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2010 Innovation Award Finalist: The Travel Foundation

Your Travel Choice — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 04:00:59 +0000

Nominated by: Georgina Davies, The Travel Foundation (Organization Category)

Project Description

‘Roots’ Tour Project – The Gambia

Since Alex Haley’s book ‘Roots’ was published in 1976, tourists have been flocking to the villages of Juffureh and Albreda in the Gambia where the story began. The book and subsequent film tell the story of Kunte Kinteh, a man captured as an adolescent from Juffureh and sold into slavery in the United States. Today, around 2000 people live in Juffereh and Albreda, including decedents of Kunte Kinteh’s family. Tours to the villages involve international visitors arriving by boat and spending a few hours in the community learning about the slave trade and life in the village.

Although Juffureh and Albreda are situated in one of the poorest areas of the Gambia, local people earned very little from the tours. Until recently, the villages received no fee from visitors and the only way that the community was able to gain from the tours was through donations and by hassling tourists to buy crafts, sweets and other items. As a result, hassle to tourists was rife, complaints were common and tour operators were thinking of dropping the excursion from their itineraries. In addition, local people had very little, if any, say in the tourism to their villages.

In response, The Travel Foundation, a UK charity, began working with the communities and tour operators to redevelop the tour. The aim was to create greater benefit for local people, to help ensure that their voice was heard in decisions made about tourism to their communities and to create a more sustainable future for the tours. The project was initiated and piloted in the 2008/2009 season and has since been developed in 2009/2010. It is implemented by a local team based in the Gambia.

The first step was to gain agreement from tour operators for part of the price of the tours to be paid into a village fund to support development projects. Now, 50 Gambian Delasi (around US$1.84) per tourist is paid into this fund, increasing local earnings from tourism significantly and raising over US$27,500 to date. The fund belongs to and is managed by the communities themselves and we have helped to set up a village steering committee to ensure an accountable and transparent process for the use of the money. The Kinteh family also receive an allowance from this fund and they have reported that this has enabled them to increase their income from the tours by 50%.

So far, 16 local people have been trained to become professional tour guides, who now earn a monthly salary paid for by the fund. The guides enable visitors to gain more from their visit and help to limit hassle from street vendors.

We are also helping local people to increase income from the sale of crafts to visitors without hassling tourists. Many of the vendors in Juffureh sell on goods made elsewhere. We are training these vendors to make their own distinctive crafts using traditional methods, enabling them to increase the margin made from each sale and to create attractive products for tourists which are unique to the region. To date, 24 women have been trained in traditional tie dye methods using natural dyes found in their local environment, and 11 men have been trained in wood carving skills that are unique to the villages of Juffureh and Albreda. Our aim is to set up an official market at the pier where the tourist boats arrive.

In addition, we have created a children’s centre in the village, which gives local children facilities to learn and play outside of school hours. 70 children are now using the centre and an art teacher is helping them to learn traditional techniques and explore their artistic talents. As well as giving children an additional opportunity to learn and develop outside of school, the centre also helps to reduce the number of children begging from tourists.

It is early days for this project, but already local people are seeing greater benefits from the tours through increased income, new employment opportunities and a chance to learn new skills. Tourism is vital to the Gambia’s economy, representing its biggest foreign exchange earner and around 17% of its GDP. The 10,000 visitors who took a ‘Roots’ excursion last year brought important income to the villages of Juffereh and Albreda.

The project is also helping to increase the quality of the ‘roots’ tour and improve the experience for tourists, helping to ensure a more secure future for tourism in the area. The areas visited on these tours represent an important part of the Gambia’s heritage and tourism can play a significant role in its conservation, helping to keep alive the story of these villages and to improve the well being of the communities that live there today.

Our aim is to continue to improve the benefit for local people from these tours and to ensure that visitors continue to gain an authentic experience of the region’s culture and history in the knowledge that they are also contributing to the well-being of the people they meet.

Juffureh Local Guides

Alkalo Issuing Certificate to Female Guide

Children's Center

Testimonials

Joanne Baddeley, Sustainable Destinations Manager, Thomas Cook UK & Ireland:

‘This project is already helping people who live in the communities visited by the Roots tour by bringing new opportunities for them to earn vital income. It’s also important to visitors, as it’s helping to improve the quality of the tour and the experience for tourists. Roots is one of the most popular excursions for Thomas Cook customers and helps them to really appreciate the traditions and cultures of the country. It is important to us to continue to work together with the Travel Foundation in support of the Roots project to ensure that the local people receive the income they deserve through tourism.’

