Uniting Conservation, Communities, and Sustainable Travel
Fourth Quarter 2006
Price: $2.00 USD
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
SPECIAL FEATURE:
CULTURAL HERITAGE & HANDICRAFTS:
PRODUCTS + SERVICES
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
EXPRESSING CULTURAL IDENTITY
& HERITAGE IN BOLIVIA
CULTURAL MUSEUM FLORISHES
IN LOCAL COMMUNITY
CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE
HIGHLANDS OF VIETNAM
PRESERVING TRADITIONS THROUGH
6 The experience of Zerda’s crafts association is not all that uncommon. Unfortunately, many artisans in
FAIR TRADE CRAFTS
2007 EDITORIAL CALENDAR
SPONSORS. ASSOCIATIONS, BOARD
OF DIRECTORS, AND STAFF LISTING
Stay informed
2007 CONFERENCES
www.ecotourism.org
E c oCurrents
Editor: Katie Maschman
Copy Editor: Dave Mesrey
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
A s world travelers, we look for authentic connections with host communities in journeys. As
travel professionals, we strive to create and maintain a genuine sense of place — to provide
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 providing
financial benefits and empowerment for local people. As your global ecotourism association, TIES
recently hosted an enlightening forum about Handicrafts, Fair Trade, and Cultural Heritage within
ecotourism.
This edition of EcoCurrents, builds of the forum’s informative discussion as we examine revitalization
of cultural heritage and handicraft operations as tools for economic development and local
empowerment. We hope you enjoy this issue of EcoCurrents and encourage you to check TIES’ website
(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 handicraft business
development with fellow members. For potential insertion in future editions of EcoCurrents, write us
at newsletters@ecotourism.org.
—Katie Maschman,
TIES Membership & Communications Director
1 EXPRESSING CULTURAL IDENTITY
AND HERITAGE IN BOLIVIA
1
By Jennifer Marcy
4
5
I n Bolivia’s tropical Chapare region, an indigenous
Quechua woman named Prima Zerda recently formed a crafts association with her neighbors.
They meet regularly to produce items made out of a native straw called Jipi Japa. But the group has
struggled in its efforts to find sufficient markets for the home-based enterprise.
Bolivia and around the world lack the entrepreneurial resources to substantially increase their income
7 through the sale of traditional crafts.
CHF International, a humanitarian and international development organization, has recognized the
8
need for long-term economic assistance and job creation in the Chapare. The organization helps
communities expand entrepreneurial activity in a number of areas, including the handicraft sector, in
an effort to present economic opportunities to poor regions throughout the world.
Handmade objects are an expression of cultural identity and heritage for artisans worldwide, and
when harnessed effectively, the production and distribution of these items has immense commercial
(Continued on page 3)
 Uniting Conservation, Communities, and Sustainable Travel

Ecotourism
Ecotourism in North America
in North America
September
September 26-29,
26 - 28,2007
2007
Monona Terrace
Monona Terrace
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin

For conference tracks and potential sessions

www.ecotourismconference.org
2
 Uniting Conservation, Communities, and Sustainable Travel
BOLIVIA CON’T (Continued from page 1)
potential. But many small-scale producer groups face daunting
challenges due to the lack of integrated crafts sector development
programs and because of the extremely limited access to local,
regional, and international markets.

The Crafts Center at CHF International continues to enhance

the capacity of such artisans to gain market access, which
would eventually generate income for poor communities in the
developing world.

CHF International has spent 54 years working with local

communities, offering expertise in economics and business
services, and ensuring a holistic approach to improving artisans’
earning power. These community programs have created better
livelihoods for participants and have brought about positive
change for entire communities. The Crafts Center at CHF
International mentors artisans to become true entrepreneurs,
providing the necessary resources to support all types of crafts
— from concept to final sale.

