TYPE
DURATION
3 nights 4 days
PRICE
150 EUR
Stay with a local family in the village of Neluwa in Sri Lanka, and learn about the rural local lifestyle. During your stay you’ll get to do activities, such as: -Cooking together with your host family (in Sri Lankan culture hosts do not eat usually with their guests) -Practicing the livelihood of the family (pick and prepare the high quality tea the country is known for) -Taking a bath outdoors in a stream -Visiting waterfalls in rainforest (park fee of 4 euros to be paid separately) -Meeting the savings group You can choose your arrival time to the village but it’s advised to arrive in the afternoon, before dinner time. The local contact person of the village will give you instructions of how to get there.
Sustainability
The village experience is especially socially sustainable because the locals benefit directly from the travellers’s stays. The locals are also free to choose themselves what part of their culture they show to the travellers, instead of having a readymade touristic program to follow. Finally, no special tourism infrastructure is built in the village and the food and water consumption is only according to the locals’ needs. To maintain the carrying capacity of the village, only individual travellers can visit the area at once and no groups are accepted.
What’s Included
-Private room in a local home, mosquito nets and bed sheets included
-Home made breakfast, lunch and dinner daily
-Shared toilet and washing facilities
-Activities mentioned above
What’s Not Included
– Transportation for arriving to the village
– Entrance fee for visitng the Waterfalls
Trip Itinerary
1st day: Arrival to the village in the afternoon, meeting the english speaking local contact person who introduces you to the host family. Getting familiar with the house and the hosts. Cooking and eating dinner together with the hosts. Depending on the time of arrival, small activites in the village can happen.
2nd day: Breakfast with the host-family, getting familiar with the livelihood of the hosts, for ex. picking up tea, having a walk in the fields and the gardens and getting familiar with the different fruits and vegetables the hosts are gardening. Lunch with the hosts. Afternoon freetime for walking around the village, talking with the hosts and the neigbors, and playing games with the locals. Helping to cook the dinner with the hosts.
3rd day: Breakfast with the hosts, continuing daily farm works and cooking with the hosts. Visiting the local market or going to swim in the stream of the village. Dinner.
4th day: Breakfast with the hosts, last activities, such as visitng the nearby waterfalls for extra cost, and maybe meeting the savings group of the village. Leaving from the village before lunch time.
Please note that the activities mentioned are not final, and are suspected to change according to the season or the weather.
Program And Price
150 eur / adult. Children between 5-15 years old – 50 %, children between 0-4 years old Free.
Awards/Testimonials
January 2018, 2 girls from Denmark: “We had an amazing experience with the homestay! We were welcomed in Neluwa by the coordinator Anil, who is really nice and friendly. He also took us to see a waterfall and join his English classes which both were really cool experiences. Our host family was so nice, friendly and welcoming. We had amazing food and also went to see a temple and visit the family’s neighboring friends. We learned a lot about life in a tea plantation, and also had a fun time!”
