experience your destination in a different way. learn how to milk a cow or plant rice – get connected with the locals and stay in their house. Discover cultural exchange projects in Thailand, Nepal, Ethiopia, and kenya.

Cultural ExChangE: livE likE a loCalE T H I C A L

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ETHICAL cultural exchange: l ive l ike a local

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travel and become Part of tHaI communIty

Have you ever wondered how life would look like when living in an entirely different sur-rounding, in an entirely different culture with an entirely different way of living? nowadays, developments in tourism can give you the pos-sibility to realise this vision. in contrast to com-mon forms of tourism, where big companies and multinationals are in control of a region and its economy, CbT (Community based Tour-ism) aims on empowerment of, and fair ben-efits to the local community, with the develop-ment and preservation of the community as the main goal.

in return, the tourist can experience the authentic way of living, in a unique natural and cultural setting. instead of staying in an ordi-nary hotel, resort, bed & breakfast or guest-house, one will experience the real family-life by staying in a so called homestay. in short, this type of accommodation differs itself from oth-ers by adding an extra dimension concerning interaction: the guest is part of the family, and is therefore closely related to, and more eas-ily integrated into the community. As a result, guests are not only able to engage in normal tourist activities, but are regularly involved in activities with the locals.

mae la na communIty

one of the communities that have success-fully executed CbT as a tool for development and preservation is mae la na. in the upper North of Thailand, nearby the Myanmar bor-der, mae la na is situated in a valley in the mae Hong Son district, surrounded by a stunning mountainous and relatively wild landscape, rich of natural resources of various kinds.

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The vast majority of the indigenous people, the ‘Shan’, maintain a buddhist way of life and belief. The villagers believe in, and observe religious practices, and are very hospitable by nature.

They attend food-offering to the monks every day, and make merits at the temple on every buddhist holy day. mae la na is a rela-tively modern and well developed village, but tourists still have more than enough possibili-ties to experience the authentic way of living. The total population of mae la na counts 535 inhabitants, comprising 121 households. Thir-teen households within the community also serve as a homestay to enable CbT.

local actIvItIes

in mae la na and its surrounding area, sev-eral activities can be undertaken. Undoubtedly the most famous touristic activity in the region is a visit to South-east Asia’s longest cave: the mae la na cave.

Accompanied with a local guide from the community, one can spend hours in the dark cave, admiring stalagmites, stalactites, water-falls, bats, rare eyeless fish-species and more. Going through the whole cave is also a possi-bility, but because of its length, an overnight stay is required.

Furthermore, the marvelous area is extremely suitable for spectacular trekking tours. After an exhausting day, one should definitely go to the local sauna. A traditional medicine-man fills a small barn with herbal smoke, creating an extremely relaxing atmosphere. Afterwards, one can enjoy a locally made cigarette, made

of tobacco with additional herbs, held together by a special banana-leaf.

Moreover, the community itself has numer-ous other activities on offer on a voluntarily base. One can think of working in the rice fields, educating the children at the local pri-mary school, producing sesame oil in the tradi-tional way, catching frogs at night, maintaining the villages’ irrigation systems and so forth.

exPerIences

During a ten days stay in May in this extraor-dinary setting, our group of six both German and Dutch students was assigned to three dif-ferent homestays in the village. A rotation sys-

tem was used every three days to spread the group equally over the homestays, in order to divide revenues accordingly and to get to know the community-members better.

we were participating in the local life and spent time with our host families during some parts of the day, ate with them, and had con-versations, as far as our basic Thai knowledge, their basic English knowledge and gestures allowed us to. The first three days were used to attend the regular tourist activities. The remainder we worked within the village on a research-project for CbT-i (www.cbt-i.org) and participated in several local (working) activi-ties; an excellent way to discover the real com-munity, its members and the daily life. it shows how different, relaxing, friendly and intriguing community-life in this village can be in compar-ison to the modern western society.

Some general facts one can expect include a general 9 pm curfew, delicious food with rice as a main ingredient, the idyllic sound of cowbells ringing on the rice-fields (although depend-ing on the season), an extremely refreshing shower in either the local stream or the shed where you can wash yourself by using a bowl of water, unimaginably friendly and open peo-ple, and a perfect climate combined with one of the best views on earth. if this appeals to you just as much as it did to us, do not hesitate for a second to pay the community of mae la Na a visit to enjoy all this beauty, and at the same time support the community to develop and preserve its natural and cultural resources.

