For many of us, dreams are about “getting” something; they’re selfish….For Dhurba, dreaming means giving.
“My parents are farmers. I never finished school.” He came from a poor village in the jungles of Nepal and worked as a waiter to tourists who came on safari. One day at the restaurant – he had a long chat – with a couple – visiting from the Netherlands. They asked him – an unusual question: “They asked me my dream and I was surprised a little bit.”
But with NO cash, to make his dream come true, Dhruba forgot about his dream and the Dutch tourists. “Then after 5 -6 months they send me the letter. The say we have money for you and please send us your back account. and I was surprised. I couldn’t believe it. I thought they were making a joke.”
With a backpack full of cash – Dhurba bought land from a rice farmer and starting building a hotel. A hotel he named “Sapana Village”. “Sapana means dream and I work for the dream.” Sapana Village looked nothing like other hotels in the jungle. He built his lodges to look like a traditional Tharu village. “Tharu are the original people and they should get something back from the tourism but nothing they get.”
So in addition to the typical tourist activities – elephants rides and safari trips – Dhurba asked Tharu families to show his guests their traditional ways of life. “And 50% of the profit go to the local community”. Dhurba now puts his profits in local development projects.
For many of us, dreams are about “getting” something; they’re selfish….For Dhurba, dreaming means giving.
About the Filmmaker
Submitted by Ryan Anderson
Ryan Anderson is a German-American filmmaker and has extensive experience creating professional multimedia directly for brands such as Vanity Fair (Germany), spiegel.de, Abenteuer & Reisen and others. Ryan was Artist-in-Residence in the UNESCO city of George Town, Malaysia, sponsored by a grant from Think City. In 2016 Ryan was Artist-in-Residence with the Songkhla Heritage Trust in Songkhla, Thailand.
Filmmaker’s Website: http://www.oxlaey.com
1 comment
This film makes me very happy. I know Dhruba for a long time now and he always inspire me because of his filosofy and his way of life. It is a pleasure to try and help him and Nepal by supporting the projects of his foudation Sapana Village Social Impact as much as possible. Thank you for making this film.