In December 2008, when Ishita Khanna, 29, co-founder of Ecos-phere, won the Pepsi MTV Youth Icon of the Year award in the entrepreneur category, her peers were not surprised. Armed with a Masters in social work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (nss), Khanna has been quietly creating waves with her social activism in trying to preserve the culture and environment of Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh Striving to improve the life of the villagers by building a green economy through responsible tourism, Khanna says, "Ecosphere is a social enterprise. Revenues generated through tourism are ploughed back into the villages for development and conservation activities, enhancing the training of local communities to take on tourism-related activities in the region." But India's tourism industry is watching with avid interest as her social activism has initiated a new niche brand of tourism - responsible tourism. Spiti Valley comprises 40 villages, primarily an agro-pastoralist community. With just one crop a year and lack of government subsidies, there was no long-term sustainable means of livelihood. Tourism was growing in the region and fears of negative impact were increasing. This is where Khanna and Ecosphere stepped in by providing end-to-end tailor-made responsible travel solutions for tourists. Focussing on* environment conversation, women's empowerment, natural resource management and policy advocacy, Ecosphere's purpose is to ensure that the Valley benefits from tourism activities such as yak safaris, naturalist guides, camping, trekking, cultural troupes, etc. Through these activities, over Rsl5 lakh has been ploughed back into six villages from 600 tourists visiting annually. The purpose is dual. Firstly, full-time employment to seven locals, part-time employment to over 15 persons who are guides, cooks or porters, and 25 families running home-stays in six villages has been generated. Secondly, empowerment has come to women and cultural troupes in two villages, monasteries and other artists such as Bhuchens, which are all direct beneficiaries of the tourism activities of Ecosphere. The revenue generated helps fund initiatives from passive solar houses, greenhouses, solar water heating systems, cookers, lamps and lights to environment conservation projects and heritage conservation projects. Development of products from Seabuckthorn (a medicinal fruit), organic agriculture and herbs, promotion of local handicrafts and art forms saw women from 30 villages earn a monthly income, including Rs800 a day for two weeks for plucking Seabuckthorn berries. And it is Khanna's work, by using tourists, to develop the region rather than destroy it, that is winning her accolades. Khanna is not the only one. Throughout India, scores of young people are setting up organisations that encourage tourists to visit rural India with organised tours. The message - be responsible, care for the environment and indirectly help develop the local village economy. Responsible tourism also helps restrict migration by increasing employment locally, but more importantly, revives the pride of villagers in their lifestyle. Tourists assist villagers in building school houses, work alongside the local people in dairies or fields, restore a natural habitat, or even help clean up a historic site. A niche industry in India, responsible tourism is not the standard tourism of beach visits, tours of castles and rambles through museums. Instead, tourists help till a field, take classes in local art and culture, learn to cook local cuisine and live the life of an ordinary villager; there are no entertainment facilities like cable or multiplexes, just perhaps the local gramsabha meeting. According to the Pacific Asia Association, 55 lakh overseas tourists will visit India in 2009. This number will rise to 59 lakh in 2010 and 63 lakh in 2011. And the anticipated growth will create 30.5 million jobs in 2010, rising to 40 million jobs by 2018. Not surprisingly, the ministry of tourism is pushing responsible tourism to the maximum, sanctioning Rsl2 crore for entrepreneurs who are willing to go to the villages. It has identified 125 additional sites across India, ranging from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Rajasthan, where it will partner with NGOS, local communities and artisans. "This is the real India, experiencing the villages; and people want to go back to the villages to find their roots," says Kam-lesh Patel, chairman, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited. For instance, the restoration of Kerala's Bharatapuzha (River Nila) has seen tourists flocking to enrol in The Blue Yonder holidays, founded by Gopinath Parayil, 35, a former software marketing executive and degree-holder in crisis management from Cranfield University, UK. Parayil was appalled when he saw the gradual death of Kerala's historic river due to greedy human interventions like illegal sand mining, deforestation and illegal construction, which were killing the local culture that thrived along the river. "Our responsibility was towards a gift that we might lose forever. A unique way of creating wealth would be to sensitise travellers. Global attention would automatically come and the holidays created wealth paying anything for the local people," he says. This attempt to save a river has over 650 travellers annually visiting the river, many from the UK, US, France, Germany and Austria, contributing Rs20 lakh in revenue. The cultural and heritage tours organised along River Nila directly benefit more than 70 individuals, including 18 women. "India's art and culture varies from district to district. This makes memorable holidays for tourists if they can contribute in preserving this art, culture and environment," says Benjamin Braganza, managing director, Goa Tourism Development Corporation. But it is the varied arts, crafts and culture in India's villages which are the main attraction for domestic and foreign tourists, who are not averse to households in Purushwadi have paying anything ranging from Rs800 to Rs3,000 to stay in village dwellings. Shirin Mehta, 28, an engineer from Mumbai, gave Switzerland a miss and travelled 230 km from Mumbai to Kohane and Purushwadi villages in Ahmednagar (Maharashtra). She spent four days on a responsible holiday organised by Grassroutes, helping till the field, spread grain for crops and assisting locals in their daily tasks. "The holiday in the village gave me a different perspective on other people's lives and their hardships, which was thought-provoking," she says. Grass-routes, started by Inir Pinherio, 28, an MBA in rural management, provides sustainable livelihood opportunities to over six villages. With 3-4 lakh tourists visiting the village, 50 of the 109 household in purushwadi have benefited with a 20-30 per cent increase in annual household income. With an average annual household income of Rsl2,000-16,000, Grass-routes programmes have seen the annual income of the 50 households increase by Rs4,000-5,000. From protecting the Sunderbans and its heritage sites, to helping women workers in the spice farms of Kerala, and even renovating a building for Mother Teresa's orphanage in Goa, responsible tourism has caught the fancy of one and all. Project Awake and Shine aims to help the local youth earn within a rural society, as they could not get gainful employment due to their lack of English communication skills. The Rsl5 lakh gained from tourism has helped build six home-stay cottages, each earning Rs30,000 per season, and a pre-school which caters to 50 children. In addition, seed capital of Rs25,000 provides employment to 10 women and a carpentry workshop with two carpenters, earning Rs3,000-4,000 per month. "This was 10 times the income from dry land agriculture on the same plot of land currently being used for a building," says Catherine Lobo, manager, Project Awake and Shine. India, with it numerous villages and diverse culture, is just waiting for its many young entrepreneurs to add their sophisticated touch. Once everyone has a hands-on approach, responsible tourism will be all set to boom.