Slum homestay in Mumbai is now a possibility

In a new initiative, tourists can now book a stay at Mumbai’s slum homestay. Being dubbed as “poverty tourism” by many, the idea began by David Bijl, a Dutch citizen working for a Mumbai NGO. The initiative began with Ravi Sansi, a local resident. The idea is to make people realise the huge inequality in Mumbai, which is a part of its reality.
It began in 2015 when Ravi Sansi struck a conversation with a Singaporean tourist, who was being harassed by street urchins. The tourist was invited to Girgaon Chowpatty by Sansi, where Sansi’s mother invited her to stay with his 16-member family in a one room tenement. Sansi says, "She slept in the same bed as my bhabhi, learned to cook, and would wash her clothes sitting with my mother in the doorway."
The slum homestay will be hosted by Sansi’s family, as guests will get to stay in the family’s new loft, which includes a mattress, a flat-screen TV, and even an air-conditioner. Sansi says that visitors can choose to eat with the family, or try the local restaurant. A couple stay at Sansi’s home will cost INR 2,000, and the entire amount will go to the family.

A Facebook page has also been started towards this initiative, where pictures have been uploaded. While a lot of criticism is heard from all quarters, as the initiative displays inequality in India, Bijl says that as 60% of Mumbai’s population lives in slums, it is important to showcase it as well. Claiming to be different from the already existing slum tours in Mumbai, the homestay experience is not just from an observer’s point-of-view, but a first-hand experience.

No government permissions have been taken as yet, but there is a guest register that is being maintained for the slum homestay.