ties ecocurrents quarterly emagazine - 2006 q4
TRANSCRIPT
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SPECIAL FEATURE:
CULTURAL HERITAGE & HANDICRAFTS:
PRODUCTS + SERVICES
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 1
EXPRESSING CULTURAL IDENTITY
& HERITAGE IN BOLIVIA1
CULTURAL MUSEUM FLORISHES
IN LOCAL COMMUNITY4
CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE
HIGHLANDS OF VIETNAM5
PRESERVING TRADITIONS THROUGH
FAIR TRADE CRAFTS6
2007 EDITORIAL CALENDAR 7
SPONSORS. ASSOCIATIONS, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND STAFF LISTING
8
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
EcoCurrents
Uniting Conservation, Communities, and Sustainable Travel
Fourth Quarter 2006
Price: $2.00 USD
Editor: Katie Maschman
Stay informed
2007 CONFERENCESwww.ecotourism.org
Copy Editor: Dave MesreyLR RO IOR
As world travelers, we look for authentic connections with host communities in journeys. A
travel professionals, we strive to create and maintain a genuine sense of place — to provid
an atmosphere of unique connections between our local communities and visitors. As ecotourism
supporters, we are committed to positive experiences for both visitors and hosts and to providin
financial benefits and empowerment for local people. As your global ecotourism association, TIE
recently hosted an enlightening forum about Handicras, Fair Trade, and Cultural Heritage withi
ecotourism.
is edition of EcoCurrents, builds of the forum’s informative discussion as we examine revitalization
of cultural heritage and handicra operations as tools for economic development and loca
empowerment. We hope you enjoy this issue of EcoCurrents and encourage you to check TIES’ websit
(www.ecotourism.org ) in the coming weeks for an audio recording of the cultural heritage forum.
I also ask you to share your thoughts on cultural heritage and resources for handicra busines
development with fellow members. For potential insertion in future editions of EcoCurrents, write u
at [email protected].—Katie Maschman,
TIES Membership & Communications Director
EXPRSSNG CULTURAL IDNTTYAND HRTAG N BOLVA
By Jennifer Marcy
In Bolivia’s tropical Chapare region, an indigenousQuechua woman named Prima Zerda recently formed a cras association with her neighbors
ey meet regularly to produce items made out of a native straw called Jipi Japa. But the group hastruggled in its efforts to find suffi cient markets for the home-based enterprise.
e experience of Zerda’s cras association is not all that uncommon. Unfortunately, many artisans inBolivia and around the world lack the entrepreneurial resources to substantially increase their incomthrough the sale of traditional cras.
CHF International, a humanitarian and international development organization, has recognized thneed for long-term economic assistance and job creation in the Chapare. e organization helpcommunities expand entrepreneurial activity in a number of areas, including the handicra sector, ian effort to present economic opportunities to poor regions throughout the world.
Handmade objects are an expression of cultural identity and heritage for artisans worldwide, andwhen harnessed effectively, the production and distribution of these items has immense commercia
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Uniting Conservation, Communities, and Sustainable Travel
Ecotourism in North America
September 26-29, 2007Monona Terrace
Madison, Wisconsin
For conference tracks and potential sessions
www.ecotourismconference.org
Ecotourism in North AmericaSeptember 26 - 28, 2007
Monona Terrace
Madison, Wisconsin
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Uniting Conservation, Communities, and Sustainable Travel
potential. But many small-scale producer groups face dauntingchallenges due to the lack of integrated cras sector developmentprograms and because of the extremely limited access to local,regional, and international markets.
e Cras Center at CHF International continues to enhancethe capacity of such artisans to gain market access, whichwould eventually generate income for poor communities in thedeveloping world.
CHF International has spent 54 years working with localcommunities, offering expertise in economics and businessservices, and ensuring a holistic approach to improving artisans’earning power. ese community programs have created betterlivelihoods for participants and have brought about positivechange for entire communities. e Cras Center at CHFInternational mentors artisans to become true entrepreneurs,providing the necessary resources to support all types of cras— from concept to final sale.
e Cras Center implements integrated developmentprograms that encompass technical support activities aimed atpromoting trade. ese include:
•Supply assessments (especially availability of materials,labor, and the ability to ship)•Production and supply development•Identification of market opportunities and requirements•Marketing support•Training and skills development
e Cras Center is currently providing technical crasassistance and support to 110 artisans like Zerda livingin Bolivia’s Chapare region. e artisans, all of whom arewomen, are learning bookkeeping, product development, andmarketing through in-depth grassroots training. e womenare also learning important business skills that will help themreach international trade markets: quality control, packaging,customer service, market research, and trend identification.e Cras Center also helps ensure the sustainability of theartisans’ markets, helping them identify, create, and maintainnational and international market linkages.
