00:01What might look like a leisurely boat ride is also part of a drive for sustainable tourism in India's central
00:08Chhattisgarh state.
00:09And this eco-park, where it happens, is mainly run by women.
00:14Our community group has 365 women, out of which 12 women run boats for their livelihoods.
00:21But this area wasn't always like this. The lake was once a massive coal mine that closed up shop in
00:282018.
00:28While it was operating, the mine's 10 pits churned out close to 40 million tons of coal over six decades,
00:35until the seams had nothing left to give.
00:39In 2018, the state retired to this massive complex, turning it, and hundreds like it, into eco-parks.
00:47And now, these women manage the entire park, running boat trips, floating restaurants, and holiday cottages.
00:57We improve our financial conditions by running boats. Nobody knew us before. But boating has given us an identity now.
01:07Neighbors here call them the boat women. One of them, Savita Gupta, used to stay at home.
01:14Now she runs a floating restaurant for tourists, giving her a sense of purpose.
01:20We were restricted when we were just inside our homes. We didn't know anything of the outside world.
01:26When I moved outside, I not only found ways to earn money, but got to meet a lot of new
01:30people.
01:31It feels nice to run the canteen. I'm really happy that I moved out.
01:35But even with their newfound freedom, it's not always easy.
01:39The women have to pay to rent everything, cutting into their profits.
01:43They rent the boats, and pay for upkeep, which starts at around 22 US dollars a month.
01:49The group hopes they can secure more funding to keep guests coming,
01:53allowing them to continue supporting the women and the environment around them.
02:00Eason Pan and Tim Smith for Taiwan Plus.
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