Some time it is a difficult situation to meet the expectation of the...

Some time it is a difficult situation to meet the expectation of the community you intend to support from your Eco Tourism initiative.For example if you give umbrellas in monsoon to the elderly members in the adopted village , they expect you have to give blankets too when the winter comes.The problem is that they think western TOURISTS come or give lot of money for helping them..Any idea , how... Show more

Panadure Galappaththige Gunarathna

Antonis Petropoulos A very interesting point. Is this a real example from your experience? If so, it would be interesting to learn how you handled it. The simple answer... Show more

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8 years ago

A very interesting point. Is this a real example from your experience? If so, it would be interesting to learn how you handled it. The simple answer is: "give blankets too", and if this is unrealistic as a permanent solution try to lower expectations in the next village by better communications. But beyond failure of communications, this is about success or failure in meeting real needs and combating poverty through tourism where the government is absent. In an ideal setting, the community would have a democratically elected leadership who could present the real needs of the community to the joint venture partner - if this is you / what you are doing. Real needs yes, may sometimes also involve umbrellas and blankets, but the challenge is for the community to stand on its feet through appropriate forms of tourism (and generate income to dispose as they wish) rather than become dependent on donors, who may or may not be around. Kindly note that you may also use the ECOCLUB Answers Forum to post specific questions like this at https://ecoclub.com/answers

Panadure Galappaththige Gunarathna It is true. Same thing happening in Sri Lanka too.... 8 years ago