ECOCLUB Blogs™

PAKISTAN: Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CAMAT) organized a 6-day cooking training for selected guesthouse owners from Broghil—the beautiful plateau in the extreme northern of district Chitral—in a local hotel of  Chitral where 8 selected youths participated.   The training was arranged through the financial support of Aga Khan Rural Support Program’s Market Development (MD) section under its Employability and Leadership for Youths (EELY) project with CAMAT as implementing partner.   The purpose of the training was to develop cooking skills of the selected trainees largely focusing on better hospitality management and food services with improved hygiene quality in their indigenous guesthouses. This will ultimately lead to creating self-employment opportunities for youths in the said destination.   The training focused on cleanliness, better hospitality management and high service quality. The expert chef in Pakistan Tourism Corporation (PTDC) Chitral transferred his cooking skills through ‘learning by doing’ or ‘learning by cooking’.   At the end, the trainees expressed their gratitude for organizing the much-needed training for them and hoped that with this they would show marked improvement in service delivery, better taste and hygiene quality of their food, which will ultimately be instrumental in ensuring their share in tourism market.  ...

The Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CAMAT) is a non-profit tourism association whose aim is to preserve the natural and cultural heritage of the Chitral district in Northern Pakistan and to support sustainable ecotourism activities in the region. It has developed a one-year project that focuses on tourism educational programs. The objectives of the project are: Protect and promote indigenous culture of the communities in the Hindu Kush region.Incorporate tourism into the education system of the region to impact positively on the tourism industry.Enhance the capacity and skills of the local stakeholders such as tour guides, drivers, porters and hoteliers.Identify and promote local destinations for sustainable tourism in the region. There are economic, cultural and environmental impacts as a result of this project. They include: Income generation for select stakeholders who will be linked with potential customers. They include tour operators, guides, artisans, festivals organisers who will all benefit from CAMAT linked activities. The protection of the indigenous culture of the Kho, Kalash and Wakhi communities in the area. These cultures are on the verge of disappearing due to modernization. The project intends to revive the cultural festivals such as Lone Bull fighting, Khot and Phindik, collect translate folklore and...

CAMAT wish all ECOCLUB friends and colleagues a happy new year with a strong wish that 2014 may fill you with peace of mind, good health and prosperity.

Sardar Ahmed Khan, the polo legend of Northern Pakistan, though discreetly restrained his polo pony, yet inauspiciously failed to rein in the disloyal horse—‘sorkhon istor’—Syar’s metaphor for ‘death’ versified in one of his poems. He passed away on January 27, 2013 of cardiac arrest aged 59. May Almighty God rest his soul in eternal peace! Amen! His death left his family, relatives, friends and fans greatly sad and created an irreparable void in the field of polo. He will be sorely missed for long time to come.   Born to the distinguished Mohd Baig tribe, SA Khan inherited refined manners, passion for indigenous culture and taste for traditional sports i.e. free style polo and falconry, which he assiduously promoted in his life time. His grandfather, being close to Chitral's ruling family, owned extensive landed property, which reinforced by prolong socio-cultural influence, grossly determined the family’s role as a key decision-maker in the local affairs.   Free style polo minus SA Khan would be inconceivable. Through incredible skill reinforced by his indomitable spirit, he credited Chitral polo team with a range of victories in mega events like Shandur Polo and District Polo Tournament. “He was an avid and efficient game deviser who staged effective...

Dear All,   Shandur Polo Festival 2013 is set to be celebrated from July 2-5, 2013. In consideration of the month of fasting, the event has been scheduled about 5 days earlier than usual. The event attracts great number of international, national and local tourits, who undergo long travel to participate in the event. You can be in contact with us should you or your friends plan to participate in the event.   Our contact is +92 3025975059

Chitral won Shandur Festival 2012 by defeating Gilgit-Baltistan by 10 to 5 goals in a thrilling final match at Shandur, Pakistan -- the world's highest polo pitch (See map). A total of eight teams took part this year. Overview of the polo pitch and Shandur Lake. Mountain reflection in Shandur Lake. The world's highest polo pitch. Nearby hill at sunset.

If you want to know about the culture, history and languages of a unique civilization, called ‘The Chitrali Civilization’, visit www.mahraka.com

Shandur Polo Festival 2012 is schedculed for July from July 7 to 9, 2012. If anybody is already scheduled for the event, you can be in contact with us so that we will facilitate your trip. Regards, Shams

Wish you all the ECOCLUB friends a very happy new year 2012!

Wish all friends a happy Merry Christmas!