By Kimberly van Velzen & Daniël van der Heijdenhttp://www.cbt-i.org

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More and more tourists are fascinated by experiencing not only interesting cities and landmarks but also real cultural exchange at their destination. most tourism sites are packed with tourists which makes it quite dif-ficult to experience real interaction with the locals.

For cultural exchange it is necessary that the tourist number is low and that the interaction is natural meaning the hosting locals are unaf-fected or unpretentious in their approach.

Among all the sub divisions of tourism activi-ties, community based tourism is thought to be the best mechanism to address the intended goal with the minimum involvement of other beneficiary lines (tour operators, hotels) because it facilitates a direct contact with the local communities.

in ethiopia this kind of tourism is being prac-ticed by a nine-year old project in the north-ern part of the country by the name called TeSfA Community based Tourism. TeSfA is a local nGo (ethiopian residents charity) work-ing with rural farmers in two regions – North wollo and east Tigray. The organization helps them earn additional income from tourism business along with their livelihood activi-ties. in the next three years, TeSfA plans to expand to other adminstravitve zones of these regions.

communIty based tourIsm: rural vIllages In etHIoPIa

Traditional Tigrian dancing “Telihit” at Shibrety community site

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Thanks to this initiative visitors have a unique opportunity to interact with the local farmers and see the wonderful landscape both scenic and cultural. At the same time the tourists help the villagers by being one of their clients.

A visit to the rural villages gives a rare oppor-tunity to experience genuine interaction with local people. On the other hand, the communi-ties can also learn from the interaction which

leads to social and cultural changes in the host-ing communities.

TeSfA is working as a facilitator by linking Ethiopian rural communities and tourists from different countries. visitors trek from one village to another crossing rural country-side, enjoying the landscape, scenery, agri-cultural lands, flora and fauna. These give visitors an idea of the rural way of living in Ethiopia.

So far the organization has developed eleven community sites near lalibela (six in meket woreda). by keeping the traditional commu-nity structures, TeSfA enables them to run tourism hosting facilities to improve their qual-ity of life and environment. it contributes to a long term benefit to both the environment and local communities.

The number of guests in a group visiting one village at a time is limited to six. This allows for smooth and modest interaction with local people in addition to preventing any damage in the natural environment. This is one of the principles of the organization – protecting the natural and cultural resources.

North Wollo (near Lalibela area) – view from Dufti Mar-iam lunch stop

East Tigray – Trekking from Ghohagot to Shimbrety community site

The communication between the guests and hosts is facilitated by trained guides from lali-bela who are skilled mediators that avoid any control of the process. Thus the visitors can meet the people, learn about the village and discuss various issues in a natural way.

By Hanna Girmahttp://www.community-tourism-ethiopia.com

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ETHICAL cultural exchange: l ive l ike a local

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Nepal is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of natural beauty due to its unique geographical position and latitudinal variation. The elevation of the country is 60 m to 8848 m, all within a distance of 150 km with

climatic condition ranging from sub tropical to arctic.

This wild variation provides an incredible variety of eco-system, the greatest mountain ranges on earth, tropical jungle teeming with a

wealth of wild life, thundering rivers, forested hills and frozen valleys.

Tourism is the recent phenomenon of Nepal, which has more than 101 ethnic groups and 92 different spoken languages. The people inhabiting the rural parts of nepal have its own particular and unique culture, which allure the international tourists and make them visit and stay with the rural community again and again.

Chitlang is located to the south west of kath-mandu valley in mid-hills called Mahabharat range. This region reflects its heritage – it was an ancient newar settlement. The main eth-nic population are newar, Tamang, khas etc. inscriptions dating back to lichchavi era have been found in this place. According to 2001 census of nepal, there were 1170 houses in Chitlang and 5830 people.

in connection with the nepal Tourism year 2011, the ministry of tourism has come up with Home Stay operating Procedure 2067 and already 7 households have registered as home stays from Chitlang at the tourism min-istry division, brikuti mandap. more and more people are interested to provide their houses as home stays in Chitlang.

The people living in the scenic Chitlang valley in Nepal are very friendly to the travelers who come to explore local way of living. The vil-lagers are very frank in nature, they are eager to share their knowledge with the guests and dine together. entire families including children and women participate to show their guests around.

