By Kathrine Vogn, UCA San Ramon

In the fresh and green mountains of Northern Nicaragua lie the communities of La Pita, El Roblar, La Reyna and La Corona in San Ramón, Matagalpa. Four different communities when it comes to size, altitude and charisma, but who share a similar history.

Originally the Germans came to Nicaragua because of the promise of gold. They exploited the ground and the people. However, along the way, they found that the cooler climate in the mountains where ideal for coffee. And so began the coffee production that started with big fincas owned by foreigners but during the Sandinista period developed to cooperatives owned, run and profited by the Nicaraguans themselves.

It’s in these strong communities you have the opportunity to stay, either just for a tour around the beautiful mountains and a talk about the culture, coffee and fair trade; for a couple of nights with one of the host families where you can help out with the cooking and try your coffee picking skills or as a volunteer for a longer period of time.

It’s an extraordinary experience to meet and live with these farmers and the best way to get to know the real Nicaragua. The family will teach you about their traditions and show you, among other things, how to cook and the guides will let you in on the secrets of the land and farming. And after a day of picking coffee, you will suddenly appreciate your cup of coffee so much more because you know how long it takes to pick enough for it and how long a process it is to get the little bean sowed, harvested and roasted.

San Ramón Union of Agricultural Cooperatives

Unión de Cooperativas Agropecuarias “Augusto César Sandino” (Union of Agricultural Cooperatives), or simply UCA San Ramón, is the primary organisation in this rural community agroecotourism project. It’s an organisation that consists of 21 agricultural cooperatives in the municipality of San Ramón and works to improve the conditions and knowledge of its 1,080 farmers.

Five of the cooperatives in four communities are a part of the tourism project. It means that the guides are young people from these four communities who therefore know everything worth knowing about this part of the country: the flora, fauna, landscape and agriculture around their community in particular.

Because it’s locals who act as the guides and their family as hosts the money paid goes directly to the farmers themselves and ensures a secondary income for them. In that way you can rest surely that those who profit are those who do the work as well as it ensures the most authentic experience for the visitors.

The Coffee Crisis

In 2001 international coffee prices fell to historic levels. This of course affected the Matagalpa area severely because the main production is coffee. In order to try to strengthen the economy for the farmers the North Central Cooperatives (CECOCAFEN) and UCA San Ramón started the agroecotourism project in 2003. In this way, the producers could diversify their income and at the same time strengthen the relationship between the consumers in the North and the producers in the South.

That is the general background and aim of the agroecotourism project.

To learn more about the project, see www.agroecoturismorural.com or contact info@agroecoturismorural.com, phone +505 2772 5247 / +505 8927 9066

>> Visit UCA San Ramón’s Facebook Page

Village Earth, a non-profit organization that provides sustainable international development training programs, is offering a new online course “Tourism and Development” as a part of the Community-based Development Certificate Program in partnership with Colorado State University. This course runs 5-weeks from January 6 – February 10, 2012. All registration is done online and the deadline to register is December 30, 2011.

The course is about tourism and its impacts within the framework of community-based development.

Course description

In developing countries, tourism as a means of economic development receives considerable public funding and private investment. Moreover, NGOs increasingly support local tourism initiatives, as well as voluntourism, in hopes of raising incomes in the communities in which they work. Amongst these institutions, tourism is seen as a mechanism for local communities to capitalize on assets such as the natural environment and cultural heritage. Yet in academic circles, tourism has often been accused of being destructive, elite and at times oppressive.

This course will explore successful tourism initiatives as well as problematic initiatives. We will critically examine the nature of tourism, its impacts on communities and considerations that must be taken into account in order for a tourism project to have the desired impact of pursuing a local vision for development without destroying.

Course Instructor: Cynthia Ord

Cynthia Ord holds a Masters of Tourism and Environmental Economics degree from the University of the Balearic Islands in Palma de Mallorca, Spain and a B.A. in Spanish and Philosophy from Colorado State University. Her M.S. program focused on the socio-cultural, environmental and economic impacts of global tourism. Ord’s research focused on non-commercial volunteer tourism networks. She currently works in media and communications for WHL Group, a global online travel-booking network that focuses on e-market access for small and medium sized tourism enterprises in the Global South. She has also worked on ecotourism projects in Central America and worked with a local tour operator in Albania.