e trained artisans sell their products — which include high-quality home-decorating products such as baskets, coasters,and small boxes — directly to local and regional stores. Severalof the artisan groups now have the capacity to export tointernational markets in England, Germany, and the UnitedStates. About 25 percent of their sales are in these countries,with an average revenue of $1,500 per month. e productsbeing sold include jipi japa hats, orange peel jewelry boxes, andbanana bark gi boxes.
By helping the artisan groups diversify their market base, theCras Center is enabling the artisans to become less reliant onthe seasonal tourism market, while broadening their productline to reach new markets. By enabling the production of
handicras to be an economically viable industry, the artisansare able to express themselves and their culture heritagethrough the production of a traditional cra that has beenslightly altered to reach a broad market base.
In the 10 months that the Cras Center has been workingwith these Bolivian artisans, the income of roughly half of theartisans has increased 100 percent, to 600 bolivianos a month(approximately $50 U.S.). e other half have increased theirincome by at least 50 percent, to 300 bolivianos a month (about$25 U.S.). e Cras Center has chosen to work with a limitednumber of artisans, to ensure that the women’s acquiredskills and markets are sustainable, and that the training has asignificant economic impact on their families — which it hasWith their revenue, the women are helping to pay for theirfamily’s food and their children’s school fees and supplies.
“I’m very happy,” says Zerda, a single mother who helpedproduce traditional Bolivian hats sold at the 2006 FIFA(International Federation of Football Association) World Cup“With the money I earned, I will be able to pay for my son’seducation this year and offer him things I could have nevergiven him before.”
Jennifer Marcy is the Cras Center Manager at CHF International. CHFInternational is a humanitarian and development organization thaoffers a wide array of economic and community development servicesIts mission is to be a catalyst for long-lasting positive change in low- andmoderate-income communities around the world, helping families improvtheir social, economic, and environmental conditions. e organization provides technical expertise and leadership in international developmentincluding critical emergency management, following disasters and civiconflict. CHF has worked in more than 100 countries worldwide since itinception. For more information, visit www.chfinternational.org .
BOIIA CON’ (Continued from page 1)
In diversifying the product line to reach new markets,
the artisans become less reliant on the seasonal tourism market.
Bolivian woman works with native Jipi Japa straw.
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Uniting Conservation, Communities, and Sustainable Travel
I
n traditional Costa Rican villages, tiny rural homescoalesce around basic elements such as churches, schools,
soccer fields, and pulpería. e coastal town of Islita in theGuanacaste province was no exception. But by 2003, Islita’ssimple infrastructure and open spaces were transformedinto a unique collective art display that redefined the area’sidentity. Today, its signature destination, the Islita Open-AirContemporary Art Museum, serves as a vehicle for culturalexpression, self-validation, and entrepreneurship.
e museum recently launched “Encuentro en Islita,” aninitiative that paired established urban Costa Rican artistswith local townspeople to create colorful outdoor murals andsculptures in a living display of local aesthetics and traditions.Sponsored by Hotel Punta Islita and its Villafranca & ZϋrcherFoundation, the museum has spawned more than fivecommunity art groups, revitalizing an economically depressedregion that had relied solely on slash-and-burn subsistenceagriculture.
One of the first associations of local artists was the Artistasdel Papaturro, led by 72-year-old former schoolteacher CeciliaAguilar. e group of 17 women regularly gather under theirnamesake tree to create woven collages of dry seeds, smoothpebbles, and other miniatures found in the canvas of their
daily lives. eir delicate work, popular with guests, has beencommissioned by the Four Seasons Hotel in nearby Papagayo,and has been displayed at galleries and museums throughoutCosta Rica and Guatemala. Other groups include thedriwood woodworkers of Bosquemar, the Cantarrias potters,the Islita Youth candle makers, and the Grupo de Grabadolithographers.
