Searching for Ecotourism in Chiapas
by Allan Rhodes

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Before visiting ecotourism projects in the region of Chiapas, I contacted the San Cristóbal de las Casas's Community Tourism Network (C.T.N.). The CTN links together groups of local, rural people whose employment is comprised of corn farmers, coffee producers, weavers and artisans. Networking provides additional support for community and/or NGO initiatives to those who are interested in diversifying their incomes through the promotion of their products or services.

The Cafe Museo Cafe is an example of a CTN coffee house that sells a local Co-op coffee under the name of la Coordinadora de Pequenos Productores de Cafe de Chiapas, A.C. and also has an associated museum and cultural center. Other CTN projects include, the Organizacion de Medicos Indigenas del Estado de Chiapas (OMIECH) which is a museum of traditional medicine; the Lenateros, a recycled paper workshop; and the Maya Ik weavers.

Prior to leaving for Miramar, I spoke with Fernando Ochoa, member of DANA A.C., an NGO supporting the ecotourism project in the Comitan farming cooperative. He provided me with appropriate journey arrangements and valuable contact information. The focus of my trip was ecotourism, so he suggested I contact Ejido Emiliano Zapata, who could be found on the shores of Laguna Miramar. I was traveling independently and responsible for finding my own destiny, however I was fortunate enough to meet some wonderful travel companions along the way.

Laguna Miramar

After introducing ourselves and delivering a letter from Fernando Ochoa, we had superb supper at the house of a villager; scrabbled eggs, beans, and tortillas. We ended our evening sleeping in the main cooperative house on rented hammocks or on the floor.

The next day we got off to an early start so as to have time to have a quick chat with the community authorities and the people responsible for the ecotourism project.

They wanted us to help promote their ecotourism development and were eager to share information about the project. In order to receive government approval to build small cabins with environmental friendly architecture and techniques next to the lagoon, a required Environmental Impact Assessment was carried out by Conservation International and DANA A.C.. The EIA had been a lengthy and expensive investment for the community.

After our short conversation we had breakfast and started off on the 7-kilometer long trail to the lagoon with our young guide. Horses could have been rented, but we wanted to hike. It turned out to be rather rough and slow going however, since the trails were very muddy. Our reward was the mere sight of the lagoon and then the warmth of its water. It was worth all the bumpy roads, mosquitoes, mud and other hazards we had encountered.

We rented a canoe so the guide could show us a small part of the lagoon?s astonishing surroundings and special landmarks. We saw a pregnant spider monkey and all day long heard the nearby presence of howling monkeys. We then returned to our camp, which was comprised of a couple of big palapas (palm tree roofed structures, with no walls and dirt floor) where we hung our rented hammocks and took a well deserved nap.

After a couple of hours the guide left us to fend for ourselves in the wilderness. For dinner, we had only the canned tuna fish we had carried in our enormous backpacks. Fortunately, early in the evening we met a fisherman and his children who, without thinking twice, gave us five trout and a lemon as a gift for supper. We were able to start a fire and enjoy our roasted fish. Surrounded by darkness and mysterious sounds, the light of the fire and the smell of our dinner turned Miramar into a paradise.

After an eventless night, our second guide arrived in the morning to take us to some of the landmarks we had not had time to see the day before. We helped with the paddling this time and admired the clarity of the water. Our guide then showed us safely back to our camp, and again departed. At about four p.m., we decided to walk back to the Co-op, but this time it took us longer than the hike in, even though the trail was drier than before.

This was the closest I have ever come to visiting a relatively undisturbed, natural area.

Paraphrasing the definition of a Real Ecotourism Experience by Hector Ceballos-Lascurain:

"Visitation of relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and any accompanying cultural features - both past and present), in a community looking to promote conservation, that has low negative visitor impact, and that provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local populations."

Reflections

1. Target Market (What is the profile of a person that would be interested in experiencing this type of tourism?):
The present lodging facilities will not appeal to a top end tourist. One could consider the average backpacker, but sometimes they are not willing to pay the price. The daily expenditure, including food, lodging, guide and canoe is around 280 pesos, but can be more or less expensive, depending on the services required. As an information provider and tour operator, one has to focus on finding the target market that will find these experiences attractive, and/or work on a social awareness campaign (about how the money gained is for the benefit of the community and the ecosystems conserved) focused on potential customers.

2. Environmental Consciousness:
While traveling around Chiapas, through its colonial towns, villages and natural parks one sees the constant presence of rubbish. A newcomer to Mexico gets used to a typical scene of a person on a bus, (female or male, young or old) finishing their drink, opening the window and throwing out the bottle. Unfortunately, it is not only the locals who litter. In the camp site where we stayed next to the Laguna, recent campers had left their garbage and did not carry it back out for proper disposal. The responsibility and effort for a change of attitude has to come from the visiting tour operators and their eco-travelers, local authorities, government and private companies.

3. Inexperience in the tourism industry:
The tourist client can be a very demanding, especially since they want to enjoy their limited time as much as possible, before going back to their daily routines. Areas that need attention include: the correct and clear pricing of products and services, attention to the basic needs of the tourist, safety measures during the day and night, informed guides (of the history and natural surroundings) and cleanliness of the lodging facilities. What helps Mexicans in this area is their natural friendliness and hospitality, but more specific training in tourism hospitality is required.

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