I’m back from a 3 weeks tour of the ecuadorian amazon region during which I visited 5 different community-based tourism projects: discovery of kichwa culture and the tropical flora and fauna was a great part of the program. Thanks to the project I had the chance to live by the sides of local people and to learn about the opportunities and challenges of a tourism which is “community-based” (quite a wide notion which get together different forms of tourism organisations in fact as I could notice it).
To find a fair balance between local economical development and environmental conservation is not an easy task: oil explotation and intensive african palm trees agriculture was also part the program…
I share with you my experience through videos on my blog:
- Shayari, Kichwa community and rehabilitation of wild animals
- Limoncocha, Kichwa community and caiman lagoon
- Rio Indillama, Kichwa community in the Yasuni National Park
- Yachana Lodge, education and opportunities for all
- Huasquila Lodge, reforestation and accessible tourism
I continue now my tour of Ecuador with the mountain Andes part and very soon the pacific beaches !