The Crafts Center implements integrated development

programs that encompass technical support activities aimed at
promoting trade. These include:
•Supply assessments (especially availability of materials,
labor, and the ability to ship)
•Production and supply development
•Identification of market opportunities and requirements Bolivian woman works with native Jipi Japa straw.
•Marketing support
•Training and skills development handicrafts to be an economically viable industry, the artisans
are able to express themselves and their culture heritage
through the production of a traditional craft that has been
In diversifying the product line to reach new markets, slightly altered to reach a broad market base.

the artisans become less reliant on the seasonal tourism market.
The Crafts Center is currently providing technical crafts
assistance and support to 110 artisans like Zerda living
in Bolivia’s Chapare region. The artisans, all of whom are
women, are learning bookkeeping, product development, and
marketing through in-depth grassroots training. The women
are also learning important business skills that will help them
reach international trade markets: quality control, packaging,
customer service, market research, and trend identification.
The Crafts Center also helps ensure the sustainability of the
artisans’ markets, helping them identify, create, and maintain
national and international market linkages.
The 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. Several
of the artisan groups now have the capacity to export to
international markets in England, Germany, and the United
States. About 25 percent of their sales are in these countries,
with an average revenue of $1,500 per month. The products
being sold include jipi japa hats, orange peel jewelry boxes, and
banana bark gift boxes.
By helping the artisan groups diversify their market base, the
Crafts Center is enabling the artisans to become less reliant on
In the 10 months that the Crafts Center has been working
with these Bolivian artisans, the income of roughly half of the
artisans has increased 100 percent, to 600 bolivianos a month
(approximately $50 U.S.). The other half have increased their
income by at least 50 percent, to 300 bolivianos a month (about
$25 U.S.). The Crafts Center has chosen to work with a limited
number of artisans, to ensure that the women’s acquired
skills and markets are sustainable, and that the training has a
significant economic impact on their families — which it has.
With their revenue, the women are helping to pay for their
family’s food and their children’s school fees and supplies.
“I’m very happy,” says Zerda, a single mother who helped
produce 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’s
education this year and offer him things I could have never
given him before.”
Jennifer Marcy is the Crafts Center Manager at CHF International. CHF
International is a humanitarian and development organization that
offers a wide array of economic and community development services.
Its mission is to be a catalyst for long-lasting positive change in low- and
moderate-income communities around the world, helping families improve
their social, economic, and environmental conditions. The organization
provides technical expertise and leadership in international development,
including critical emergency management, following disasters and civil

3 the seasonal tourism market, while broadening their product

line to reach new markets. By enabling the production of
conflict. CHF has worked in more than 100 countries worldwide since its
inception. For more information, visit www.chfinternational.org.
 Uniting Conservation, Communities, and Sustainable Travel
CULTURAL MUSEUM FLORISHES IN LOCAL COMMUNITY
By Maria J. Barquero
I n traditional Costa Rican villages, tiny rural homes
coalesce around basic elements such as churches, schools,
soccer fields, and pulpería. The coastal town of Islita in the
Guanacaste province was no exception. But by 2003, Islita’s
simple infrastructure and open spaces were transformed
into a unique collective art display that redefined the area’s
identity. Today, its signature destination, the Islita Open-Air
Contemporary Art Museum, serves as a vehicle for cultural
expression, self-validation, and entrepreneurship.
The museum recently launched “Encuentro en Islita,” an
initiative that paired established urban Costa Rican artists
with local townspeople to create colorful outdoor murals and
sculptures in a living display of local aesthetics and traditions.
Sponsored by Hotel Punta Islita and its Villafranca & Zϋrcher
Foundation, the museum has spawned more than five
community art groups, revitalizing an economically depressed
region that had relied solely on slash-and-burn subsistence
agriculture.
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.
www.ecotourismglobalconference.org
Community Art Groups
(Membership Levels)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
2003 2004 2005 2006
Since the museum’s opening, community art groups
have experienced a rapid increase in membership.
One of the first associations of local artists was the Artistas
del Papaturro, led by 72-year-old former schoolteacher Cecilia
Aguilar. The group of 17 women regularly gather under their
namesake tree to create woven collages of dry seeds, smooth
pebbles, and other miniatures found in the canvas of their
daily lives. Their delicate work, popular with guests, has been
commissioned by the Four Seasons Hotel in nearby Papagayo,
and has been displayed at galleries and museums throughout
Costa Rica and Guatemala. Other groups include the
driftwood woodworkers of Bosquemar, the Cantarrias potters,
the Islita Youth candle makers, and the Grupo de Grabado
lithographers.
Realizing that visitors are interested not only in the spectacular
natural beauty of their birthplace, but also in its culture and
traditions, the local populace has developed a palpable sense
of empowerment. “Prior to my involvement in the art groups, I
barely left 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 with
fellow Artistas del Papaturro and finds expressive language (and
a supplemental source of income) in the polished glass, seashells,
and twigs that line the coast. Her renewed sense of optimism is
collectively mirrored in a series (Continued on page 6)
4
 Uniting Conservation, Communities, and Sustainable Travel
Destination Highlight:

