TAI Parternship Offer

Dear Friend,

I invite you to partner with Travel Another India in setting up Responsible Tourism Ventures across India.

Simply put, a Responsible Tourism Venture is one which ensures maximum benefit to the host community while having a minimum impact on the environment.

Travel Another India was registered as a Private Limited Company in April 2009. My experience with the Hodka Rural Tourism Project led to the forming of the company. Currently we offer a holiday package designed for guests using wheelchairs in Ladakh called Himalaya on Wheels and a stay in the village of Pranpur, Madhya Pradesh where guests have a choice of weaving, pottery or metalcraft to choose from and the rich cultural and natural heritage of the area to enjoy. We are in discussions with interested host communities and have plans to add several new destinations in the coming months.

You could choose to:

Ø  donate funds for which you will be eligible for a tax deduction,

Ø  or you could choose to invest in a specific venture. The return for each venture would vary based on a number of factors including location, weather conditions and commitment levels of the stakeholders.

At the Destination, we work with reputed NGOs to set up Responsible Tourism Ventures. Your donation or investment into a Destination will typically go into setting up a guest house, creating the experience for the guest, training the local team, marketing, meeting working capital needs and ensuring that it remains a Responsible Tourism venture. We will keep you informed as new ventures come up.

Your donation or investment into Travel Another India will help put together the team that supports the destinations and ensures that they offer the right experience to guests while earning a reasonable income for the hosts.

Else you could allow us to choose where to deploy your donation or investment.

Our next destination

Currently we are looking for investments into a guest house that we are setting up jointly with The Banyan at Kovalam, 30 km outside Chennai.

Here is a 4-minute video that explains Travel Another India as well as the venture with The Banyan. Click here...

The Banyan is a voluntary organization that reaches out to women with a mental illness and supports them to a fulfilling life beyond. They have a protected community in Kovalam or Covelong, about 30 km south of Chennai in Tamil Nadu.

Here, about 60 women are provided shelter and all support in continuing their lives. These are women who have been treated or continue to be treated for mental illness and whose families do not want them back. They are trained to look after their daily life needs and also to maintain the campus in which they stay.

The Banyan set up a guesthouse with four rooms in 2009, to encourage guests to visit and stay with the community and better understand mental health issues. The guesthouse was named 1498, after the year in which Vasco Da Gama first landed on the West Coast of India in his quest for spices. A shop was attached to the guesthouse, which sold products made by the women who live in or have passed through The Banyan. However, the venture did not run for long as hospitality is not the core competence of The Banyan.

Travel Another India (TAI), a social enterprise that supports organisations and communities in developing Responsible Tourism Ventures in another India, approached The Banyan to offer support in re-opening the guesthouse.

This would involve renovating the four rooms available for the guest house, refurbishing the interiors, training the team, creating the experience for guests and then doing the marketing.

The financial benefits to the protected community are calculated to amount to Rs.10.26 lakhs as salaries and Rs.5.25 lakhs as rent over a period of 5 years.

The total amount of investment needed for the venture is Rs.10 lakhs. Of this Rs.6.31 lakhs will be for the renovation and refurbishment of the guest house. Rs.3.69 lakhs will be used as working capital over the first two years primarily to cover salaries and training costs.

A detailed Business Plan is available and can be shared with you on request.

Some pictures of 1498, before the needed renovation and refurbishment:

 

  1The entrance to the rooms

2 The driveway to the Guest House

 

3 An overview of the campus ->

Terms

If you would like to donate money toward this venture, you could do so directly to The Banyan. Those making a donation greater than Rs.10,000 will receive a half-yearly update on how the Guest House is faring along with the financial report. All donations are 100% tax exempt under Section 35 AC of the Income Tax Act of 1961.

If you would like to invest, TAI will accept amounts equal to or greater than `50,000/- (Rupees Fifty thousand only) from each individual.

Your investment will be tentatively[1] treated as preferred capital. You can choose to withdraw your funds in 2018 or in 2021 as per the current plan. Your maximum return could be:

Invested Amount	In 2018	In 2021
`50,000	`70,000	`1,00,000
Annualised Return	6.67%	11.11%

This is subject to market risks.

The sole owner of the Guest House will continue to remain The Banyan.

In addition, you will get a 20% discount for 15 nights for one room in 2012, 2013 and 2014. And for 8 nights for a room for the remaining period of your investment at the Guest House.

By April 2013, a separate legal entity will be set up for the Guest House and all funds will be transferred to its account. The Governing Body will have representatives from The Banyan, TAI and all investors. The nature of this entity will be finalised over the next six months and communicated with all investors.

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments, please do write to me.

Thank you.

With Regards

Gouthami

gou@travelanotherindia.com

+91 9940 559 513

Payment Details

The Banyan

The Banyan is legally registered as a Trust.

Online payment can be made at http://donate.thebanyan.org/donate.

Cheques or Demand Drafts favouring 'The Banyan' and with “Kovalam Guest House” written behind can be made payable in Chennai and sent to:

The Banyan,

6th Main Road,  Mogapair Eri Scheme, Mogapair West,

Chennai - 600 037, India

Bank transfers can be made through ICICI Bank. Please follow all payments with an email to gou@travelanotherindia.com with the details so that the amount can be attributed to the Guest House.

ICICI Bank

Address:	Anna Nagar Branch A78, Plot No 3211 3rd Avenue, Anna Nagar Chennai - 600 102 Tamil Nadu, India
Tel:	91-44-2626 2334
Email:	annanagar@icicibank.com
Accounts:	Corpus A/C No: 602701202072 Recurring Costs A/C No: 602701209343

Travel Another India

Travel Another India is legally registered as a private limited company under the name TAI Responsible Tourism Consultants Private Limited. The two Directors are Ms kv Gouthami and Ms K Ramalakshmi.

Name: TAI Responsible Tourism Consultants PLTD

Bank: HDFC

Branch: Anna Nagar Main, Chennai

A/C No.: 00 172 0000 32510

Type: Current

IFSC: HDFC0000017

Cheques or Demand Drafts favouring the name above, payable at Chennai, may be sent to:

Ms Gouthami

Travel Another India

AB 50, Anna Nagar, Chennai – 600 040, India

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[1] The exact nature of capital will be defined based on the legal status of the entity by April 2013.