Lamin Ceesay, local guide, Juffureh:

“This training provided us with an opportunity to be certificated and licensed by the Gambia Tourism Authority as local guides within our community. My father passed away when I was young and my mother remarried and went to stay with her new husband in SerreKunda. As the eldest of the family I am considered the breadwinner of the family and the income I am now receiving is making me proud that I can now perform my responsibilities of contributing towards the family. I am sponsoring the education of my two younger brothers, Essa and Omar and that of my sister Yasai.”

2010 Innovation Award Finalist: Basecamp Explorer

Your Travel Choice — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:52:22 +0000

Organization: Basecamp Explorer

Nominated by: Judy Gona (Organization Category)

Project Description:

In 2009, Basecamp Explorer, in partnership with 500 masai landowners, agreed to create a 20,000 hectares community wildlife conservancy in Masai Mara Kenya. The called it Naboisho, which means togetherness in local Maa language.

Unique to this conservancy is that each of the 500 landowners is guaranteed of monthly income paid as rent for fifteen years, for setting aside part of their land for conservation. the rent is determined by the number of acres a landowner has contributed to the conservancy and will increase each year based on inflation rates.

The conservancy will create some 200 jobs for guides, camp staff, scouts, research teams, community outreach personnel, project officers, managers among others. the conservancy, now operational will have five eco-camps operating at the highest levels of ecotourism with all required to have Ecotourism Kenya’s Silver eco-rating certification within two years of operation.

A big cat monitoring project and elephant monitoring are being implemented. through a volunteers program, Naboisho is inviting the world to share in this incredible project. within the conservancy, is the only community guiding school in Eastern Africa.

Basecamp has been appointed the main consultant in steering the school to the highest levels of academic excellence. The choice of Basecamp as a partner by the community in the conservancy project, is not by coincidence. it a result of trust built over ten years where Basecamp has proven that tourism can benefit host communities through effective involvement. Basecamp through an effective CSR program has initiated projects in health, education, culture, conservation and climate change. our education program has seen close to 100 masai girls access education and enabled 115 women earn a regular income through an enterprise dubbed Basecamp Masai brand.

Masai brand is a provisional member of Fair Trade having been awarded fair trade label by the Confederation of Fair Trade in Africa (COFTA). Basecamp has a similar initiative with women from the village of Chandelao in India, where it runs a lodge. Basecamp Explorer is indeed a showcase of responsible tourism.

Lease signing

The Masai Brand

2010 Innovation Award Finalist: Rios Tropicales

Your Travel Choice — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:48:46 +0000

Organization: Rios Tropicales

Nominated by: Julie Thorner (Organization Category)

Project Description

The El Tigre Community Sustainable Tourism South-South Project

El Tigre was awarded a grant from Fundecooperacion for this project in August of 2008. Project construction began in February of 2009. Project construction on the last Phase 1 initiative was finished in April of 2010.

The project to help develop El Tigre into a sustainable community tourism destination met the goals of the Programme for South-South Cooperation (PSC). These goals include: Sustainable tourism, Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity, Access to Sustainable Energy and Efficient Energy Use, Sustainable Chains of Production and Consumption, and Gender Equity. The three guiding principles of successful PSC project candidates are Equality, Reciprocity and Participation.

What is the El Tigre South-South Project?

The El Tigre South-South Project is an international collaboration between the Republic of Costa Rica and the Kingdom of the Bhutan. The immediate project players are the small rural community of El Tigre, and the newly created Association of Bhutanese Outfitters in Bhutan. The official PSC project title was: Rural Adventure Tourism Enhancement and Sustainable Community Development in Bhutan and Costa Rica.

How The El Tigre Project Started:

Bajo del Tigre, also called El Tigre, is a small rural community of 100 members (25 families) located in the Caribbean region of Costa Rica, two miles from Rios Tropicales’ eco-lodge on the Pacuare River.

The community has been serving lunch out of the homes of various families for the past couple of years to tourists who hiked and rode horseback from the adventure company eco-lodges to the town. Once there though, there was nothing for the tourists to do but have a meal and plant a tree at the nearby Rios Tropicales rainforest reserve. El Tigre resident Javier Mora manages this reserve for Rios Tropicales.

