OSCE empowers Tajik women through homestay business training

Empowering, motivating and involving women in the homestay tourism business was the focus of a three-day training course for 15 women from remote areas of Tajikistan, which concluded on 10 July 2019 in Dushanbe.

The course, organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, supports the country’s plans for the development of rural areas, tourism and folk crafts from 2019 to 2021.

Participants learned how to open and develop a homestay business in their communities, market and promote it, work with clients, prepare meals and supplies for the guests and ensure visitors’ safety and healthcare. The interactive training sessions included group work and role plays where the participants drafted business plans for their future homestay.

“This training gave us the necessary knowledge and expertise to open our own homestay business,” said Furugh Shakarmamadova, one of the participants of the training. “It is also a very good chance for us to see how women from other regions of Tajikistan are dealing with challenges that they face in developing their homestay business”.

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe will further coach the owners of established homestay businesses on site. The main purpose of the homestay business training courses is to empower women economically, which increases their decision-making power both in their families and in the communities in which they live.