Kapawi - Story of an Ecuadorian Ecolodge

New on Planeta.com:

Kapawi - Story of an Ecuadorian Ecolodge
by Arnaldo Rodriguez

The tremendous lack of communication and trust between indigenous
groups and the private sector, has been the foremost hurdle for
development in Latin American countries. Indigenous organizations
have seen private enterprises as abusive institutions eager to
exploit indigenous culture and resources. The private sector, on the
other hand, tends to consider indigenous people untruthful and
indolent. If these misunderstandings are resolved, a new niche for
socially responsible development will evolve which can provide
important economic and social benefits, and create a space for
tolerance and learning.

Kapawi, an ecotourism project with community-based participation,
provides a model of how private capital investments can be integrated
with local community goals, with minimal cultural and environmental
impacts, even in areas where local cultures still function with
primarily non-monetized economies. Kapawi offers a model, which
avoids the integration/destruction paradox that faces most indigenous
Amazonian groups.

The complete article is online
>> http://www2.planeta.com/mader/planeta/00/0006eckapawi.html

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