Madam Shirlene A. B. Sawkmie, Headmistress Brooklyn School, Tura, talks about her journey of becoming a homestay owner in Meghalaya.
#responsibletourism #sustainabletourism #OutlookresponsibleTourismFutureForum #Celebratinghomestays #MeghalayaTourism #Tura #WestGaroHills
#responsibletourism #sustainabletourism #OutlookresponsibleTourismFutureForum #Celebratinghomestays #MeghalayaTourism #Tura #WestGaroHills
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 I started my homestay just four years ago in July 2018.
00:09 But having lived in Pura, come from Shillong, 35 years ago, way back in 1987,
00:17 my home in rented premises was a home to many acquaintances, friends, relatives
00:26 who came to Shillong and would just phone me those days on the landline
00:32 and say, "Can we just come and live with you?"
00:34 Because there were not many hotels in Pura then, except for the Circuit House.
00:41 So with no space, sometimes we would be on the sitting rooms, sleeping on the ground,
00:46 no charge of course, and those were happy sessions, those were fun sessions
00:52 because they would bring me lovely goodies from Shillong, they would be the relay persons
00:56 of bringing stuff my mom would send me.
00:59 And those were in fact the people in those days who always encouraged me to have a homestay.
01:05 But living in rented premises with small children, it was not possible.
01:12 Then in 2014, I moved to Burnie Hills and mother of four,
01:18 so I had to have ample rooms for my children.
01:22 Now they are all adults, they have married, gone abroad for studies,
01:27 there's nobody home except for my husband and me.
01:29 So we decided to turn the rooms of our children into a homestay and accommodate guests.
01:36 [BLANK_AUDIO]