El Tigre community members had limited job opportunities in the town or related to the revenue potential of the nearby large adventure rafting industry. Several entrepreneurial residents wanted to offer more things for tourists to do and see, to support their community in sustainable, environmentally responsible ways, and create jobs and income for their families. Rios Tropicales had been involved in the community in various ways for years.

The Connection With The Kingdom of Bhutan

To qualify for a grant through PSC, however, the El Tigre community had to have a partner in either Benin or Bhutan, in order to meet the reciprocity and international collaboration guiding principles of the PSC. As it turns out, the Kingdom of Bhutan wanted to develop sustainable adventure-based tourism, specifically white water rafting, in its country.

Costa Rica has a very successful adventure tourism industry that has been operating since the early 1980s, and the country’s leader in sustainable adventure tourism is Rios Tropicales. On the reciprocal side, Bhutan has considerable experience in sustainable community development. Bhutan is sharing its lessons learned from its own successful sustainable tourism communities for the benefit of the El Tigre community in Costa Rica.

Thanks to the leadership of Rios Tropicales, El Tigre was able to apply for a PSC grant with the nascent Bhutanese Outfitters Association. Rios Tropicales provided strategic consulting to El Tigre residents about financially viable adventure tourism attractions. Rios Tropicales Co-founder and President, Rafael Gallo, managed the overall project and implementation in El Tigre.

El Tigre Becomes A Model Sustainable Tourism Project

The Year 1 initiatives (Phase 1) of the El Tigre South-South project provide income, jobs, education, and international collaboration for the community. The project funding was the critical support for the sustainable development of existing hobbies/interests into attractions and entrepreneurial activities that can generate revenue for operator/owners.

These community members benefit economically, socially, and educationally from their efforts, including increased self-esteem, retention of jobs and decreased rural flight. As most attractions involve the women in the families as co-owners and managers, the children experience gender equity through entrepreneurism first hand. They see their parents successfully co-creating and managing rural, sustainable businesses.

El Tigre Phase 1 Attractions:

1.Butterfly Garden: A popular attraction, with commercial applications possible.
2.Serpentarium: An educational snake exhibit of local rainforest species.
3.Orchid Garden: Expansion of a small private orchid garden into a robust attraction.
4.Agua Dulce Internet Café: Offers sustainable revenue source and international collaboration opportunities.
5.Environmentally sustainable bathrooms at the Bajo del Tigre School.
6.Expansion of the Tilapia sustainable fish farming project.

The El Tigre Project Results So Far

Rios Tropicales, as manager of the overall project for Fundecooperacion, along with the El Tigre community project managers and owners are pleased to report that Phase 1 of the South-South project has been completed on time and on budget. All attractions are now open and have been receiving a growing stream of tourist visitors from the adventure outfitters operating on the Pacuare river.

El Tigre’s elementary school, Escuela Los Angeles, became eligible for, and was awarded, the Costa Rica Blue Flag for Educational Centers as a direct result of this project. El Tigre is working toward becoming eligible for the Blue Flag for Community as well. A Phase 2 additional project of a hydroponic organic garden is also nearing completion. It will provide healthy food for the community and is a future revenue source through produce sales to eco-lodges on the Pacuare River.

We expect that Bajo del Tigre will be financially sustainable within two years of opening and operating the exhibits and the internet café. The ready-made tourist market from the rafting industry on the Pacuare ensures a steady visitor population to this tiny and otherwise remote rainforest community.

The combination of sustainable community development that is near large-scale adventure recreation is a win-win for communities and outfitters, and the only way the project can be financially viable long term. All outfitters have a chance to market to their guests the opportunity to visit to a sustainable rural development project while adventure vacationing on the Pacuare River. El Tigre now has economic and social opportunities never before imaginable in such a small and remote rainforest community.