Realizing that visitors are interested not only in the spectacularnatural beauty of their birthplace, but also in its culture andtraditions, the local populace has developed a palpable senseof empowerment. “Prior to my involvement in the art groups, Ibarely le the house,” says Papaturra homemaker Juana López.“I hadn’t even visited the nearby beaches in over 10 years …
I found no reason to.” Today, López socializes regularly withfellow Artistas del Papaturro and finds expressive language (anda supplemental source of income) in the polished glass, seashells,and twigs that line the coast. Her renewed sense of optimism iscollectively mirrored in a series
Marcos Steven Ruiz
Marcos Steven Ruiz was one of Hotel Punta Islita’s youngest
waiters. As a teenager, he was inspired by the movie Jurassic
Park to carve intricate dinosaur wood sculptures. A few years
later, Ruiz was involved in the “Encuentro en Islita” art project
and the resulting Islita Open-Air Contemporary Art Museum.
His brilliant murals depicting local fauna earned him the
first college scholarship bestowed by Hotel Punta Islita and
its Villafranca & Zϋrcher Foundation. Today, Ruiz is working
toward a digital animation degree in San Jose. He will be
the first in his family to complete post-secondary education.
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CUURA MUSU FORISS IN OA OUNIY
By Maria J. Barquero
Since the museum’s opening, community art groups
have experienced a rapid increase in membership.
Community Art Groups
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2003 2004 2005 2006
www.ecotourismglobalconference.org
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Vietnam’s mountainous Lào Cai province exemplifiesthe country’s rich cultural diversity. With its northernborder extending to the People’s Republic of China, Lào Caiis home to 27 distinct ethnic groups. e four main groupsare the Hmong, Yao, Tày, and Giay peoples — each with theirown language and cultural values. Tourists oen reach thetownship of Lào Cai via overnight train from Hanoi and useLào Cai as a jumping off point to explore the region.
e town of Sa Pa is one hour away by bus from Lào Cai,and the short trip treats visitors to views of lush river valleysand rice terraces on their way up the Hoang Lien mountainrange. Originally a French hill station built in the 1920s, Sa Pafirst attracted colonists with its stunning scenery and alpineclimate. Today the foundation for cultural tourism in Sa Pais strong, as cultural minorities constitute 85 percent of SaPa district’s population, with the majority of those Hmong.e Hmong people are recognized as five distinct groups:red, white, flowery, black, and green. Hmong women weartraditional colorful clothing to celebrate special occasions;the most colorful among them are the clothes of the flowery Hmong. e Hmong are best known for their handicras, inparticular, silver jewelry and dyed woven cloth. On the streetsand in the market of Sa Pa, visitors can see the intensely bluecloth of the black Hmong, which is oen dyed up to 30 timesto achieve its deep hue.
ere are a number of other markets in Lào Cai that featureethnic handicras, including Bac Ha and Tam Duong. Sunday
is market day in the small frontier town of Bac Ha, and theroads leading to market are full of people on foot or horseback.e Bac Ha market is primarily attended by the brightly colored flowery Hmong and serves as a social center, as wellas a place to buy and sell goods, including yarn, thread, wovencloth, skirts, sashes, bags, and hats in a rainbow of colors.
While culture andhandicras act as adriving force for tourismin Lào Cai, it’s possiblethat ethnic minoritiesare not fully benefitingfrom the tourism
industry. A recent articlein the Annals of TourismResearch suggests thatthese minorities arelargely excluded fromthe benefits of tourismin Sa Pa, due to reduced“access to economicsuccess and politicalpower in the stateapparatus.*” However, anumber of organizationshave been working toreverse these trends.
Cra Link, a regional NGO, has assembled an Association ofCra Producers, most of whom belong to ethnic minorities, inorder to ensure that the producers earn fair wages.
According to Nguyen Duc Hoa Cuong of SNV, that developmenorganization has also supported a number of communitybased tourism initiatives, including training and facilitatingemployment for ethnic minority tour guides, and developinga sightseeing fee-collection system that will reinvest a portionof the revenue to support community tourism development.
Lào Cai province has a wealth of cultural diversity that has
been rediscovered by tourists in the last decade. Colorfuhandicras brighten the markets of Sa Pa and Bac Ha, anddedicated organizations have been working to help loca
ethnic minorities share in the benefits that tourism brings.
*Source: Michaud, Jean and Sarah Turner. “Contending Visions of aHill-Station in Vietnam.” Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 785-808, 2006.
Former TIES Intern Anne Shaw traveled to Vietnam and the SaPa region in the summer of 2005. Shaw is a graduate student at the University of Denver. She is pursuing an M.A. in International Development. She is a California native and holds a B.A. inInternational Relations and Spanish from UC Davis.
