we have written a guide how to start with Indian village business

Indian villages have recently become more and more popular. It's because of the widespread notion of getting back to nature. Tipi guarantees a unique atmosphere and anyone, who has spent at least a moment inside it will be amazed. Simple construction, mobility, burning fire, and great party atmosphere make people more than willing to come back. It also serves as a sleeping place. It is waterproof, so even during the rain it stays dry and linen is impregnated from rotting. A tipi can be stored outdoor all year round.

AThere a number of ways how to make profit on such activities. Tipi composes great with agricultural farms, resorts, hotels, studs and camping places. Its attractiveness gains attention of thousands of clients.

Indian villages can be divided into 2 categories: interesting leisure places and Indian museums.

This type of a village requires greater effort, but also brings huge profits. Museum requires rebuilding some part of the history that is already gone, to show to others. That's why in this kind of tipi, the village needs to be furnished with all accessories resembling old Indian village. A person, who is in charge of the village, should have a basic knowledge about Indians to be able to pass it on to the participants. Other attractions such as horse riding, playground for children in Indian style or food can be offered and by this create an entertainment center in the village. Such centers will attract school trips, individual and group tourists. One can introduce entrance fee (tickets) and by this increase profits from running such business

A Village as a leisure place with a possibility to stay over night gain greater support worldwide. They can be seen by camping places, hotels and various resorts. Even agricultural farms, who already offer accommodation, provide tipi as an extra attraction for tourists. A night spent in a tipi is unforgettable, glittering fire, raindrops falling on the linen, but never inside, shadows on the walls and this vast space. It all makes people come back to cherish again this magnificent atmosphere.

Number of tipi, which is accurate in this village, is quite an individual thing. There can be from 3 to 40 pieces of tipi of different kind in one village. It all depends on the purpose of a given tipi.

It is suggested to first set up a big tipi which is 7 to 9 meters high. It can be used for barbecue, a get together or any kind of a party and you can place benches to sit on inside. Up to 30-40 people will fit in such tipi.

Big tipi is not the best choice if you want to get some sleep. The fire is in a far distance from the occupant, what might not be comfortable in chilly nights, and at the dawn you will find dew on the floor. Therefore smaller tipi is much more suitable for smaller parties and for staying over a night. The most popular size of the tipi id 5,5 meters or 6 meters high. If you plan to sleep in a tipi, you should buy an inner liner, a strap of material - about 1,5 high, which covers precisely interior of a tipi, allowing to keep it warm inside. There is no dew in the morning and the strap prevents wind to get inside. It also improves air circulation. A very useful thing in a tipi is an ozan - an inner, waterproof roof. A tipi itself is waterproof, but it can happen that we will start a fire (then the smoke flaps are open), and rain falls down in the morning. If we have ozan, we don't need to go outside and close the flaps, because the roof protects us from raindrops.

Just as at home, plain walls will not create an atmosphere. The spirit of a certain place comes with little things that create it. Accessories that are worth buying are as follow:
Hides - which are laid on the floor (available to buy stag, roe, sheep hides)
Blankets - perfect to cover the floor
Armchairs - Indian armchairs, made from willow's branches. You can lie down in an armchair that is comfortable and looks very original at the same time
Kitchen shelves with pockets - where you can place many things like cutlery, plates, pots and kindling
Benches, tables - to be arranged individually
Indian replicas - war shields, warrior's shirts, warbonnets, dresses, bags, amulets, embroidered with beads - all available as a special order via e-mail.

This is an element that changes tipi into a masterpiece. Such painted tipi looks just unbelievably. It works also as an advertisement. You can choose from original Indian patterns but also have an original pattern designed by an artist.

Budget will be the factor, which will influence our decision upon selection of elements to our village. Firstly, I will present the basic option, which can be adjusted to individual needs.