By Melanie Jae Martin

If you want to see great apes in the wild, Sumatra’s rainforest is one of the most accessible places to do just that. Seeing orangutans in the wild, along with silver Thomas leaf monkeys, pig-tailed macaques, and a diverse range of birds like hornbills, will leave you with a renewed appreciation for the beauty and ingenuity of other species. However, you need to know how to visit them responsibly or you could introduce illnesses, since they share over 97 percent of our DNA. Less than 7,000 Sumatran orangutans live in the wild, and they’re an essential part of the rainforest ecosystem, helping seeds to germinate and even pruning the canopy.

The Gunung Leuser National Park is part of the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra UNESCO World Heritage Site, and an excellent spot for ape-watching and rainforest trekking. The Orangutan Information Centre (OIC), a local, grassroots NGO, is working with a local guides association to certify guides in the popular destination Bukit Lawang.

OIC Director Panut Hadisiswoyo

The OIC is an excellent source of information, and many of the guides are extremely knowledgeable and conscientious. However, because of the competition for visitors and tips, some guides do engage in unscrupulous practices like luring orangutans over with fruit, leaving fruit peels on the ground, or even letting visitors hug orangutans. Before you go into the forest, you’ll watch a short film on rainforest etiquette at the visitors’ center. Pay attention, and take responsibility for your own behavior. Better yet, download a copy of the park guidebook from the OIC website to prepare for your trip.

In Bukit Lawang, you’ll have the chance to see orangutans close up, either at the feeding platform or slightly further into the rainforest. These orangutans have returned to the wild after a life in captivity. Captured from the wild by poachers at a young age, they are learning to live in the forest again after a rigorous rehabilitation process. They grow adept at building nests to sleep and lounge in, climbing nimbly through the canopy, and raising the next generation of wild orangutans. Like humans, they don’t know how to live in the wild by instinct alone. In the wild, they might spend eight years with their mother, learning how to live in the jungle. Learning these skills as adults takes an incredible amount of intelligence, patience, and perseverance, just as it would for a human.

Deeper in the jungle, you’ll likely see wild orangutans from afar. You’ll have the option to take a one-day, overnight, or multiday trek. Local guides are quite flexible in making arrangements. If planning a longer trek, talk with the staff at the visitors’ center to request a knowledgeable, conscientious guide.

For a quieter experience, visit the farther-flung village of Ketambe, about 8 hours by van from the main city of Medan. Staying in this little village bedecked with flowers and fruit trees will let you experience a less-trafficked part of the Gunung Leuser National Park, or “Leuser.” You’ll easily arrange van transportation on arrival; just ask your hotel staff for details. Call ahead to book a room in Ketambe. The Friendship Guesthouse offers rustic one-room bungalows with bathrooms for around U.S. $6 per night, and tasty curries for around $2. The welcoming staff will connect you with a local guide as well.

As in Bukit Lawang, take responsibility for your own behavior. The orangutans around Ketambe are wild, meaning they’ll keep their distance. One was said to have thrown a beehive at visitors, I was told, in what I felt sure was a cautionary tale. Talk about tool use, I thought.

Unfortunately, Leuser is threatened by the oil palm industry and other forms of encroachment, like much of Indonesia’s rainforests. In June 2011, it was placed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger for this reason. While there, I volunteered at a restoration site in the district of Langkat, North Sumatra. The OIC had reclaimed this illegally logged and farmed section of national forest in 2007. Since then, the all-local staff had been working to bring the rainforest back to life.

Restorasi house and plantation

The old “hantu” – what we jokingly called the dead oil palms – still stood menacingly in some parts of the forest, gray-white fronds draping around their rotting trunks like a veil. But the vibrant growth of young rainforest trees was enveloping them, weaving them into the ecosystem as life carried on.

One of the field assistants, Darjo, had carefully counted the bird species in the area – he’d spotted 83 so far. While collecting saplings in the deeper forest, the staff showed me huge elephant tracks. Very near the small house where we stayed, we saw the print of the rare golden cat.