2010 Innovation Award Finalist: Rainforest Alliance

Your Travel Choice — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:43:52 +0000

Organization: Rainforest Alliance

Nominated by: Jessica Webb, Rainforest Alliance (Organization Category)

Project Description

The Rainforest Alliance provides tourism entrepreneurs and community-based businesses in Latin America with the tools and training they need to become more environmentally and socially responsible, to compete in the marketplace and to contribute to the conservation of the local cultures and nature. Last year, we launched the Rainforest Alliance Verified program, which includes the following services:

Training modules – from one day seminars to multi-day workshops, we provide tourism businesses with the tools and know-how they need to manage their business sustainably through best practices
Technical Assistance – businesses work together with our qualified sustainable tourism assessors to create a sustainability management plan tailored to the business’ needs
Verification Visits – an assessor makes an on-site visit to evaluate the business on its application of sustainability practices, so that management can see where they are doing well and where they need to improve
Marketing benefits – businesses that fulfill certain requirements (see below) are eligible to receive promotional benefits from the Rainforest Alliance, including use of the Rainforest Alliance Verified mark, representation in local and international trade shows, and inclusion in promotional Web sites and printed materials

All of our tools and modules are aligned with the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria.
Topics covered include:

Clean technologies
Waste management and recycling
Carbon offsetting
Preserving and reviving local culture and heritage
Quality in service
Administration and planning
Biodiversity conservation
Green marketing
Gender equality as a mirror of the social commitment of the business

By working on improving their environmental, social and economic practices, tourism businesses:

Ensure the future of their water and energy sources and natural and cultural treasures so that they can thrive for years to come
Improve their bottom line and cut costs by learning how to save energy, use less water, and reduce staff turnover
Give their guests a more authentic, memorable and satisfying experience, by assuring them that they can feel good about choosing their business
Prepare for certification with one of the members of the Sustainable Tourism Certification Network of the Americas or, in the future, a Tourism Sustainability Council accredited program
Improve their competitiveness by reaching international markets that are increasingly demanding sustainable services
Receive marketing and promotional benefits from the Rainforest Alliance (see our brochure for more details)

What do tourism businesses gain from the implementation of best practices and what costs do they incur? To answer this frequently asked question, the Rainforest Alliance developed a study, entitled Best Management Practices in Tourism Businesses: Their Benefits and Implications, which examined 14 hotels of various sizes, types of locations and market niches in Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Nicaragua that are participating in our verification program. The analysis found that, through the application of best practices, these tourism businesses reduced their operating costs and improved both the quality of their service and their company’s image.

Here are some of the study’s specific findings:

Seventy-one percent of the hotels decreased their water consumption, and 31 percent reduced the amount of money they spent on water.
The hotels saved an average of $2,781 on their water bills. One hotel in Nicaragua reported an annual savings of $7,900.
Ninety-three percent of the properties reported a decrease in energy consumption, even though 15 percent of them expanded their installations.
The reduction in electricity consumption resulted in lower power costs for 64 percent of the hotels, with an average annual savings of $5,255. One Nicaraguan hotel saved $17,300.
Seventy-one percent of the businesses reduced solid waste, while the remaining 29 percent maintained stable waste levels, even though their occupancy rates increased.
The decrease in garbage production also generated savings, with 79 percent of the businesses repurposing discarded materials, such as glass food jars that were reused as vases.
At 83 percent of the hotels, managers supported conservation efforts in protected areas, which they believe improved their competitiveness.
All of the hotels purchased goods and services from small and medium local enterprises, and 64 percent of them saved money in transportation costs.
All of the businesses hired local workers, and hotel administrators found that employees were more motivated after attending training sessions; 93 percent of the hotels reported a decrease in staff turnover.

Rainforest Alliance Community-Based Business Training

Costa Rica Hotel with Solar Panels

2010 Innovation Award Finalist: Elemento Natural

Your Travel Choice — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:30:24 +0000

Organization: Elemento Natural (Costa Rica)

Nominated by: Roberto Lizano, Elemento Natural (Organization Category)

Project Description:

The organization Elemento Natural, together with some friends, organized a photo expo, with pictures taken by indigenous children: it was called ‘The communities through the eyes of its children’. For that, we needed to raise money to provide cameras and to visit the communities to give instructions to the children. We chose 2 different schools (Rey Curre and Las Vegas), where we selected 22 students to participate. We gave them disposable cameras and asked them to take pictures of their homes, schools, pets, family, communities, nature.

After collecting the cameras, we assembled a group of experts to select the best 50 pictures. With them, we created an event in San Jose, in a cultural center. For the days of the event we brought the children for a unique weekend in town where they could enjoy amusement parks, movies, theater and the event itself: we also needed to raise funds for all of that, and we found some companies and friends that were kind enough to help us economically. The Photo expo had the sponsorship of the Culture Ministry.

After the main event, the expo has moved to other companies, to outreach a bigger population.
One of the main objectives is improving the awareness of our costarican indigenous communities, and facilitating the cultural exchange: the main event was a unique opportunity to do so, especially because we were able to show our city to the kids that had not been in the capital city before. Then, the education of the visitors of the expo is the other direction of the awareness we want to build.

