The Samkar Lake CBT (community-based tourism) project was initiated in 2017 by ICEI (Istituto Cooperazione Economica Internazionale), an Italian NGO working with local communities around Samkar Lake to facilitate the ‘economic promotion of communities through enhancement of their cultural and natural heritage’.
The development of the community-based tourism activities has involved extensive training for communities from several villages in the Samkar Lake region in various skills. There are three villages directly involved in the CBT packages, including, Thar Ya Khone, Samkar and Khon Thar. A walking tour around the villages includes learning about local rice crackers at a small workshop, enjoying a home-cooked traditional lunch at a family’s home, relaxing with a one-hour trip aboard our unique bamboo raft to admire the beautiful scenery maximum – or jumping into a traditional wooden canoe for a peaceful tour of the floating pagodas. Any profits go back to local community service providers with a small percentage retained in a community fund for joint projects. Samkar Lake CBT products are an excellent option to extend a day-return trip from Inle Lake, with options to also overnight here.