Recently, after I’d arrived back in the States, the staff sent me an excited message: Orangutans were living at the site! They’d observed a male and pregnant female in the trees. The forest would take centuries, perhaps longer, to gain back the richness of the diversity it once had, but in the meantime, life will continue to thrive – as long as we let it.

More Information

Unesco World Heritage Centre: Danger listing for Indonesia’s Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra

Orangutan Information Centre: Project Reports

Ketambe: The Friendship Guesthouse & Restaurant

Orangutan Information Centre: OIC Restoration Site Performance Report, 2010-2011

Photos by Melanie Jae Martin

Melanie Jae Martin writes on social and environmental issues in the U.S. and abroad. To read more of her work, please visit www.ravensongstudios.net.

By Amy McLoughlin

In the beautiful region of Wayanad in Kerala, India, where dense jungle carpets rolling mountains in the Western Ghats, lies a magical hidden gem. The quiet village of Thrikkaipetta in the heart of this breathtaking region is a beacon for community spirit and an inspiration for ethical tourism.

Rural Wayanad’s delightful climate and rich biodiversity makes it a vastly agricultural population (almost 50% of the inhabitants rely on farming for income). Like many places across the globe, farming here has been hit by financial strain due to declining market prices for crops. This problem has resulted in devastating problems for the Wayanad farming community, and very sadly resulted in suicides.

The community here, proud of their land and culture, have created a cooperative that generates additional income for farmers, empowers local people through job creation and provides ethical tourism opportunities.

Thrikkaipetta’s Bamboo Village was initiated by local people who are passionate about improving life for the community. It is a community led bamboo nursery, using the materials to create traditional crafts, food products, for environmental protection and as a tourism attraction. Visiting their bamboo workshop is like stepping into Santa’s grotto! It is incredible to see so many local people employed, busy creating a huge selection of products.

The ‘Bamboo Village’, Thrikkaipetta, Wayanad (Photo by Kabani)

As the Bamboo Village has gone from strength to strength, it became clear that the tourism offer here could be expanded and provide an even greater opportunity for additional income. Local responsible tourism campaigning NGO, Kabani, has partnered with the Bamboo Village’s management, Uravu, and the groups pulled together their expertise on agricultural life and how best develop a tourist infrastructure that would offer enriching tourist experiences and improve the lives of local people.

Today tourists from across the globe can come and enjoy the Bamboo Village’s ethical homestays. Visitors can enjoy a tranquil location with a friendly local family, feast on traditional home cooked food and fruits from their homestay’s plantation. Guests can also join an eye-opening village tour, learning about the diverse crops growing locally and participating in cultural exchange events.

In addition to the unique learning experiences, guests can rest assured that fifty percent of the money paid for their cozy homestay is being reinvested into the community they have enjoyed getting to know. This money is helping to develop a community fund that provides crucial training for villagers (such as organic farming and healthy living education), youth projects and sustainable tourism development.

Blair Coburn from the UK recently stayed with a family in the Bamboo Village. “The opportunity to stay with a local family was a privilege. It was fantastic to know that my stay not only helped my wonderful hosts, but was helping to support the wider community through their training and development fund. I particularly enjoyed getting to shop for unique bamboo products, they made wonderful gifts to take home, and at the same time buying them has directly helped the women who made them“.

By Ali Dempsey

Ilkurot Village Community Projects, Tanzania

Global Basecamps, in collaboration with Maasai Wanderings, contributes to a variety of ecotourism and community outreach programs in Tanzania. In 2004, Maasai Wanderings visited a Maasai village called Ilkurot (which means “dusty place”) just north of Arusha, and saw that the schools were in desperate need of supplies and repairs, and there was no nursery school.

Following this visit, the Ilkurot community project was developed to raise funds for the school and to make education more accessible to the Maasai children. The Ilkurot community project began by setting up a nursery school so the village children would be able to enter the Tanzanian education system and would hopefully then move onto primary and secondary school and beyond.

People in Ilkurot live below the Tanzanian poverty line and earn an average of less than $200 per year. The cost of schooling is about $40-$50, making it difficult for children to receive an education. With the help of donors and volunteers, Global Basecamps and Maasai Wanderings strive to make education easily accessible and free to the Maasai children of Ilkurot, with the hope that educated Maasai will be better equipped to aid in retaining their ancient culture.