The other big objective is to provide help and support to these two communities; we made bookmarks and postal cards with the same pictures that were chosen for the expo. By selling them, we are raising funds, so we can improve the infrastructure of the participating schools and bring technology to these locations (computers, internet, DVD’s). We are ready to start some retrofit work to bring electricity to Las Vegas School, and we are ready to purchase PC’s to replace defective equpment in Rey Curre School, and to bring the first ever computer to Las Vegas School.

The other means is that we created a tour that visits at least 3 different indigenous communities, even though they don’t have a good offer of services; and we are bringing tourists (consequently jobs) to their villages.

The tour visits Las Vegas School, where the tourist can meet the children and spend time playing with them, bring them any voluntary aid, swim in the river. We then go to Rey Curre for handcraft shopping (famous indigenous masks), and then we go to Terraba to a locally owned lodge. The next day we go to Boruca to an indigenous musuem, more handcraft shopping, and then we continue to the pre-columbian Sphere park. We use only local providers. We sell the tour at a very low margin price.

We think we found a creative approach to help, work with local communities and develop an interesting tourism product that also creates income to these communities.

School Teachers and Children

Student in a Class

>> See project description (in Spanish) and photos and videos of the photo exhibition

2010 Innovation Award Finalist: Playa Viva

Your Travel Choice — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:24:35 +0000

Organization: Playa Viva (Mexico)

Nominated by: David Leventhal, Playa Viva (Organization Category)

Project Description

Las Salinas – the salt flats – are 5 km from Playa Viva near the Pacific Coast of Mexico, about 45 minutes south of the resort of Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa. 120 families are members of a salt harvesting co-op. Of these, eighty are actively harvesting salt. Of those, less than half are using traditional means to harvest the salt. Playa Viva is a sustainable boutique hotel located nearby. Playa Viva has been working in this area for the last for years with the goal to go beyond green (doing less damage) and sustainable (net neutral) to be a truly “regenerative” resort, improving the biodiversity and resilience of the ecology and community.

As part utilizing the regenerative method of development, Playa Viva developed a “History of Place” that included archeological records showing that salt from this area was given as tribute to Aztec kings.

Traditionally, the salt is harvested by the creation of handmade drying ponds, “eras”, which are reformed each year after raining season. However, in recent years, many of these artisanal salt farmers have turned to less costly and time consuming means of harvesting their salt. These families are turning to plastic, black plastic, to line the drying ponds.

As a result, the plastic leaches into the salt and contaminates this pure, delicious and healthy mineral and food. Likewise, the plastic is left after the rainy season and results in further contamination of the lagoon further harming the attempts of traditional harvesting to keep their product clean and sustainable.

Playa Viva has submitted the salt for quality testing. The results from the lab were astounding. The salt is extremely high in minerals missing in our bodies and food as a result of soil erosion and modern farming techniques. The salt is naturally high in iodine and low in sodium.

This lagoon salt is formed by rains washing over the Sierra Madre Mountains delivering valuable minerals to the lagoon. During rainy season, the lagoon water rise, eventually the sand bar that separates the lagoon from the ocean breaks through and salt water fuses with the mineral rich water. As the rains fade, the heat evaporates the water, minerals and salt settle on the floor of the lagoon. The farmers then hand form clay drying ponds.

They scrape this mineral rich solid from the lagoon and wash it with the remaining brine from the lagoon creating. The resulting super-saturate brine is then poured into handmade drying ponds which absorb the calcium and minerals from the “eras”. What remains at the end of 5-7 days is a white, crystalline flake of healthy mineral salt.

This salt is completely undervalued and sold for pennies a pound with the largest buyer being the locals who use this salt to make Queso Fresco – Fresh Cheese. Since traditional salt farmers only earn barely enough to pay for the means of production, many are moving to cheaper plastic methods or just giving up harvesting salt.

Playa Viva’s innovation in supporting sustainable tourism is derived from leveraging its role as a tourism operator in the Juluchuca community, specifically working to identify opportunities where it can add value through access to resources – intellectual, financial and social capital – to improve the economic and environmental conditions of the members of its community.