There are various castes, tribes and ethnic groups, who live together in the same village

nePal: Home stays on offer In cHItlang

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ETHICAL cultural exchange: l ive l ike a local

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within a short span of open land without any communal conflict. The mixed cultural soci-ety shares their cultural ceremonies as well and lives harmoniously and in peace with the neighboring villages. villagers always heartily welcome the visitors and are known for their hospitality.

basically, rural tourism is the major income of the villagers. Travelers have the opportunity to experience the life styles of particular ethnic groups and to participate in their daily chores.

Culture is the main focus of nepali tourism business. People’s hospitality, response and intimacy are the essence of the particular com-munity, which is dependent upon tourism pro-motion.

Photos: Bijaya PradhanBy Bijaya Pradhanhttp://www.dreamnepal.com.nphttp://www.discovernepal.org.np

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ETHICAL cultural exchange: l ive l ike a local

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Community Tourism’s objective is to provide a rich cultural experience coupled with develop-ment work to tourists in kenya.

Community Tourism is an initiative using tourism as tool to eradicate poverty within the community. The initiative was started in 2009 as way of helping the community showcase and market their heritage and products to the tourists community in a more responsible and sustainable way. The reasons as to why it was started are lack of school fees, scarcity of food, scarcity of water, lack of access to medical facilities, market opportunity and self employ-ment.

Community Tourism focuses on programs that generate income to the community and also provide rich fun filled experience to tour-ists. The programs are designed in such a way that they provide a win-win situation between the community and the tourists. below are some of the program activities that we have embarked on:• Paper recycling to make shaanga for neck-

laces, bracelets and earrings• Making of hand warmers, scarves and Mar-

vin’s through use of wool• making mats using bottle tops• Helping those who are aged, sick and needed

people within the community

nakuru, kenya: HelP tHe vIllagers tHrougH communIty tourIsm ProJect

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ETHICAL cultural exchange: l ive l ike a local

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• Selling of shares• Tree planting

Community Tourism runs a couple of proj-ects in a bid to promote community tourism in kenya. These projects are in partnership with various non Governmental organizations, Community based organizations, faith based organizations, Self Help Groups and private institutions:

rHIno camP sIte

rhino Camp Site is a campsite run by women that provides camping services to visitors in Nakuru. The camp site is maintained solely by women. They also use the campsite for cook-ing classes for guests who want to learn more about African cuisine. you can also book for lunch or dinner with community meal prepared by the women or prepared together with you.

Spend a night in the camp, wake up early and go for a village walk whereby you will have firsthand experience with the women as they work. Afterwards go for horse safari whereby you will watch wild animals; a real and unique way of a game viewing. Our camp have hot shower and security is guaranteed plus an operation bar. 20% of the money goes directly to the community.

lake nakuru lodge

The lodge has supported the principles of responsible tourism since 2000 and has to implement responsible tourism policy plan. in 2009 it included them as a founding prin-ciple of its corporate social responsibility

framework. it has adopted responsible tour-ism policy and action plan. This plan ensures that the lodge is well on its way towards being truly responsible destination. The lodge exercises its mandate for local tourism through creation of supportive policy envi-ronment and actions based on environment, economic and social-economic principles of responsible tourism.

Having incorporated responsible tourism, the lodge has following characteristics of respon-sible Tourism:

• minimizes negative economic, environmen-tal and social impacts;

• generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the wellbeing of host communities, improves working condi-tions and access to the industry;

• involves local people in decisions that affect their lives and life changes;

• makes positive contributions to the conser-vation of natural and cultural heritage, to the maintenance of the world’s diversity;

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ETHICAL cultural exchange: l ive l ike a local

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• provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connec-tions with local people, and a greater under-standing of local cultural, social and environ-mental issues;

• is culturally sensitive, engenders respect between tourists and hosts, and builds local pride and confidence

mwarIkI Heart to Heart women grouP

Mwariki project is a community based group which uses tourism as tool to eradicate pov-

erty within the area. The above organisation was started in january 2009 by lake nakuru lodge as way of helping the community.

Project has been involving the community address gaps and challenges by turning them into innovative, economic and conservation ventures.

waste recycling to come up with jewellery has been a great innovation. Community mem-bers have greatly contributed to the project design.

Combines planting of trees that are both medicinal, and also improves on the environ-ment.

Empowers the community economically through groups and self employment ventures.

Culture of saving and community cohesive-ness enhanced.

Enhances the capacity of the community members to fully take charge of their lives and fully address emerging challenges using avail-able resources.

The scarcity of water has led to famine in the past due to lack of project addressing water conservation in the source area.

http://communitytourismkenya.org