I grew up in a village on Kanha’s buffer zone, and I’ve watched the relationship between these communities and the forest shift over two decades — from something purely extractive to something closer to a partnership, though there’s still a long way to go.
What the program actually does
A portion of every JungleViibes booking is routed to forest-department-recognised eco-development committees in the villages we work closest with — the same committees responsible for things like school supplies, water infrastructure, and support roles tied to anti-poaching patrols. It’s not a donation into a general fund; it’s tied to specific, visible projects in specific villages, and we can tell you exactly where a given contribution went.
Why this matters for conservation, not just community welfare
Poaching and human-wildlife conflict both drop when local communities have a direct economic stake in the forest staying intact. Guiding jobs, homestay income, and eco-development funding all shift the incentive away from short-term extraction and toward long-term protection. It’s not a abstract theory where I grew up — it’s the reason our village guides tigers instead of avoiding them.
What guests can see directly
Our Eco Tours include a visit to exactly this kind of buffer-zone community, with time spent talking to the people actually running these programs rather than a curated performance of “traditional village life.” It’s the part of the trip that tends to stay with guests longest, often more than the safari itself.