The goal of this endeavor is to create a higher value for the salt, providing a living wage for the 120 peasant farmer families that are part of the co-op and to bring a true market price to this undervalued product. By focusing on improving market price, the goal was to have the local community realize the true commercial value of their local resources, rediscover the inherent value in the traditional means of harvest, understand the importance of not contaminating their natural resources and provide a mechanism towards achieving pride in their heritage – after all this is the Salt of Aztec Kings.

As a result, Playa Viva created the brand name “Sal Viva – the Salt of Life” as a brand extension to Playa Viva. Each guest that stays at Playa Viva is provided with a sample package of the salt to take home. Sal Viva is the ONLY salt served. Sal Viva in larger gift packages is also sold on site.

Additionally, Playa Viva has started importing Sal Viva for sale in the US. Currently, it is on sale via online partner, CharitiesUSA.com.

Playa Viva has been working with top chef’s in restaurants starting in Los Angeles including famed Mexican restaurant Loteria and owner Jimmy Shaw who added a new menu item using Sal Viva. Most recently Joseph Gillard of Napa Valley Grille in LA has been added to the chef’s using Sal Viva.

Sal Viva is part of Playa Viva’s general PR and marketing strategy.

As a result of Playa Viva’s efforts, the members of the co-op have already started branding their own salt, now using sacks that are printed with the name of the co-op and location of the salt. This sense of pride in brand is new and is creating the sense of product differentiation. The price of “organic” salt, as it is now being called – that is salt made using traditional means and not plastic – is already obtaining a premium price, whereas it was once priced the same as non “organic” salt.

Playa Viva has leveraged its innovative strategy for creating a model for sustainable tourism across a variety of activities including the development of Sal Viva, Canasta Viva (a CSA – Community Supported Organic Agriculture – project with local farmers), Pack For a Purpose (non-profit to bring supplies to the local schools), mangrove and coastal forest restoration (Playa Viva Reserve) and the Tortuga Viva (turtle sanctuary for preserving marine turtles). Sal Viva is just one initiative within an innovative strategy for leveraging tourism for building more resilient communities and ecosystems.

Sal Viva - the Salt of Life

Playa Viva Salt Farm

>> Learn more about the project – Sal Viva: The Salt of Life

Zanzibar LIVE Project: Developing the Fascinating Kiwengwa Caves as an Ecotourism Destination

Your Travel Choice — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:18:10 +0000

By Elina Nieminen

The Kiwengwa caves in the Kiwengwa-Pongwe Forest Reserve are part of ancient history of the Zanzibar Island. The locals have visited the caves to worship their ancestors, bringing gifts to the holy stones in the caves. In the old days, the villagers kept leopards in the caves as a status symbol of the owner. Forest guard found these longest caves of Zanzibar in 2002, and there is now an initiative to make this natural wonder available for tourists to visit and enjoy. In 2005, the Department of Commercial Crops, Fruits and Forestry of Zanzibar, in cooperation with the Turku Geographical Society of Finland and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), started the Kiwengwa Ecotourism Project to develop these unique caves as an ecotourism destination.

The Cave System and Rich Biodiversity

The cave system is divided into three parts. Only the North cave and South cave are accessible for tourists. These are 230 and 205 meters long respectively. The East cave is 50 meters long, is darker, has a lot of bats, and can only be entered by crawling. The stalactite caverns have formed from water dissolving calcium carbonate from coral stone. There are many insects and also five species of bats, of which two are considered to be rare in the caves. The naturally formed holes in the ceiling of the caves let sunlight in, creating an exciting atmosphere. Another curious feature is the roots that have forced their way through the ground and look like electric wires connecting the ceiling and the bottom of the caves.

The caves are surrounded by three natural trails; a short 0.2 km, a medium 0.4 km and a long 2 km trail. The Kiwengwa-Pongwe Forest Reserve is the only large remaining high coral rag forest area in the Northern Zanzibar. There are endemic species, for example Red colubus monkey, duikers (big antelopes) and mini antelopes, which you might see when walking the trails. There are also 47 bird species such as Fisher’s Turaco and a lot of butterflies in the forests.

Most of the trees and other plants along the trail have interesting traditional medicinal purposes, and you can ask your guide about the usage of these plants. There are some endemic and rare species of trees such as Uvarioendron kirkii and Pittosporum viridiflorum and tree climbers such as Vernonia Zanzibariensis and Monodora grandidieri. They are used commonly as local medicine, which is part of the reason why they have become rare.

