Ecotourism and Conservation Society of Sikkim, (ECOSS) is a nongovernmental organization working to accomplish a mission of sustainability and conservation in the state of Sikkim. ECOSS has been involved in establishing the Sikkim Himalayan Homestay with support from UNESCO.
To develop the homestay destinations, ECOSS has worked closely with the villagers of the different destinations in building their skills and capacities for the sustainable tourism activity. Each village has a tourism management committee, which overlooks the operations and management of the tourism activities.
ECOSS networks with many institutions and individuals and promotes the Sikkim Himalayan Homestays. These rural tourism destinations serve as model sites for exposure visits. Groups are facilitated for learning the village tourism dynamics and operation modalities; ECOSS has developed a well designed package for such educational study tours for understanding the community based tourism model.
ECOSS also has a very popular volunteer and internship program, where national and overseas candidates work in such homestays to develop the skills and capacities of the local communities and equally have a rewarding experience.