Maasai Village Experience Tours

In 2005, the Ilkurot Nursery School opened and had 45 students between the ages of 5 and 7. The class was held in a small room, but the number of students quickly outgrew the small facilities. As a way to raise additional funds for the school, Global Basecamps in Tanzania developed ‘Maasai Village Experience Tours’, giving travelers the unique opportunity to interact with and learn from the Maasai people. These cultural tours helped raise funds to build a new classroom for the Ilkurot School and continue to help build the Ilkurot community project.

The new classroom was opened in January 2006 with a large increase of students. To accommodate all the new students, the school began holding two sessions a day. The five-year-old group consisted of approximately 110 students and was held in the morning, while the afternoon lessons consisted of about 100 six-year-old students. At each session the students are served uji (ground corn porridge with sugar and oil), the staple diet of the Maasai people.

Community Members Benefit from Ilkurot Nursery School

In 2007, over 1,000 textbooks were purchased, and for the first time students had guides to their studies. During this year, funds were also used to plaster classroom and fit glass windows, which were previously wooden windows, allowing dust in and making the classrooms very dirty. In an effort to control the amount of dust in Ilkurot, a tree and grass planting project was put in place and a 2,000-liter water tank was installed. Almost 500 trees were planted in an effort to limit the dust that flies around and caused many eye infections and dry coughs.

The school was able to employ a Tinga Tinga artist to stay in the village for a few weeks to paint murals and educational drawings on the classroom walls. The school was also able to build a playground – the first playground in the school and in the district – with a basic football pitch, netball court, and volleyball court that allowed for sports education in their curriculum. In 2009, Ilkurot saw many more changes, including the completion a library/teacher’s resource center.

In addition to providing valuable educational opportunities to children, Ilkurot Nursery School also supports teachers and cooks by offering employment, and promotes additional cultural tourism throughout the village. Recently, a building was constructed to include a kitchen, store, staff room and changing room with a 3,000-liter water tank, and six new toilets. Further, the children now all have school uniforms, made as part of another community project that allows women with disabled children to stay at home and earn an income by creating a sewing business.

Maasai Village Life and the Importance of Education

In Maasai villages, young boys are typically sent away with their father’s cattle and accompanied by older morani (warriors) for 3-5 years tending to the cattle. Therefore, the Nursery School has a higher attendance of girls than boys. The girls that attend school also have chores they must complete before or after their lesson. By the time the students are 5 or 6, their mothers may have had 2 or 3 more children, for which the young girls are responsible for. They feed, bathe and carry the smaller children.

The lifestyle of young males and the responsibilities expected of young girls were a hurdle in the Ilkurot community projects. While trying not to disrupt the norms of Maasai life, the school tries to encourage education in the community. The school continually changes lesson schedules and requirements to make it more acceptable to the Maasai community.

The main task of the nursery school is teaching the children Swahili (Tanzania’s national language). Since the primary school curriculum is taught in Swahili only, children who do not learn the language will not be able to advance to primary school. The nursery school also teaches some English phrases because secondary school is taught only in English.

About Global Basecamps

Global Basecamps is a specialty travel company designed to simplify the process of researching and booking sustainable hotels, lodges and private tours worldwide. Travel at your own pace with a custom itinerary or simply find accommodations and excursions so that your trip priorities are met and you have maximum flexibility while on the road. Global Basecamps is the North American representative for Maasai Wanderings.

Sembrando Vida – Planting Life

Fundacion Chacras de Buenos Aires works with local community members who are vulnerable to various social circumstances and are in need of support in areas such as social reintegration, psychiatric assistance, protection against rural isolation and gender discrimination. Working with volunteers, Chacras de Buenos Aires runs a program called “Sembrando Vida,” (“Planting Life”) to support Psicoasistencial Hospital Josá Tiburcio BORDA in Buenos Aires.

This program’s model is based on collective efforts, where everyone is involved and participates in the work that’s needed to support and offer mental assistance to patients recovering from their treatment. Volunteers have the opportunity to work together with medical practitioners and neighbors, as well as other volunteers.

In addition to assisting with the administrative tasks at the hospital, volunteers also work on the on-site organic permaculture garden, and participate in activities such as building the foundation for a play oven, preparing meals and baking bread.