Developing Ecotourism and Livelihoods of the Communities

The Forest Conservation by Livelihood Development Project (LIVE Project) aims to conserve the forest areas and biodiversity in Zanzibar by supporting alternative livelihoods for the local communities. LIVE Project supports 40 groups in 11 villages around the Kiwengwa-Pongwe Forest Reserve, including Kiwengwa. There are also ten Village Conservation Committees involved in the project, working to develop sustainable use of forest resources. By visiting the caves, visitors will also be able to support the project, as well as experiencing one of the most spectacular natural wonders of the island.

Kiwengwa-Pongwe Forest Reserve is located in the Northeastern region of Unguja Island, and you can get there by taking a dala-dala from Kiwengwa to Mchekeni. The distance from the Stone Town is approximately 35 kilometres. The last journey of the road (about 500 meters) is in a bad condition, but the LIVE Project is seeking funding for fixing the road.

This is a site not yet known to tourists. A reception center has been built, with a café and a souvenir shop, although the center does not have the capacity to provide services for visitors yet. For now there is no entrance fee, while later when the services are more developed, visitors will be required to pay US$5-10 to enter the site. LIVE Project welcomes visitors interested in being among the first to experience this unique attraction.

To learn more about Kiwengwa Caves, contact LIVE Project (live-project [at] lists.utu.fi) or the Department of Commercial Crops Fruits and Forestry, Zanzibar: (tamrini [at] yahoo.com).

Tribewanted’s Second Eco-Village Project in Sierra Leone Aims to Support Sustainable Community Development

Your Travel Choice — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:04:55 +0000

“Tribewanted Sierra Leone is your chance to play a part in kick-starting the right kind of tourism in a country that needs it. It will be an amazing adventure, so don’t miss this opportunity to be one of the pioneering visitors.” – Ben Keene, Founder, Tribewanted

In October 2010, a new group of visitors will arrive on Sierra Leone’s John Obey Beach, 20 miles south of the capital, Freetown, and begin to build a new life alongside the local fishing community. The initiative is led by Tribewanted, a social enterprise whose groundbreaking social experiment on the Fijian island of Vorovoro has injected since 2006 more than US$ 1 million into the local economy by setting up an online tribal community of more than 10,000 people.

Filippo Bozotti, Tribewanted Sierra Leone’s founding partner says about the country: “It’s an addictive place; Not only is it one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to; it’s also one of the most relaxed.”

Tribewanted Sierra Leone has formed a partnership with the government, landowners and the local John Obey community to create an eco-village community over the coming years to support sustainable development in the area. A maximum of 30 tribe members will spend a minimum of 1 week at a time – living alongside a local team and the community immersed in the day-to-day running and development of the village. The project will run from October to June annually, closing for the rain season.

Tribewanted Sierra Leone has also partnered with the local non-profit organization, Shine On Sierra Leone, which works in the areas of education, public helth and sustainable community development, sponsoring six schools and computer centers around the country as well as providing micro-finance opportunities to over 5,700 women, and is about to build a birthing center with the support of the first lady of Sierra Leone. All profits generated from Tribewanted Sierra Leone will be reinvested in the local John Obey community, in education and in microfinance through Shine On Sierra Leone.

Tribewanted, in the words of its founder Ben Keene, is about “living alongside a local community whilst connecting with a global network of like-minded people.”

Tribewanted Sierra Leone tribe members will have the opportunity to join in with the development of the new village alongside the local team and community members. The project will be implementing a new and pioneering building technique called “SuperAdobe” developed by Cal Earth, a technique that uses only local earth and material. For the visiting tribe members, it will also be a unique opportunity to experience a peaceful, beautiful and vibrant country seeking a new beginning a decade after being ravaged by civil war.

Opportunity to Get to Know Tribewanted

Tribewanted will be presenting a Global Perspective Workshop at this year’s Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (ESTC) – being held from September 8th to 10th, Portland, Oregon, USA. Featuring critical issues and topics related to conservation, communities and sustainable travel, the Global Perspective Workshops will offer unique opportunities to meet local and global experts, and learn how you can be part of innovative initiatives that are changing lives and empowering communities around the world. The ESTC 2010 Global Perspective Workshops are held on Wednesday, September 8th, 2010, from 12:30-2:00pm at Hilton Portland, Galleria South, and are open to the public.

