETY that PROTECTS, CARES, CONSERVES and APPRECIATES and lives in peace and
happiness.
Today
INDeco Hotels are not only India’s model for sustainable and responsible
International luxury boutique hotels but also emerging as a very successful
model to support rural development across the country.
WHAT
DOES INDeco DO TODAY
-
Creates & operates unique, luxury boutique hotels of international
standards to offer authentic experience in underdeveloped rural pockets of
Tamilnadu in the brand name of INDeco Leisure Hotels. (www.indecohotels.com )
-Propagates
and showcases Sustainable, Responsible and Eco-centric Tourism practices to the
world
-Continously
alligns the business not only to meet the needs of a tourist but also to
to support the villages and their communities through neighbourhood friendly
initiatives
-Preserves,
conserves, documents, propagate all heritage, art, culture, lifestyle practices
in the region.
-Continuously
identifies, acquires, curates, researches, documents, preserves and presents
museum objects of the region and establishes local museums.
-Uncompromisingly
strengthens and aligns the hotel operations within the framework of what the
village people know, do and have so as to bring about an economic liberation
through a continuously rising per capita income
-Accommodates
young and desirous interns from various walks of life that aim at creating
prodigies capable of manifesting desires through divine intelligence
-Propagates
the concept through workshops, lectures and shows across the country to connect
with the youth of the country, beneficiaries, service providers, government
officials, policy makers and the stakeholders at large
-Works
closely with the Government of India at the policy making and monitoring level
by accepting positions in the respective ministries, boards, specialised
committees etc.(PRESIDENTSHIP OF THE ECOTOURISM SOCIETY, ADVISOR – WORLD
HERITAGE MATTERS, MINISTRY OF CULTURE, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, EXECUTIVE MEMBER–INDIAN HERITAGE HOTELS ASSOCIATION)
-Publishes
and Documents on subjects related to its mission statement.
-Develops
Pridigies.
WHAT
HAS INDeco ACHIEVED TODAY:
• Has tripled the regional per capita income as compared to the district
• 79% of our employees are from neighbourhood villages
• 67% of our operational purchases are
brought from around 10 km radius
• Our building projects spends 60% - 70% on labour
• 70% of our project purchases are from local market
• CO-EXISTENCE
with the neighbourhood, flora and fauna
• Continuous
growth of BUSINESS
• Enriching PER CAPITA INCOME in the region
• Growth
of tourism & happiness to all who connect INDeco has established several museums -the steve
borgia’s indian heritage museum is accredited by the american association of museums.
• Planted several thousands of fruit bearing trees in the neighbourhood
• Assisted building primary schools and geriatric homes in the neighbourhood
• Undertakes several
temple documentation and renovation programmes
• Publishes
several books on the mission.
• INDeco’s
prodigy development programme has created several …nithya,sruthi
Practice, propogate and ideate low impact, educational,
ecological and culturally sensitive hospitality business that benefits local communities, the traveller and host
countries. Offer economical and social benefit, equal opportunities to the
rural as the urban people directly or through government. Protect nature,
heritage, art, culture, beliefs lifestyle and practices… all within the frame
work of what the local communities know, have and do.
“While
restoring heritage, INDeco transforms hospitality from mere shelter to unique
experiences. INDeco’s businesses are not only creative, but also innovative and
very importantly rural centric and contain the zeal to showcase authentic
India. INDeco Hotels more than just accommodate. In fact they inspire.
Wherever the location, INDeco hotels are unique like its mission and house a
museum ‘The Steve Borgia s Indian Heritage Museum’. INDeco continues to create
new concepts in tourism and successfully market them just to help the modern
traveller see India with new eyes and to offer economic liberation to the local
communities”. JUSTICE S.NATRAJAN, SUPREME COURT OF INDIA.