Cultural Diversity in the Highlands of Vietnam

By Anne Shaw

V ietnam’s mountainous Lào Cai province exemplifies

the country’s rich cultural diversity. With its northern
border extending to the People’s Republic of China, Lào Cai
is home to 27 distinct ethnic groups. The four main groups
are the Hmong, Yao, Tày, and Giay peoples — each with their
own language and cultural values. Tourists often reach the
township of Lào Cai via overnight train from Hanoi and use
Lào Cai as a jumping off point to explore the region.
The town of Sa Pa is one hour away by bus from Lào Cai,
and the short trip treats visitors to views of lush river valleys
and rice terraces on their way up the Hoang Lien mountain
range. Originally a French hill station built in the 1920s, Sa Pa
first attracted colonists with its stunning scenery and alpine
climate. Today the foundation for cultural tourism in Sa Pa
is strong, as cultural minorities constitute 85 percent of Sa
Pa district’s population, with the majority of those Hmong.
The Hmong people are recognized as five distinct groups:
red, white, flowery, black, and green. Hmong women wear
traditional colorful clothing to celebrate special occasions;
the most colorful among them are the clothes of the flowery
Hmong. The Hmong are best known for their handicrafts, in
particular, silver jewelry and dyed woven cloth. On the streets
and in the market of Sa Pa, visitors can see the intensely blue
cloth of the black Hmong, which is often dyed up to 30 times
to achieve its deep hue.
There are a number of other markets in Lào Cai that feature
ethnic handicrafts, including Bac Ha and Tam Duong. Sunday
is market day in the small frontier town of Bac Ha, and the
roads leading to market are full of people on foot or horseback.
The Bac Ha market is primarily attended by the brightly
colored flowery Hmong and serves as a social center, as well
as a place to buy and sell goods, including yarn, thread, woven
cloth, skirts, sashes, bags, and hats in a rainbow of colors.
While culture and
handicrafts act as a
driving force for tourism
in Lào Cai, it’s possible
that ethnic minorities
are not fully benefiting
from the tourism
industry. A recent article
in the Annals of Tourism
Research suggests that
these minorities are
largely excluded from
the benefits of tourism
in Sa Pa, due to reduced
“access to economic
success and political
power in the state
apparatus.*” However, a
Scenic views enroute number of organizations
5 to Sa Pa, Vietnam have been working to
reverse these trends.
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.
Craft Link, a regional NGO, has assembled an Association of
Craft Producers, most of whom belong to ethnic minorities, in
order to ensure that the producers earn fair wages.
According to Nguyen Duc Hoa Cuong of SNV, that development
organization has also supported a number of community-
based tourism initiatives, including training and facilitating
employment for ethnic minority tour guides, and developing
a sightseeing fee-collection system that will reinvest a portion
of 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. Colorful
handicrafts brighten the markets of Sa Pa and Bac Ha, and
dedicated organizations have been working to help local
ethnic minorities share in the benefits that tourism brings.
*Source: Michaud, Jean and Sarah Turner. “Contending Visions of a
Hill-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 Sa
Pa 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. in
International Relations and Spanish from UC Davis.
 Uniting Conservation, Communities, and Sustainable Travel
PRESERVINGE TRADITIONS THROUGH
FAIR TRADE CRAFTS
By Carmen Iezzi
M any consumers know to look in their local coffee shop
for fair-trade beverages, but there is also a growing
awareness that fair trade applies to handicrafts.
Well-known organizations like Ten Thousand Villages and
SERRV have provided gifts and household items to the public.
These businesses — and hundreds of others — have committed
themselves to sustainable development through a model of
prmoting fair trade in crafts.
Unlike an anonymous purse or basket purchased from a big
box store, fair-trade products are known to have a positive
effect on families because fair-trade retailers, wholesalers, and
producers are fully committed to paying just wages in local
context, ensuring environmental sustainability, respecting
cultural identity, supporting cooperative workplaces, supplying
financial and technical support, providing consumer education,
and offering public accountability. By approaching development
as a holistic process (rather than just pursuing a fair price),
fair-trade businesses cultivate long-term relationships with
their suppliers and contribute to the sustainability and true
development of the communities with which they work.
Around the world, fair-trade buyers partner with cooperative
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
CULTURAL MUSEUM CON’T
(Continued from page 4)
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 depicted
and easily accessible, has enriched the traveler experience and
has provided an increased opportunity to interact with local
hosts. The opening of the Casa Museo visitors center features
not only the gallery, but also two artist workshops, further
enhancing the guests’ experience and expanding the prospects
enterprises to provide beautiful handicrafts to the public and
to invest in communities. In Nepal, the Tibet Collection has
worked with the Association of Craft Producers to revive one of
the earliest textile forms — felting — and to make a diverse range
of products, including clothing, toys, and holiday decorations.
On top of preserving this ancient tradition, producers earn
more twice the minimum wage per day, allowing their children
to attend school and their families to receive health care and
to prosper.
Near Nairobi, Kazuri Ceramic Jewelry engages more than
300 women in the production of hand-made beads out of
clay gathered from Mt. Kenya. The craftswomen are trained
in various techniques to produce internationally renowned
jewelry that has even caught the eye of film stars like Meryl
Streep. With soaring unemployment in the area, Kazuri reports
that one of its employees often provides for 20 or more family
members.
In Mexico, artisans use techniques developed during pre-
Columbian times to provide Cobre Hand-Forged Copper
with hand-hammered copper bowls, lamps, vases, and other
products. Purepecha Indian coppersmiths at seven cooperatives
reclaim and melt scrap copper in (Continued on next page )
for more patrons. Local entrepreneurs are already planning to
open a small cafe.
The museum is firmly established as the nontraditional, yet
authentic heart of this Costa Rican community, providing
a creative outlet, an income source, and a uniquely effective
vehicle for responsible tourism.
Maria J. Barquero is the Outreach Manager for Hotel Punta Islita, a
boutique hotel located in a remote ocean cove of Costa Rica’s Guanacaste
province. Surrounded by tropical dry forest, the Pacific Ocean, and tiny
rural villages, the hotel has developed a responsible tourism model that
emphasizes art as a tool for development. In April 2006, Hotel Punta
Islita won the Investor in People category of the World Travel and Tourism
Council’s Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. 6
 Uniting Conservation, Communities, and Sustainable Travel
PRESERVINGE TRADITION CON’T
(Continued from previous page)
order to provide environmentally friendly works to the Art
Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston,
National Geographic, and shops across the country. Each
piece reflects the individual style of the craftsmen, who always
personalize the work with a signature.

