The village as a social entrepreneur: Balancing conservation and livelihoods

•This paper is a case study on ecotourism•It looks at homestays in Sikkim in the Himalayas, and covers both heritage and natural capital•The business model underlying the ecotourism experience is critically analysed•The long term implications of such ecotourism models, aimed primarily at generating or supplementing livelihoods, are assessed

This study seeks to understand some complexities of the business model underlying ecotourism that is focused on generating supplementary incomes for poor rural communities in a community-based home-stay arrangement. We discuss aspects of financial viability, distributional equity and compatibility of ecotourism with the objective of conservation of natural resources and local culture. Through a case study, this paper highlights the essential tension between livelihood and conservation, and suggests that ecotourism represents a trade-off between environmental sustainability and financial success. This trade-off would be even sharper where the involvement in ecotourism is an outcome of the pressures for generating livelihood and incomes rather than from an inherent concern for nature and its preservation.