Community's Control Their Tourism Destiny in Rural Belize
by Richard Mahler

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The Creole and the Maya of Belize share vastly different histories, but very similar concerns when it comes to tourism. Separated by geography and culture, these two groups have managed to create remarkably congruent programs for foreign visitors that are excellent models for rural people in other developing countries.

During the late 1980s, a couple of primate specialists from the U.S. were drawn to one Creole area along the Belize River by the impressive concentration of black howler monkeys near the village of Bermudian Landing. The experts were pleased to find that local residents liked and respected the monkeys (which they call "baboons"), which moved freely and fearlessly among the simple Creole homes and subsistence farms. The foreigners suggested that locals create a voluntary sanctuary for the howlers and promote it as a tourist attraction. The effort would serve twin goals of preserving the monkeys -- and endangered species -- and providing a sustainable source of income for the humans. This is how the Community Baboon Sanctuary was born. Thousands of visitors now flock to the sanctuary, northwest of Belize City, spending money on guide services, lodging, food, and transportation. More about this in a moment.

In southern Belize, meanwhile, Mayan villagers have banded together more recently to promote a kind of low-impact tourism that encourages foreigners to spend time among them, staying either in community-built guesthouses or the homes of individual families. Although tourism in their Toledo District is still very limited, the leaders of these villages feared that their fragile culture might be damaged if a community-controlled infrastructure were not put in place. They knew that in neighboring Guatemala, for example, tensions have flared within some heavily-touristed communities where a handful of private entrepreneurs benefit most from foreign visitors. The Belize Maya are also concerned about possible exploitation of their dances, festivals, and art by outsiders.

Two noteworthy locally initiated projects seek to combine cultural tourism, sustainable agriculture, and environmental conservation: the Toledo Host Family Network/Indigenous Experience Program and the Mayan Guesthouse & EcoTrail Program.

The Host Network places tourists in the actual homes of the Maya, where guests observe and participate in daily village life. In contrast, the Guesthouse Program arranges visits to many of the same villages, but tourists stay in structures that are built specifically for their use. Under both schemes, visitors eat meals prepared by and take outings guided by local residents. A big advantage of visiting the Maya of Belize is that most are fluent in English, unlike the indigena of neighboring Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras.

In late 1997, five communities had guesthouses in operation and many villagers had taken "hospitality training" courses offered by the Belize government. A rotating group of families in each community is responsible for feeding and guiding the guests, and others produce arts and crafts that they can buy. The idea is that income from foreigners will be shared, not hoarded among a small group of villagers.

Under the Host Family program, tourists are also distributed among a wide range of families, who receive modest payment for the room and board they provide. All tourists pay a fee to the village council, which uses this income for community-based projects, such as improving water systems, building schools, and fixing roads. One significant difference between the Host Family program and the Mayan Guesthouse venture is that the latter is directed by a U.S.-born emigrant, who plows some of the profits back into his private business.

I observed both projects in action during my 1997 trip to Belize and was impressed with their collective results. The local Maya -- who are exceptionally gentle and welcoming human beings -- seem to have embraced tourism on their own terms, showing off their traditions of cooperation in farming, crafts, building, and celebrating. They are excited about continuing their way of life and sharing it with outsiders. If my experience in San Pedro Colombia is any indication of tourism's success in other Mayan villages, the money is being put to good use. The village leaders proudly displayed an upgraded water delivery system that they had recently built, partly with money derived from foreign visitors.

Similar results can be seen in Bermudian Landing and the other Creole villages that comprise the Community Baboon Sanctuary of the Belize District, more than 200 miles north of San Pedro Colombia. Communities that were once dying -- due to an exodus of young people and a decline in agriculture-related jobs -- are being slowly revived by the influx of tourist dollars. Many families now depend on the money they earn by opening their homes to visitors as humble bed-and-breakfast inns. Others derive income by guiding visitors through the jungle: identifying plants, animal tracks, and the monkeys winging from tree to tree. A few full-service private lodges have opened up, hiring locals as cooks, maid, drivers, and clerks. Even the grocery stores are making money, selling food and cold drinks to tourists.

Originally backed by a coalition that included the Milwaukee Zoo, World Wildlife Fund, Lincoln Park Zoo, International Primate Protection League, and Belize Audubon Society, the sanctuary now embraces a 20-mile stretch of the Belize River, encompassing land owned by more than 100 individuals. The sanctuary has several employees and maintains an impressive visitors' center and museum, where a fee is collected from each arrival. Because virtually all visitors have direct contact with local residents, this is a wonderful place to appreciate and experience both nature and Creole culture first-hand.

Side-benefits of the Community Baboon Sanctuary include a slowdown in the departure of young people for urban areas (and the U.S.), a resurgence of many wildlife species, and a downturn in the number of wild animals killed by locals for food. Scientists are now coming to the area to study not only howler monkeys, but turtles, birds, and other creatures that are multiplying within the sanctuary's boundaries. So successful has the protection of howlers been that excess monkeys are being captured and restablished in parts of Belize where they have become locally extinct.

What is perhaps most unusual -- and praiseworthy -- about the efforts of the Creole and the Maya in these two regions of Belize is the fact that their tourism projects are voluntary, entirely reliant on the goodwill of the people involved. This is a dramatic change from 15 years ago, when virtually nothing was being done to integrate the needs of local people with the growing demands of tourism. And while there have been growing pains and setbacks in each of these ventures, even the initial skeptics and critics are giving these communities high marks for success. They may represent those too-rare episodes in life where everybody involved really does seem to win.

Richard Mahler is the author of Belize: Adventures in Nature (formerly "Belize: A Natural Destination"), which will be published in an updated edition by John Muir Publications this October. Order a copy here or from your local bookseller. The author can be reached via email at rmahler@nets.com.

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