Producers’ Stories
Carmen Iezzi is the
Executive Director of
The Friendship and Peace Society the Fair Trade Federa-
provides poor women in Hebron, Palestine with tion, a nonprofit as-
sustained income, while helping them maintain their sociation of fair-trade
businesses in Canada
ability to care for their families. Muslim, Jewish, and
and the United States.
Christian women embroider patterns onto pillows, Members undergo
shawls, and other items for the Society. Each village a rigorous screen-
has distinctive patterns, including the moon and ing process to assess
their commitment to
cedar tree, many of which date back 150 years.
these principles up
Women design their own products or take requests and down the chain
from customers. of production. They’re
committed to fair
After the peso crash of 2001, ArtiZen offered wages, cooperative
workplaces, consumer
struggling Argentine artists access to the global education, environ-
marketplace through the production of jewelry, mental sustainability,
musical instruments, textiles, and other pieces that financial and techni-
combine modern and traditional designs. By using cal support, respect for
cultural identity, and
the natural elements of their surroundings, like silver public accountability.
and wood, producers use ancient traditions to create For more information,
future heirlooms that will be passed down through visit www.fairtrade-
generations. federation.org.

2007 ECOCURRENTS:
Editorial Calendar

During 2007, EcoCurrents will focus on the theme of

sustainability. The 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 1st
of the month listed on the publication schedule.

Please submit articles to newsletters@ecotourism.org.

PHOTO CREDITS:
(Clockwise from left 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
7 courtesy of Fair Trade Federation. Page 7: Ad photo credit - Katrina Shum; Article photo courtesy of Punta Islita Hotel.
 Uniting Conservation, Communities, and Sustainable Travel

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