Godrej Sustainability Report

Livelihood generation through rural tourism Each Village supported by G&B’s CSR has its unique story and locational and demographic advantages which are leveraged to create livelihood opportunities for the local community. The village Bazarwadi, near Godrej Shirwal plant had a dual location advantage of presence of a historical fort (Rohida – The fort built by revered Maratha King Chharapati Shivaji Maharaj) as well as scenic mountain valley, thereby creating a unique livelihood opportunity through promotion of tourism. In 2017-18, G&B appointed Grassroutes, an NGO, to undertake the initial development of community-based tourism. Till date, Grassroutes has successfully accomplished the following: • Has trained over 40 households in community-based hospitality services • Developed rural tourism packages for tourists • Undertaken initial market linkage development with travel agents in Pune • Installed 25 benches on fort • Made washrooms and toilet facility for tourists • Provided safe drinking water facility for tourists • Installed street lights for road safety With these interventions local community has seen considerable improvements in earnings from the visiting tourists. Tourist enjoying the bullock cart ride through the village 76