Destination Highlight:
Cultural Diversity in the Highlands of Vietnam
By Anne Shaw
Scenic views enroute
to Sa Pa, Vietnam
RELATED RESOURCES
CRAFT LINK: A nonprofit organization committed to
diversifying and developing minority handicrafts and the
market for them; www.craftlink.com.vn.
HANDSPAN ADVENTURE TRAVEL: Offers small
group tours and eco-friendly alternatives in Sa Pa and
throughout Vietnam; www.handspan.com.
MUSEUM OF ETHNOLOGY: A research center and a
public museum in Hanoi dedicated to scientific research,conservation, exhibition, and preserving the cultural
patrimony of the nation’s ethnic groups;
www.vme.org.vn .
SNV: A Netherlands-based development organization
active in promoting sustainable, pro-poor tourism
development in Vietnam; www.snv.org.vn.
TOPAS ECOLODGE: A Danish-Vietnamese joint venture
committed to environmental and social sustainability,
featuring 25 individual lodges in Sa Pa valley;
www.topas-eco-lodge.com.
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PRSRING TRAIIONS TROUG
FAIR TRA CRAS
By Carmen Iezzi
of successful “regional firsts” undertaken by local community leaders, including a small public library, a composting station,and a recycling program.
Every year, more than 2,600 hotel guests visit the Islita Open-Air Contemporary Art Museum. Local culture, visibly depictedand easily accessible, has enriched the traveler experience andhas provided an increased opportunity to interact with localhosts. e opening of the Casa Museo visitors center featuresnot only the gallery, but also two artist workshops, furtherenhancing the guests’ experience and expanding the prospects
for more patrons. Local entrepreneurs are already planning to
open a small cafe.
e museum is firmly established as the nontraditional, yetauthentic heart of this Costa Rican community, providinga creative outlet, an income source, and a uniquely effective
vehicle for responsible tourism.
Maria J. Barquero is the Outreach Manager for Hotel Punta Islita, aboutique hotel located in a remote ocean cove of Costa Rica’s Guanacaste province. Surrounded by tropical dry forest, the Pacific Ocean, and tinyrural villages, the hotel has developed a responsible tourism model that emphasizes art as a tool for development. In April 2006, Hotel PuntaIslita won the Investor in People category of the World Travel and TourismCouncil’s Tourism for Tomorrow Awards.
Photos left to right: Women in a Kazuri workshop sorting beads; a producer with the
Friendship and Peace Society; and producer for the Tibet Collection
Many consumers know to look in their local coffee shopfor fair-trade beverages, but there is also a growingawareness that fair trade applies to handicras.
Well-known organizations like Ten ousand Villages andSERRV have provided gis and household items to the public.ese businesses — and hundreds of others — have committedthemselves to sustainable development through a model of prmoting fair trade in cras.
Unlike an anonymous purse or basket purchased from a bigbox store, fair-trade products are known to have a positiveeffect on families because fair-trade retailers, wholesalers, andproducers are fully committed to paying just wages in localcontext, ensuring environmental sustainability, respectingcultural identity, supporting cooperative workplaces, supplyingfinancial and technical support, providing consumer education,and offering public accountability. By approaching developmentas a holistic process (rather than just pursuing a fair price),fair-trade businesses cultivate long-term relationships withtheir suppliers and contribute to the sustainability and truedevelopment of the communities with which they work.
Around the world, fair-trade buyers partner with cooperative
enterprises to provide beautiful handicras to the public andto invest in communities. In Nepal, the Tibet Collection hasworked with the Association of Cra Producers to revive one of the earliest textile forms — felting — and to make a diverse rangeof products, including clothing, toys, and holiday decorations.On top of preserving this ancient tradition, producers earnmore twice the minimum wage per day, allowing their childrento attend school and their families to receive health care andto prosper.
Near Nairobi, Kazuri Ceramic Jewelry engages more than300 women in the production of hand-made beads out of clay gathered from Mt. Kenya. e craswomen are trainedin various techniques to produce internationally renowned
jewelry that has even caught the eye of film stars like MerylStreep. With soaring unemployment in the area, Kazuri reportsthat one of its employees oen provides for 20 or more family members.
