The Work From Mountains Team & Motivation

Work From Mountains is an initiative between Sunshine Adventures and Travel The Himalayas and its led by Panki Sood and Prashant Mathawan (Kiki). The principal founder of Sunshine Himalayan Adventures, Ankit Sood holds a Masters of Philosophy in Ecotourism and has served as a lecturer of tourism at Kullu College (Himachal Pradesh, India) for a period of twelve years. He has worked on various Government led Sustainable, Community led Eco Tourism initiatives in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. And he is one of the guiding lights in the background.

Panki and Prashant were born and brought up in the Himalayas in Kulu Valley and Kashmir respectively. Both are well versed with the Mountains and lead businesses which take people into the Mountains. Besides that both are associated with Farmstays / Homestays located in Himachal Pradesh. The point being this initiative is lead by people from the Mountains and might I add for the Mountains. Panki has been involved with sustainable Development and Eco Tourism and is a TedX Speaker. Sunshine Adventures has won many Awards and Accolades in the Sustainable Tourism sphere. Prashant writes on the History, Culture and Geography of the Himalayas and his articles have featured in the prestigious Himalayan Journal, Scroll and Live History India.

One of the main objectives of this initiative is to get Tourism industry in the Mountains which is one major generator of Employment and Revenue in the Mountains, off to a cautious start following all the Guidelines as issued by the Central Government, the State Governments, the District Administration, the Local Panchayats and the Property Owners respective Associations. We are following in the footsteps of all of these and in addition to these we have formulated our Guidelines for the people coming to the Mountains as a part of the initiative.

It needs to be understood just like everywhere else in the World many people have taken Loans for Building & Refurbishing their Homestays/ Setting Up Hotels and Restaurants / Buying Taxis / Buying Adventure Sports Equipment etc and these Loans have to be serviced. There has been absolutely Zero Tourism since March and the Peak season is gone. We are trying to set up atleast some amount of Revenue for generation for them so at least some of the financial obligations can be met. Many other people are dependent on these facilities for getting permanent and temporary Employment. In the absence of these the people have no option but to move down to the Cities but if some limited Tourism starts in the Mountains at least some of them can garner some Employment at Home or close to Home. Banks have already started pressing for their EMIs and they dont really care if you are in the Mountains or on the Plains. They want their Installment. Period.

We are also starting an initiative to hold Workshops for locals involved in Tourism headed by Doctors who will educate the People on Covid and the precautions that need to be exercised in its wake. Paranoia will not keep Covid away but proper Covid Hygiene practices like Wearing a Mask, Washing Your Hands and generally keeping a distance from other people will go a long way in keeping a person safe from Covid. Just like with all such Pandemic situations Education is the key.

We are also moving into the Sphere of fulfilling our Social responsibilities by making people who come to Work From Mountains contribute to the Mountain Communities.

As for the Guests who will be coming to for this initiative there are certain Protocols that we have set. First and foremost they have to strictly follow the Guidelines issued by the Nodal Central and State Authorities with respect to Covid. These include but not limited to the following :

Wearing a Mask and Mantaining Social Distancing

Frequent Hand Washing with Soap and Sanitization using Hand Sanitizers.
Aarogya Setu App is mandatory