Villa San Luis, Pueblo Natural

Chacras de Buenos Aires also offers a volunteer opportunity in Villa San Luis, which is 30km from the Obelisk of Buenos Aires. The objective of this project is to create a model in social integration and sustainable development in Argentina. Working with the communities, the project encourages an original way of managing resources and a highly replicable strategy of managing agricultural and livestock family productions. Chacras de Buenos Aires also organizes workshops on bio construction, organic agriculture and handicrafts in Villa San Luis, allowing everybody to share know-how and learn ecological techniques.

Chacras de Buenos Aires is currently in the process of helping to building the community’s first fair-trade shop and renovating a community hall, where the community members will be able to transform raw material, exhibit their products and sell local crafts. Help is needed to complete these tasks. Those interested in a volunteer opportunity with Chacras de Buenos Aires can contact: info@chacrasbue.com.ar or 4307-7342 for more information.

Comments by Past Volunteers

“During the month I was working on the project Planting Life in the garden of Borda, I learned the basics of organic farming and the care of a garden… The pace of work allowed me to relax [and make friends] with the patients and talk with them, sharing. With the effort and help of all of us we made home-made breads baked with organic vegetables from the garden… What makes this project [special] is the interaction with the patients and other people involved in giving life to the hospital (cultural centre, artists, radio Colifata) [, which] gives a human note to this work. I have no doubt of the therapeutic function of the garden, and also of the positive effects it causes in the voluntary work!” – Clara, from Barcelona

“Everyone should do a volunteer work in the garden of Borda, to learn from the earth and plants, but above all, to face an unfamiliar environment, with all the stereotypes you have about psychiatric hospitals, and at the end realize that the people who live in the hospital teach a lot to the volunteers, without knowing it!” – Barbara, from France

Los Flamencos National Reserve protects the largest nesting colony of the Andean Flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus). Photo: © Hernán Torres

By Marcela Torres

Co-management of protected areas by the State and local communities is one of the best ways to guarantee that tourism will provide economic and social benefits to many people who would otherwise be marginalized, and at the same time that it ensures protection of the environment on which these communities rely on for their income. An excellent example is the Soncor Sector of Los Flamencos National Reserve, in the Atacama Desert of the Antofagasta Region, in northern Chile.

Tourism Development in Los Flamencos National Reserve

Los Flamencos National Reserve is located within the Atacama La Grande Indigenous Development Area, which was established in 1997 to promote sustainable development of the ancient territories of the Lickan Antay peoples. Since then, the Lickan Antay communities have strengthened their ancient rights to use the resources, in many cases using traditional ways and in others, applying modern natural resource management techniques.

When the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) began charging entrance fees to visit the Reserve about a decade ago, the Lickan Antay Community of Toconao cut off the road to access Laguna Chaxa, in the Soncor Sector, to demand that tourism carried out in their ancient territories would also benefit the descendants of this ethnic group that live in this nearby town.

Their action brought about a revision of the plan and CONAF and the Lickan Antay communities signed co-management agreements for four of the seven sectors of the Reserve: Soncor, Miscanti and Miñiques Lagoons, Moon Valley and Tambillo. Income generated from the entrance fees to these sites, which attract national and foreign visitors, has allowed the communities to strengthen programs to aid elderly and disabled people in their communities.

This bilingual sign at the entrance explains the co-management project and the local guide system to visitors. Photo: © Ricardo Cerda

At the same time, a significant amount of these incomes is invested in the management of each sector and staff salaries. The inclusion of local community personnel in the management of these sectors has, in turn, allowed CONAF to redirect its staff to sectors and activities that were previously left largely unattended.

First Sustainable Visitor Center

Because of the increasing interest shown by tourists from the nearby town of San Pedro de Atacama, the community decided to improve the site’s infrastructure and visitor information. To that end, in 2006, it partnered with CONAF and SQM mining company, which exploits lithium in the Atacama Salt Flat, to develop the first sustainable Visitor Center in the country to be built in a protected area.

The project included the architectural design and construction of the Visitor Center, incorporating techniques such as reuse of grey water and electricity generation through solar panels and wind mills. The roads were also repaired and the parking lot expanded.