A village of three tipi makes a good base for further development, but such constellation itself makes also good impression. I suggest placing one bigger tipi and two smaller ones. The bigger will function best in case of larger gatherings, parties and get together while the smaller can be used as sleeping places. It is essential to make a fireplace around tipi and surround it with benches. Rest of the place can be used as a playground for children. It is suggested to have at least one tipi painted, as there aren't many of them. The smaller ones should be equipped with the additional inner linen and an ozan, which will warm up the inside.

A village with five tipis makes remarkable impression, especially if one or more tipis are painted. It enriches the prestige of the place. A configuration, with one bigger tipi and the rest of the same size is fine but it is also good to have them all of the same size. It is suggested, as mentioned above, to add additional inner linen and an ozan to the tipi, where we plan to sleep. Such village with a playground is a great attraction and if furnished skillfully may become an entertainment center or a museum.

An extended Indian Village is a serious endeavor but it can bring profits as well. Such village becomes both a museum (a reconstruction) of Indian village but also an attraction enthusiastically visited by school trips and summer camps. With additional attractions (like horse riding, barbeque with sausages, a playground, and other agricultural attractions) it resembles an entertainment center. In the village, summer camps for kids or integration parties for companies can be organized.

Additional elements distinguish the village from the village with 5 tipi. They give it an Indian character: reconstruction on an Indian sweatlodge and a replica of a handicraft. To show how the life looked like many years ago, at least one tipi should be equipped with a couple of Indian exhibits (Indian armchair, hides for the floor, war shields, drums, war shirts, dress, moccasins).

Indian outfits are an extra attraction as you can wear them to take photos with tipi in the background.

A minimal village with 3 Tipis

Canvas weight 430gr/m2, water-proof and rotting-proof imptregnated
1x Big Tipi (size 8 metres) - 760EUR
2x Smaller Tipi (size 5,5 metres) - 800EUR
2x Accesories for smaller Tipis (suggested for Tipi assign for sleep) - inner liners and ozan - 640EUR
Canvas with fire-proof impregnation (suggested for Tipi assign for sleep) - 300EUR
Painting Tipi (price depend on choosen project) - from 300EUR to 800EUR per Tipi

Estimation for minimal village with 3 Tipis
Minimum (3 tipis, without accessories and fire-proof impregnation) - 1560EUR
With accesories (inner liners, ozans) - 2200EUR
With fire-proof impregnated canvas for max safety - 2500EUR
With painted one Tipi - about 3000EUR
Maximum (all Tipi painted) - about 4000EUR

A standard size village with 5 Tipis

Canvas weight 430gr/m2, water-proof and rotting-proof imptregnated
1x Big Tipi (size 8 metres) - 760EUR
4x Smaller Tipi (size 5,5 metres) - 1600EUR
4x Accesories for smaller Tipis (suggested for Tipi assign for sleep) - inner liners and ozan - 1320EUR
Canvas with fire-proof impregnation (suggested for Tipi assign for sleep) - 600EUR
Painting Tipi (price depend on choosen project) - from 300EUR to 800EUR per Tipi

Estimation for standard size village with 5 Tipis
Minimum (5 tipis, without accessories and fire-proof impregnation) - 2360EUR
With accesories (inner liners, ozans) - 3680EUR
With fire-proof impregnated canvas for max safety - 4280EUR
With painted one Tipi - about 4800EUR
Maximum (all Tipi painted) - about 6800EUR

An extended village - a museum

Estimation is the same as for standard village with 5 Tipis
(between 2300EUR - 6800EUR) plus:

Additionaly accesories (you can choose how much you think fit)

Accessories for Tipi:
Indian armchair (backrest) - 70EUR/each
Kitchen shelf with pockets - 15EUR/each
Elk hide with fur - 30EUR/each
Woolen blanket - 20EUR/each
Amulets (dream cathers) - 10EUR/each

