Responsible/Sustainable Tourism
Haveli Dharampura has been awarded UNESCO Asia -Pacific award for Cultural & Heritage restoration for preserving a 200 year old Haveli. Along with the Haveli, the area around has also been restored and cleared by organising underground wiring, placing dustbins and street lights to light up the lanes and painting the area in colours that match the old Havelis. Promoting kite-flying, performing arts like instrumental music – Tabla and Sarangi, classical dance form of kathak, etc. helps in keeping the culture of old Delhi alive and afford livelihoods. The food heritage of Old Delhi has also been the key inspiration while designing the restaurant menu at Lakhori. The 7 course tasting menu takes you on a culinary journey through Old Delhi starting from in-house recipes, to street food and rich Mughlai cuisine.
Haveli Dharampura ensures no single use plastic cutlery, straws, plates, bowls, glasses, etc. are used. The use of washable cutlery is encouraged, and if disposable items are needed, those made with biodegradable and compostable materials such as areca leaves or sugarcane waste (bagasse) are used. Safe filtered drinking water is served in glass bottles and glasses that can be washed, sterilized and reused.
Haveli Dharampura has a systematic waste management system and encourages reducing consumption of resources such as water, energy, materials, and others. Internal and external audits are conducted to understand and reduce type and amount of waste. Waste is segregated and processed properly before handing to the garbage collector.
Local businesses are supported and since the opening of the hotel, the neighbourhood shops have been supported. Ethically sourced and use of local, seasonal, package free and organic produce is encouraged. Many of the staff come from the immediate neighbourhood. Haveli Dharampura supports a fair working environment with equality, diversity and inclusion; and employees are trained, skilled and upskilled to echo the values and ethics of the family.
All travellers are made to understand the importance and process of heritage conservation. Each staff member is also a story teller who understands the significance of the history of Old Delhi and Haveli Dharampura and is able to narrate the same to travellers in the form of traditions such as kite flying, kathak performance, classical music and sharing of age old recipes of Old Delhi, as well as curated heritage walks through Old Delhi’s bylanes, exploring hidden temples and stories about Shahjanabad.