This was the first sustainable Visitor Center built in a protected area in Chile, using renewable wind and solar energy. Photo: © Hernán Torres

At the same time, a group of local guides was trained, all of them members of the Lickan Antay Community of Toconao, in interpretation techniques, to convey effectively to visitors the natural and cultural values of the area. To support this, five bilingual signs were developed for the interpretive trail and 18 for the inner hall of the Center. A documentary video was also produced, in Spanish with English subtitles, to complement information provided to visitors.

The results could not have been better. Visitors to Laguna Chaxa comment that it is a pleasure to pay an entrance fee because you can see that the revenues are invested in the people and in improving the place, where you no longer find garbage lying around and there is good infrastructure. In addition, tourism has provided local people with a new source of income and each day more and more Lickan Antay Community members seek training to be part of the benefits of responsible tourism.

A local Lickan Antay guide explains the importance of conservation to a group of school children. Photo: © Marcela Torres

Local Lickan Antay guides accompany visitors in the interpretive trail, providing in-depth explanations and answering questions. Photo: © Hernán Torres

Southern Cone Journeys

Southern Cone Journeys is a responsible tourism operator based in Chile. Our tours provide you with a unique opportunity to experience the country’s natural and cultural heritage in depth. We have designed excursions off the beaten path, allowing you to be in close contact with locals and to discover scenic wonders that will take your breath away.

Southern Cone Journeys es un operador de turismo responsable con base en Chile. Nuestras excursiones le brindarán una oportunidad única para experimentar en profundidad el patrimonio natural y cultural de nuestro país. Hemos diseñado excursiones en rutas poco exploradas, que le permitirán entrar en contacto cercano con la gente local y descubrir maravillas paisajísticas que lo dejarán asombrado.

It is a warm night and I am sitting outside on the terrace of the Auja Environmental Center, located in the small villageof Al Aujain the Jordan Valley in Palestine. The Center has been initiated by Friends of the Earth Middle East. Here, I have been volunteering for about one month, and tonight, as usual, some local people come to socialize at the Center. Hearing stories of their daily lives from the Palestinian people in this region, what you see on the news back home suddenly becomes very real, very personal and very touching. The Israeli occupation and ongoing environmental degradation are a heavy burden and concern every single person in several ways.

Al Auja Environmental Center and Guesthouse

In Al Auja, water scarcity is a major challenge. Until recently, the Auja spring provided enough fresh water to allow agriculture to flourish in the area and the production fruits and vegetables served as the main source of income for the local people. Today, the spring has run dry, the fields are barren and the greenhouses abandoned, with only 2.5 % of the local people relying on farming as a source of income. This is due to a variety of factors such as careless drilling of wells, drought and unequal allocation of resources. Many Palestinians are forced to spend large amounts of money to buy water in tanks, hardly managing to meet their basic water needs, and have to seek employment outside of Al Auja.

Another factor that is further tightening the situation is water pollution. Infrastructure for municipal waste management and waste water treatment is largely non-existent and everyday huge amounts of sewage from Palestinian villages and Israeli settlements are discharged, often close to fresh water sources.

These are the conditions that generate the stories I get to hear about this evening.
“I used to cultivate 450 dunams of land. Now there is no water, I had to give up all farming”
“My brother used to have a flock of sheep in Al Auja, but they cannot find food here anymore, so he moved to Nablus.”
“Eight years ago I grew my own dates, now I am employed by an Israeli farm.”

The green patch is a flourishing Israeli farm amidst the barren Palestinian fields

Back in my room, I find it hard to fall asleep. Facing such a variety of intertwined challenges it is hard not to despair, especially when they affect people you have come to consider friends.

However, projects like the Al Auja Environmental Center give hope, by increasing people’s independence and resilience by promoting water management strategies and water saving techniques. One such example is our grey water recycling systems. Waste water is collected, treated, and reused. Since this type of waste water system was installed at the local mosque and people realized how beneficial it is, many private households have started using the system, leading to a large amount of water being saved.