Accessories for Tipi are available in Internet store

Indian replicas:
War shield (painted and decorated with wool, feathers) - 70EUR
Warbonnet (beadwork, 40 imitation of eagle feathers) - 300EUR
Warshirt (commercial buckskin, a small decoration, painted) - 150EUR
Indian dress (commercial buckskin, a small decoration, painted) - 180EUR
Indian wool dress (100% wool, decorated, shell) - 150EUR
Indian drum (elk rawhide, wooden frame, diameter 30cm) - 80EUR
Mocassins (commercial buckskin, not decorated) - 30EUR
Mocassins (commercial buckskin, beaded) - 50-100EUR/pair
Indian buckskin leggins (not decorated) - 70EUR
Indian woolen leggins - 70EUR
Staff (decorated with skins, feathers, wool, bead) - 70-100EUR

Indian replicas are selling as special order. Send request to: office@kolba.eu

Here are some propositions below.

Cheyenne's equilibrium
(a thick pole laid on racks and 2 sticks for support)

Description: It is a play to practice balance. There are two participants. 20-50 cm above the ground a special, thick pole must be placed. The participants are given sticks, which are used to keep the balance when standing on the pole. The goal is to throw the rival from the pole by attacking only his sticks

Archery

Description: Archery is instantly related with Indians. A war shield with painted bison will be an additional attraction. Anyone can try to strike the bison.

Tomahawk throws

Description: Tomahawk is a kind of an axe. Cutting an axe broad into two halves and place them on a handle. We will get 2 tomahawks resembling in a shape and original, Indian tomahawk. The shields, which will be our target, can be made from boards.

Turnarounds (sticks of balance)

Description: It's a funny game aimed at keeping the balance. Two sticks, about 50 cm long, are piled into the ground. Two participants come close to the sticks and rest their foreheads on them. When given a sign, they start to circle around the sticks. After 10 rounds, they get up and run to a person standing in a distance of a few meters away.

Indian ski

Description: It's a team game. 2 pieces of wooden boards attached to legs serve as ski. Each ski board has 3 attachments to the legs, so one team consists of 3 participants. Participants position themselves one after another in a row and attach their leg to the ski. When given a sign, they need to run (which is definitely not an easy task) a couple of meters to make a circle around a piled stick and then come back.

Lizard's race

Description:In old Indian times children didn't have colorful toys, as they do today. A lizard is a string with a fake lizard, made of hide, attached at the end. The aim of the game is to roll the lizard on the stick. Additionally, we build an obstacle race to diversify championship.

Double ball (called also bison's testicles game)

Description: It's an old Indian team game. Bison's testicles are 2 balls of 10 cm diameter, made from hide and connected to each other with a string. Sticks made of filberts' branches of about 1 meter long are used to play with. The pitch is unlimited. There are 2 hoops - 50 cm long and 30 cm high. Number of participants is restrained by the size of the pitch. The rules are as follows: a double ball can be touched only with the stick. The goal is to place both balls in the hoop.

Indian Pun
Description: A child is given a card with an Indian name (e.g. Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Red Cloud). It has to show the name so that others can guess the meaning, without using words.

Apache's race
Description: It is a special type of race, most popular in Apache times. Participants fill their mouth with water. The run should be quite long depending on age range of participants (usually about one kilometer). You cannot swallow water during the run. At the finish you need to spit out the same amount of water which you took at the start.

Bison's race (obstacle race)
Description: Most usually it's a family game. Teams position themselves in rows one after another. When given a sign, one person jumps on the back of the person standing in front of him or her and they need to do the obstacle race.

Moccasins (gambling game, sticks and stones are needed)
Description: Moccasins is an old Indian game, most popular in the Prairies. Two teams are fighting to win the prize. Number of participants in one team is unlimited. Each team gets 10 sticks and 2 special stones. People from one team hide 2 stones behind the back and stretch their arms in front. The counter team needs to guess in whose hands the stones are hidden. If they point out both persons, who have hidden the stones, they give away one stick. Then the other team hides and the counter one guesses. The winner is the team, who gathers all the sticks and they win the prize.

Indian darts
Description: A dart board, made of linen or wood, is spread on sticks. There is a whole in the dart board, which in its shape resembles a bison. Special darts are ended with feathers and thrown at the bison.