Venezuela jumps on eco-tourism bandwagon

[pampango]

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/venezuela/100709/eco-tourism-coffee?page=0,0

Isidoro Valera never imagined that one day his home would become a tourist attraction. It's located three kilometers up a muddy track that even at the best of times is a struggle for four-wheel drive trucks. Most of the grounds are devoted to growing coffee beans.

It took a local NGO to point out that his home had all the assets that appealed to a certain kind of tourist. His farm backs against an imposing slab of rock known as El Gobernador, a national park that is home to rare animals such as the Andean bear and the spectacular-looking Cock-of-the-rock.

Valera’s inn is part of a chain of "mucuposadas" ("mucu" means "home" in the local indigenous language) set up by the local conservation NGO Andes Tropicales. The aim is to create a form of tourism that gives money back directly to locals.

But most importantly, mucuposadas are a way of promoting a new form of tourism that guarantees the area’s cultural and environmental integrity, said Marie Christine Martin, program director at Andes Tropicales in Merida. It's a form of tourism that has been gaining popularity since the late 1980s and has become particularly prevalent in Latin America whose countries boast a rich biodiversity.

[11 Bravo]

1. I wonder how long it will take for this interesting thread to degenerate into the standard DU ...

garden-variety Chavez flamefest?

[Peace Patriot]

2. The photo slide show accompanying the article is great. What a beautiful area!

And, aside from the headline, the article is informative as well as enticing.

"Jumps on the bandwagon"? It's a slick and meaningless phrase, except to convey, subliminally, that Venezuela is "backward" but now is..."greedy"? "opportunistic"? "imitative"? --as opposed to go-getters, smart, innovative lovers of the environment. The other articles and blogs at the site are toxic with anti-Chavez crapola. It makes you wonder if the editors--and not the writer of the article--wrote the headline.

There are so many MORE APT headlines that could have been used, that reflect the actual content of the article, which is mainly about fostering tourism that helps small farmers and preserves the natural and cultural heritage of this staggeringly beautiful region (revealed in the photos). And--to be more precise--the story is not about "Venezuela"; it is about specific non-profits and small farmers, in a specific region of Venezuela, who have started this program (which seems incredibly affordable: $17/night for full lodging plus guides, hikes, activities in one of the most beautiful and bio-diverse areas of the world). How about "Small Coffee Growers in Venezuela Offer Deal to Eco-Tourists"? Or, "Farmers and NGO's in Venezuela Invite Eco-Tourists to the Andes"? Or, "New Andes Eco-Tourist Program in Venezuela"?

"Jumping on the bandwagon" is a put-down. And I don't see anybody "jumping" in these photos. I don't see slick, greedy opportunists. I see hard-working people who appreciate where they live and love what they do. And that is what the article is about, as well.

[me b zola]

3. I've been attempting to get No Reservations to film in Venezuela

I think that I'll send them this article. :hi:

[On the Road]

4. Venezuela is a Great Place for This Kind of Travel

If you're comfortable navigating, you don't even need to buy the high-end eco tour packages from the US. Just go there (Ciudad Bolivar if possible). Three-day packages to Angel Falls or other destinations are available at half price or less.

Here are some pictures from 2004. The people were friendly, although very few spoke English and the ATMs were dicey. We took some of those infamous South American buses with boom boxes and broken windows cross-country from the Orinoco to the coast through country and small towns. You see so much better than going by plane.