In addition to environmental education and training projects, we also aim to create new job opportunities for locals through ecotourism. The unique ecology of the Jordan Valley and the incredibly hospitable people make a stay here an unforgettable experience! Staying at our guesthouse adjacent to the center, you may explore the valleys nearby with our local guide Muhanad, who has an amazing knowledge about the flora and fauna. Or sample delicacies from the local Bedouine cuisine, prepared by our excellent cook Nofoz – you may even learn how to prepare them yourselves.

You can also learn about sustainable solutions that the Center is implementing, such as composting, waste recycling and permaculture. Learn Dabka, the traditional Arabic dance or join local women produce beautiful handicrafts, be amazed at the Bedouines’ knowledge about medicinal herbs or just rent a bike and explore the area north of the Dead Sea. Get engaged, and you will have long lasting memories of your visit here, just like how my stay at Al Auja has greatly enriched my experience of Palestine.

Epic Bedouine barbeque – come join us!

Scouting new trails for ecotourists

In the province of Vojvodina and part of eastern Serbia, an area where tourism has yet to be tapped to its full potential, an undertaking called the Wealth of Diversity project has been set in motion. Coupled with the warm-hearted, friendly, open nature of the unique diversity of people who live there, the project guarantees visiting tourists a special multicultural experience and hopes to help generate vital revenue in the hosting small villages.

Guests of the Wealth of Diversity project in Serbia can enjoy the warm hospitality and traditional cooking in Velebit, a village in the northern Backa plain with a Serb population that emigrated from Croatia. It is surrounded by villages with Hungarian populations. Photo courtesy of Katarina Paunovic

Origins of Diversity on the Pannonian Plain

In the Danube region of Serbia, the land’s original inhabitants are, generally speaking, newcomers. Until just 300 years ago, the region was a sparsely populated swampland. The Pannonian Plain, which bordered the left bank of the Danube River, was 80 percent covered by water and unsuitable for human habitation. Then, during the time of the expanding Ottoman Empire, the ruling Austro-Hungarians chose to reinforce their defenses against the encroaching Turks by launching the most ambitious project of its time in Europe. They built a system of channels through the Pannonian Plain and settled it with people from all over Europe.

Belo Blato is a village in Banat, Serbia, with around 1400 inhabitants of Slovak, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Serb origin, as well as 16 other ethnicities. The villagers talk each other in four languages. Photo courtesy of Katarina Paunovic

In addition to the Hungarians, Serbs, Romanians and, to a lesser extent, other peoples who had already lived here for several centuries, the newly inhabitable land was colonised by Danube Swabians, Slovaks, Czechs, Ruthenians, Ukrainians, Spaniards, Italians, French, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Slovenes, and Serbs and Croats from Slavonia, Dalmatia, Bosnia and other parts of the Balkans. Bulgarian Catholics, Roma and numerous other smaller ethnic communities have also found refuge here since then.

A Tourism Treasure

Today these groups – more than 25 different ethnic communities with six languages in official use (a number exceeded only by the European Parliament) and numerous religious communities – constitute the indigenous population of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, which enjoys a high degree of independence in Serbia.

Ruski Krstur is a village in Serbia where Rusyns live. Rusyns are an ethnic community that usually inhabits areas of Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. They came to Vojvodina in the 18th century. Today tourists can enjoy a traditional horse-drawn carriage ride through the village. Photo courtesy of Perica Lukovic

Nowhere in Europe are there so many different peoples living in such a small region. Although the cultural wealth is made possible by their peaceful coexistence – an intertwining, mutual respect and acceptance – the different communities cultivate their unique traits in an effort to preserve their national identities. It is this wealth of diversity that has been identified as the region’s greatest asset in promoting tourism.

The Wealth of Diversity project was therefore launched at the initiative of the Magelan Travel Agency DMC and is being implemented by the Istar 21 Danube Tourism Cluster in cooperation with the government of the Province of Vojvodina. The goal of the project is to spotlight multiculturalism in the Danube region as a unified tourism product on the world market and lend this part of Serbia a recognisable brand.

