Two-day capacity building workshop for Kalash tour guides was arranged by District Administration through the support of Ministry of Culture Federal Government of Pakistan was implemented by CAMAT [Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism]. The purpose of the workshop was to improve the service quality of the guides in view of the fact that many national and international tourists come to the valleys who are less likely to be provided with information showcasing the true aspects of the indigenous Kalash culture. This is because of lack of capacity on the part of the local guides.
The workshop was attended by 37 guides from Birir, Bumborate and Rumbor was conducted in participatory method through group works, using of flash cards aside from open discussion by the forum. Mr Dawood Khan, the experienced Kalash guides was the key facilitator in the workshop.
The workshop put forward the recommendations as follows:
1. The true aspect of Kalash culture as tourism products has never been highlighted till now. Everyone has his/her own interpretation. It is therefore uniform information mostly derived from the local guides has to be provided to tourists. This will help generate unified knowledge about Kalash culture both at national and international level.
2. The present service standard of the tour guides is not up the mark in the competing scenario of tourism at present. Therefore there should be regular capacity building workshops.
3. Most of the tourism industry in the valleys is controlled by outsiders. There should be measures to divert the benefits of tourism to the indigenous communities because tourists come to visit their culture.
4. The cultural topography of places such as Bumborate is constantly changing due to big structures being built in the valley in total negligence of the natural beauty of the area. The only effective measure is to put a halt to such tin-roofed big structures and to replace the same with environmental-friendly construction designs.
5. Hygiene quality has to be improved. The first step to this end is to build public toilets in different relevant spots. This could be helpful in saving the nearby streams from contamination.
6. There should be an information centre in Bumborate where tourist will be provided information about the culture of the valleys.
Rehmatullah Wazir, District Coordination Officer (DCO) was the chief guest for the concluding ceremony. Whilst speaking to the tour guides, he reaffirmed the commitment of the district administration to protect the culture and natural environment of the valleys. He also maintained that peace and law/order of the area will be maintained at all cost, which is a must for the growth of tourism.
At the end, he distributed certificate of participation amongst the tour guides.