THE
PROPOSAL:
In
order to benefit international communities and students who are desirous of
learning/experiencing/ strengthening the rich Indian rural culture, heritage,
lifestyle, etc.. or those who are sympathetic towards the concerns of rural
India and its people, INDeco offers mission specific short
term but extremely beneficial and focussed mentoring programmes. All these courses are aimed at changing the way of
thinking rather than the knowledge itself….pedagogy being significantly
experiential.These programmes aim at
offering first hand field experiences that will be a silver lining to the
certification of their own universities or organisations:
1.Understanding South Indian
temple architecture and its social significance through temple restoration
programmes: (SITA )
The TANJORE DISTRICT region,
more significantly the KUMBAKONNAM TOWN boasts of thousands of significant
and unique temples built in Dravidian architectural styles. The programme
includes various field trips to the famous Navagraha temples dedicated to
celestial bodies, the GREAT CHOLA HERITAGE, UNESCO World heritage sites
and also to the lesser known architectural marvels in and around the place.
This will provide the participants an opportunity to understand and document
the history and significance of South Indian temple architecture. The
participants will go through a one-of-a-kind, hands on experience with the
restoration of select temples, under the mentorship of very passionate
professionals.
2. A short term programme on
MUSEOLOGY. (MUSEO)
The programme aims at
introducing, inducting and developing a sense of passion to museology.
Typically the programme will entail sourcing and identifying museum objects,
followed by negotiation and acquisition. The participants will carry out
extensive research, curation, preservation, conservation and documentation of
the objects. This will involve the participants working in close ties
with the local people, which will help them understand and document the
history, art, behaviour, culture and lifestyle of the region. This will act as
a great platform for intercultural studies and visit to a variety of museums in
the region.
Steve Borgia’s Indian Heritage
Museums contain wide varieties of objects and information. The museum in
Swamimalai has the single largest collection of a wide variety of contemporary
museum objects by any single Indian. INDeco is the 2008-2010 winners of Embassy
Nominations for American Museum Partnership. The organization hosted ‘The
British Left-Behind’ museum show in 2009. The show was the largest collection
of the British colonial legacy.
3. Re-engineering
Engineering : (REE)
This programme inducts the
student into innovative engineering practices and design innovations for
hospitality. It not only deals with marrying the creation with neighbourhood
development but also focuses on the development of rural entrepreneurship. The
programme revolves around the Manifestation
and Divine intelligence theories. This
involves understanding concepts like energy, grace etc.
4. Village Community Care
Programmes: (VICC)
The
participants of the programme will spearhead relevant social development
programmes in the nearby villages. They will be responsible for
facilitating health-care centres, schools, sanitation services, geriatric care
and vocational services. They will also be responsible for conducting
several awareness and social welfare workshops for women and the girl children.
5. Hotel Operations &
Creative management programme: (HOCM)
The participants will be
actively involved in the administration and management of INDeco Hotels,
Swamimalai. They will participate in the day-to-day functioning of the hotel
and they will be exposed to creative ideation techniques and concepts like
ecologically co-existence, self-sustenance, etc…
6. Managing People and group
dynamics for businesses: (MAPGD)
Businesses are people centric,
especially when it concerns development or hospitality. This programme in a
structured manner aims at people development through practical experience,field visits, lectures and initiations through management tools like photolanguage,
etc…This will help the participants build creative insight, knowledge-sharing,
effective problem solving and mutual respect & understanding.
7. Innovative writing and
publishing: (IWP)
Media plays a major role in
development. INDeco
has authored several books and it has nurtured various young talents through
stages of research, design, content, and publishing of these books. ‘The Hare & the Tortoise’ a
book for young managers made its mark. It was forwarded by none less than Deepak
Chopra, the International management Guru. “PIGEONS TO POST”, a COFFEE TABLE
book recording the evolution of Indian Postal History won accolades across the
globe. This coffee-table book was launched at INDIPEX 2011, a global meet
of postal institutions in New Delhi, inaugurated by the President of India. The participants of this
programme will get a practical experience of co-authoring a book under the
tutelage of Indologist & author, Steve Borgia.
MAIL: steve@indecohotels.com
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