In Mexico, artisans use techniques developed during pre-Columbian times to provide Cobre Hand-Forged Copperwith hand-hammered copper bowls, lamps, vases, and otherproducts. Purepecha Indian coppersmiths at seven cooperativesreclaim and melt scrap copper in
CUURA MUSU CON’
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Uniting Conservation, Communities, and Sustainable Travel
order to provide environmentally friendly works to the ArtInstitute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston,National Geographic, and shops across the country. Eachpiece reflects the individual style of the crasmen, who always
personalize the work with a signature.
Carmen Iezzi is theExecutive Director of the Fair Trade Federa-tion, a nonprofit as-sociation of fair-tradebusinesses in Canadaand the United States. Members undergoa rigorous screen-ing process to assesstheir commitment tothese principles up
and down the chainof production. ey’recommitted to fair wages, cooperativeworkplaces, consumer education, environ-mental sustainability, financial and techni-cal support, respect for cultural identity, and public accountability.For more information,visit www.fairtrade- federation.org.
2007 EOCURRNS:
Editorial Calendar
During 2007, EcoCurrents will focus on the theme of sustainability. e editorial calendar is as follows:•Sustainable Transportation (March),•Sustainability & Certification (June),•Sustainable Foods (September),•Sustainable Suitcase* (December).*environmentally and socially responsible packing for the eco-traveler,
for the ecotourism professional, and for the outbound operator.
Each addition will feature one destination; TIES encourages members to submit articles on the role of ecotourism within these topics. Articles are due the 1sof the month listed on the publication schedule.
Please submit articles to [email protected] .POO CRIS:
(Clockwise from le on each page)
Page 1: Table of Contents photo courtesy of Punta Islita Hotel; Article photo courtesy of CHF International. Page 2: Photos courtesy of New
England Outdoor Center, Patagonia EcoCamp - Cascada Expediciones, and Terra Incognita ECOTOURS. Page 3: Photo courtesy of CHF
International. Page 4: Photo courtesy of Punta Islita Hotel; Figure: Punta Islita Hotel. Page 5: Photo courtesy of Anne Shaw. Page 6: Photo
courtesy of Fair Trade Federation. Page 7: Ad photo credit - Katrina Shum; Article photo courtesy of Punta Islita Hotel.
Producers’ Stories
The Friendship and Peace Society
provides poor women in Hebron, Palestine with
sustained income, while helping them maintain their
ability to care for their families. Muslim, Jewish, and
Christian women embroider patterns onto pillows,
shawls, and other items for the Society. Each village
has distinctive patterns, including the moon and
cedar tree, many of which date back 150 years.
Women design their own products or take requests
from customers.
After the peso crash of 2001, ArtiZen offered
struggling Argentine artists access to the global
marketplace through the production of jewelry,
musical instruments, textiles, and other pieces that
combine modern and traditional designs. By using
the natural elements of their surroundings, like silver
and wood, producers use ancient traditions to create
future heirlooms that will be passed down through
generations.
PRSRING TRAIION CON’
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Uniting Conservation, Communities, and Sustainable Travel
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TIES BOARD
Heba Aziz, Ministry of Tourism, Oman • Tracy Berno, University of the South Pacific, Fiji • Rajiv Bhartari, Indian Forest Service &
Corbett Tiger Reserve, India • Sylvie Blangy (Development Chair), TUKTU Ecotourism Consultants, France • Kelly Bricker (BoardChair) , WILD-U, Fiji & USA • Tony Charters (Vice Chair), Tony Charters & Associates, Australia • Richard Denman (Secretary), The
Tourism Company, United Kingdom • Andrew Fairley (Treasurer), Turtle Island, Fiji & Australia • Kamelia Georgieva, Human
Research Center, Bulgaria • Nandita Jain, Independent Consultant, India & USA • Glenn Jampol, Finca Rosa Blanca Country Inn,
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Consultant, USA • Masaru Takayama, Japan Ecolodge Association, Japan • Louise Twining-Ward, Tourism Resource Consultants,
USA • Wolfgang Strasdas, University of Eberswalde, Germany • Jan Wigsten , Nomadic Journeys, Mongolia & Sweden • Carolyn
Wild, WILD International, Canada
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Courtney Baggett, Events Coordinator • Amos Bien, Director of International Programs • Christina Cavaliere, Director of
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Katie Maschman, Director of Membership and Communications
CONTACT TIES:1333 H St NW, Suite 300E, Washington DC 20005, USA • Tel: +1(202)347-9203 • Fax: +1(202)789-7279 • www.ecotourism.org