In episode 25 of the Impact India podcast, I chat with Kush Sharma of Rural Odyssey. This incredible social enterprise promotes sustainable tourism as an additional livelihood opportunity for rural communities, by building community-owned and community-lead tourism models.

Kush is a naturalist at heart with a passion for promoting and preserving the Indigenous cultures of India using sustainable tourism as his platform. Kush is a firm believer of learning from native wisdom and nature, and works actively with young children as an Outdoor Educator.

Rural Odyssey handpicks culturally rich villages in India and brings the community together to open up their houses for travelers and open a gateway to mutual learning. While travelers get to learn from the native wisdom of various indigenous communities of India, locals get to acquire new skills from the travelers, while generating an additional livelihood for themselves. Aligning his work with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Rural Odyssey is using tourism as a tool to connect the rural and urban economies and help in preserving India's rich culture, craft, and ecology.

“There are two sides to sustainable tourism: business and ethics”

Connecting on our mutual love for experiential education through travel, Kush and I dive into:

• The need for more knowledge exchange between urban and rural communities
• The impacts of “Instagram” travelers on vulnerable destinations
• Why small group travel is best for exploring culturally rich destinations

Plus, learn about Rural Odyssey’s incredible geology and astronomy travel programs for youth in India.

Connect with Kush at ruralodyssey.com and on Instagram and Facebook.

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