Dancers perform in Deronje, a village populated with Serbs and Gypsies who have gained worldwide fame as tamburica players. This village hosts the largest festival and competition of tamburica orchestras. Photo courtesy of Katarina Paunovic

A Promising Project for Local Villagers

The Wealth of Diversity project identifies villages that best represent the ethnic mix in Vojvodina and the Danube region. Through the creation of tourism-driven market opportunities, the project will create conditions for the employment of women, young people and people on the margins of society. Guests can enjoy traditional houses, crafts and local food, as well as rich folk-dance and musical programs, horse-and-coach rides, bike and boat tours and participation in the preparation of traditional produce. Villagers are encouraged to create authentic souvenirs and local food specialties.

In the village of Stara Moravica, the majority of the population declare themselves as Hungarians. However, their forebears are Kumans, nomadic people of Turkish origin who came to the Pannonian Plain in the 12th century from Central Asia. Photo courtesy of Biljana Marceta

 The Wealth of Diversity project also involves training the local population that will be involved in providing tourism services. It will be essential to raise the quality of these services to a level that meets contemporary tourist expectations and, through modern technologies (a website, mobile apps and social networking), make promotional information accessible. The local population, which has increasingly been abandoning the villages for better opportunities elsewhere, places great hope in the Wealth of Diversity project. Here, a multiculturalism unique in Europe can be promoted, and the survival of these communities is made possible.

Projects in Kenya, Peru, Sri Lanka and Brazil have been announced as the winners of the first Travel2change idea challenge. Since its launch late April 2011, over 500 members joined the travel2change online community, and submitted around 60 innovative project proposals. The submitted ideas were evaluated based on creativity, effectiveness, impact, feasibility and sustainability. The four winning projects were awarded on July 17, 2011 by a jury of experts and will be realized in the coming months, thanks to the support of the travel partner Kuoni. Each winning project receives financial support as well as the help of volunteer travelers, who will collaborate with the local communities to bring the projects to life.

Travel2Change First Challenge Winners

SEP – Soccer, Education and Prevention (Oyugis, Kenya)
In Oyugis, Kenya, travel2change, together with the Society Empowerment Project (SEP), hosted a 4-day football event for around 300 children. Along with teaching life skills, teamwork and football skills, the travelers will train the children in proper hand washing techniques and the importance of basic hygiene. The production of soap from locally sourced materials will also be part of the program.

WAVES for Development (Lobitos, Peru)
This project aims to create life enriching experiences through education programs to develop healthy and empowered adults. The traveler will join local staff to teach local children water safety, beach management and environmental conservation among other events, and of course, surfing classes. Cultural exchange, through activities to increase healthy living and teaching skills for life, is another great benefit of the program.

Getting Kids Pumped for School (Horana, Sri Lanka)
The aim of the project is to connect a local school to its well so the children will have access to running water for drinking and sanitation, which will help improve the children’s health, thus reducing the risk of dengue and other communicable diseases. This will be achieved by installing pumps, water tanks and pipes, as well as expanding the depth of the well. The traveler will contribute to the project by assisting with installing pumps and water tanks.

AmazonArt at the Combu Education Centre (Combu Island, Brazil)
AmazonArt aims to employ music and the arts to inspire the children and local community. Its goal is to create awareness and understanding of the importance of protecting the rainforest, river and its local communities. Together with the staff of AmazonArt, travelers will assist with music and art classes and provide English lessons along with a cultural exchange to local children. Travelers will have a chance to improve the infrastructure of the school through basic construction projects and educate the children on the importance of safe drinking water and hygiene.

All travelers will provide frequent updates to give all community members the opportunity to monitor the realization of the projects.

Are You Ready to Travel2Change?

Travel2Change is now offering the chance for you to participate in the Sri Lanka project and the Peru project this fall (September – October). Travelers will be an active part in carrying out the activities to help successfully implement the goals of these projects. To learn more about the Travel2Change Join This Trip Contest and to apply, please go to review the contest details here: http://www.travel2change.org/blog/720

About Travel2Change

Travel2change is a non-profit organization connecting travelers, local communities and organizations to create change through purposeful travelling. An interactive website is the starting point for this collaborative effort and the hub for ideas as well as the exchange of experiences. Travel2change shall illustrate that tourism can make a difference in the lives of travelers and local communities alike. Leveraging this potential and creating projects that will have an impact and foster sustainable change in destinations is the goal of the organization. While Travel2change is rooted in Austria, the organization acts worldwide and seeks to make an impact globally.