Mammal Watching in Estonia’s Forests and Woodlands

Your Travel Choice — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 01:33:03 +0000

Wolf (Photo: Valeri Stserbatyh)

Raccoon Dogs (Photo: Valeri Stserbatyh)

European Beaver (Photo: Sven Zacek)

Elk (Photo: Valeri Stserbatyh)

One of the most important and endangered type of forests in Estonia is Western Taiga. Western Taiga is a complex forest habitat type, ranging from dry pine forest (Pinus sylvestris) to damp spruce forests (Picea abies). Some stands in such forests may be quite young, having regenerated after a forest fire that occurred over hundred years ago, while others are significantly more mature.

In all cases, natural Western Taiga – not subjected to commercial forestry – is extremely rich, providing habitats for many threatened species of lichens, bryophytes, insects and birds. The dead wood, in particular, plays a central role in maintaining this high conservation value.

Estonian forests and woodlands are well-known in Europe for its number of mammals living there: 700-800 lynxes, over 150 wolves, 500-600 brown bears, and almost 20,000 beavers. The flying squirrel, in addition, is the pride of Estonian forests – throughout Europe they can only be found in Estonia and Finland.

Estonian Western Taiga forests stand out also with their extraordinary richness in birds species. Here the strong breeding populations of the wild fowls make the region even more distinguished. One of the most vivid indicators of diversity are definitely woodpeckers: eight different species of woodpeckers nest in Estonia’s territory. During the birding trips, often there are mornings when six different species of woodpeckers can be found in one spinney!

The nesting owls have also been thriving in Estonia’s forests, with mostly stable populations during the last decades: Tengmal’s Owl 200-400 pairs, Ural Owl 1500-2500 pairs and Pygmy Owl 600-1200 pairs. The only concern is the steep drop in the number of Eagle Owls. The typical grouse in Estonian forest areas is unquestionably Hazel Grouse, up to 40,000 pairs nest here. The number of Capercaillie has stabilized during the last decades and now about 2000-3000 pairs nest in Estonia. The most endangered species of the wild fowls is Black Stork.

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Learn More About Estonia: Featured ecoDestination

Estonia is a small country, situated on the Baltic coast between Russia, Finland, Latvia and Sweden. Estonian territory is about same as the Netherlands, but the population (1.4 million) is eleven times less, which means that there is lot of space for nature. About 50% of country is covered by forests and woods, and is home to eagles, wolves, brown bears and lynx. People of Estonia often call themselves the “forest people”, and have lived on these lands since Stone Age. more…

European Ecotourism Conference (EETC), Pärnu, Estonia, September 26-30, 2010

Join TIES and Estonian Ecotourism Association this September at the EETC 2010, being hosted in Pärnu, Estonia, and you will have the unique opportunity to meet ecotourism leaders from across Estonia and Europe. Pre- and Post-conference tours include: Kayaking in the Bay of Tallinn and Elk watching and wolf tracking. To learn more about the conference program and to register, go to the EETC 2010 webpage.Don’t forget to join the EETC group on Facebook and LinkedIn to participate in on-going discussions about ecotourism in Europe!

Estonian Nature Tours: Botanical Tours in Estonia

Your Travel Choice — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 00:58:34 +0000

Siberian Iris (Photo: Arne Ader)

Lady’s Slipper (Photo: Anneli Palo)

Estonia is the smallest and least populous of the three Baltic States which achieved independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. It is a land of great natural beauty, but still comparatively little known as a wildlife destination. However, the abundance of natural habitats is reflected in a very impressive avifauna which matches that of any other country in northern Europe.

The country has a long, indented and diverse coastline with more than 1,000 islands. Forests and woodlands cover almost half of the Estonian territory. An admirable seventeen percent of the country is afforded protection within nature reserves that vary in size from the large national parks to the smaller, locally protected reserves.

Extensive undeveloped coastal areas with wide-spread reed-beds and grasslands as well as unique untouched nature with winding rivers, vast floodplains, mires, bogs and primeval forests in the central part of the mainland are habitats for thousands of migrating and breeding birds and many species of rare mammals.

Its flora is amongst the most spectacular in northern Europe. In particular, strong influences in the country’s floral make-up come from both Siberia and also the warmer regions of southern Europe, with many plant species reaching their respective western or northern extremities of range within Estonia.

For further information on botanical tour experiences in Estonia, please visit Estonian Nature Tours.

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Learn More About Estonia: Featured ecoDestination

European Ecotourism Conference (EETC), Pärnu, Estonia, September 26-30, 2010