Welcome to Mangalajodi Ecotourism

Mangalajodi Ecotourism is community owned and managed wildlife conservation venture. Mangalajodi, a village on the banks of the Chilika Lake, hosts more than 150000 birds which jostle in its marshy water, especially in winters. Mangalajodi also represents a critical, one of its kind ecosystem whose protection is epitomized by a sustainable lifestyle that is at brink of extinction in urban settings.

Philosophy

At the heart of the Mangalajodi Ecotourism is the democratic notion that the fragile ecosystems like Mangalajodi belongs to everyone. Protection and conservation of Mangalajodi wetland is important and any deterioration of such ecosystems will affect us, directly or indirectly.

Objectives

Mangalajodi Ecotourism aims to inspire, inform and enable communities to turn ecosystems into a sustainable source of livelihood through well managed tourism instead of exploiting them for short term profits.

This initiative wants to find — and then tell —their stories of conservation. By protecting, reconnecting and restoring the life of the Mangalajodi Marshes, this community owned venture will give a paradigm shift in the way communities world over relate to wetlands.

Partners associated with Mangalajodi ecotourism initiatives

RBS Foundation India: Our Funding Partner

RBS Foundation India (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group) has been actively providing support to organizations/ NGOs who work with the vulnerable and underprivileged communities in India and support projects that enhance existing, or create new, livelihood opportunities for these communities. The Foundation lays a special focus on communities dependent on critical ecosystem resources and natural resources and so the communities who typically reside in or around fragile forest/grassland/mangrove/wetland eco systems or are dependent on scarce water and degraded land resources. RBS Foundation has been extending financial support services to its partner implementing agency Indian Grameen Services to make Mangalajodi Ecotourism initiative sustainable,

Indian Grameen Services: The Implementing Agency

Indian Grameen Services (IGS) is the non-profit affiliate of the BASIX group Companies (visit to us at www.igsindia.org.in ), registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act in 1987.
The Mission of IGS is “To undertake research and development in promoting / supporting large number of sustainable rural livelihoods. To achieve this IGS would undertake micro-interventions in potential livelihood supporting sub-sectors / vectors while building the capacity of organisations including the community based organisations to support livelihoods”.

IGS strives to address the twin objectives of
	- Developing sub-sector / vector intervention products, process for livelihood promotion through pilot intervention;
	- Providing technical assistance and support services to institutions (including Community based institutions) involved in promotion of livelihoods of poor and women.
IGS with its experience over the last two decades, supplemented with its research into livelihood promotion efforts in different parts of the country, recognizes that for effective promotion of livelihoods in rural areas, interventions may have to be made at multiple points in a sub-sectors / vectors.Thus, IGS focuses its attention on four fronts, namely,
	a) Action Research b) Capacity Building / Institutional Development c) Financial Inclusion d) Livelihood & Microfinance Promotion.
Indian Grameen Services is working with 11.69 lakhs households covering 3943 villages across 12 states (e.g. West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Manipur, Assam, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh) of India. From last four years IGS is focusing its livelihood interventions at critical ecosystems like; Melghat in Maharastra, Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh, Similipal and Mangalajodi in Odisha. In Mangalajodi, IGS is extending handholding support to the Community Institution in order to establish sustainable community owned Ecotourism venture through conservation based livelihood approach.

Featured Place

Visitor Testimonials

Wow! I had an amaing time while watching birds from our boat that we named "Amigo" (means friend in Spanish) I loved the tranquility and peace that the journet offered. This is an amazing place...
~Rachel Moot (New Zealand)

I am much impressed by story of transformation of change from Poachers to protection. Herein also lies the formula for successful sustainable conservation where local communities are involved. Here livelihoods coexist with conservation. I see all of this in practice at Mangalajodi...
~ Biren Bhuta (IUCN)

Share your moment !!

A moment can be a picture, a word or a thought. We leave it up to you, share it with us so that all of us who love Mangalajodi can cherish it.