ECUADOR |
Oyacachi Adventure Day Tours |
 Travel to a place deep within the majestic Cayambe Coca Ecological Reserve where you will find a small unique and untouched community. Set within a beautiful glacial valley, Oyacachi, known as the land of water, plays host to an array of adventure and cultural tours. Go for an action packed downhill mountain biking ride, visit pre-incan ruins, see how the people from Oyacachi used to live, taste fresh cheese made just that day, and soak your tired body in the thermal pools after a full day of activities. This is Oyacachi, one of Ecuador’s best-kept secrets. Tucked away from everything, you will experience the hospitality and calmness that characterizes the community members. Smiles and greetings await you in one of the most pristine natural settings Ecuador has to offer. Oyacachi Adventure Day Tours is a community owned initiative that works with the communities micro credit bank to help the community with working capital for other projects in education, conservation, and health. Oyacachi is the perfect destinations for any taste of adventure, from those who want to hike up to waterfalls or just relax in natural hot water springs, Oyacachi offers a wide range of activities for everybody. For more information visit www.oyacachi.com.
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Secoya Lodge |
 Come discover a culture and forest that will take you away to a place where magicians can show you the medicinal power of native plants and tell you stories of the jaguar and dolphin. Come visit the Secoya (people of a thousand colors) and experience a rare and unique Amazonian culture. The beautiful and calm Aguarico (rich waters) River will play host to your time with the Secoya, as you stay in their beautiful traditionally constructed lodge, share their knowledge of the forest and medicinal plants, enjoy the cool waters of the river in Kayaks, and take walks deep into the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve searching for the abundant wildlife that resides there. Your stay at the Secoya lodge, a community owned venture, will help the Secoya preserve and protect their forests as oil and palm tree plantations pressure their already limited territory. Visit us and come share in this distinct culture, place, and experience in the Ecuadorian Amazon. For more information visit www.secoyalodge.com.
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Manglares Churute Mangrove Tours |
 Have you ever gone to a place where you could kayak in mangrove tributaries, go crabbing, see 52 different endemic species of birds, and walk among trees inhabited by howler monkeys all in one day? Experience the best nature destination the Guayaquil area has to offer with the community ran Manglares Churute Mangrove Tours. Manglares Churute is a 55,912-hectare mangrove reserve that is home to an incredible array of flora and fauna that is the perfect complement to your Galapagos adventure. This day trip destination is a short 45 minute drive from Guayaquil’s center city and offers a different natural experience than your time in the islands with Sea Lions, penguins, tortoises and blue footed boobies. Sadly enough there are no Howler monkeys in the Galapagos. Enjoy a wonderful day with Manglares Churute Mangrove Tours, the only community operated tourism business in the area. For more information visit www.mangroveadventure.com.
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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC |
Salto Aguas Blancas |
 Salto Aguas Blancas is unique not only for its height but also for its beautiful backdrop of alpine forests and vast scenic vistas. Only 45-minutes from the town of Constanza, the waterfall is just a short distance for domestic travelers and second-home owners who regularly visit the region. Located in Valle Nuevo National Park, the Salto Aguas Blancas is also unique in the opportunity it holds to directly support conservation in the park through an innovative community co-management agreement.
The strategy is simple. Empower a well-trained community tourism association to manage and benefit from the growing visitation to the park, and in return the community dedicates a percentage of tourism revenues and their time to support the park’s conservation programs. Solimar is assisting the El Convento tourism association in the DR to manage and promote visitation to Aguas Blancas by offering two types of products:
Independent Visitor Products: Appealing primarily to the domestic market, these products will include the park entrance, a restaurant facility, horseback riding, and local produce/flower vendors.
Package Tour Products: Appealing to the international markets, these package tours will include transportation (land & air) to/from Aguas Blancas, entrance fee, guided walking tours, and arts & crafts.
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Calle 30: A Historic Street in Las Terrenas |
 Walking down Calle 30, located in the touristic heart of Las Terrenas, you can catch a glimpse of what life used to be like in this former fishing village before the explosion of modern development.
Surrounded by new buildings and international offerings, Calle 30 retains its classic Dominican authenticity. Here you can still find typical food and crafts made by the very residents of the brightly painted Caribbean homes and shops lining the street. While thousands of visitors and local expats tour the city streets each day, Calle 30 remains untouched.
The community members of Calle 30 are the original inhabitants of Las Terrenas. Up until now, they have been excluded from participating in tourism due to a lack of education and resources. As tourism success increases, so does their cost of living. Due to rising prices, the inequality gap grows between those who have been able to benefit from this new tourism industry and those being left behind. As in any case of inequality, social unrest is on the rise and threatening the cohesion of the population.
Solimar is helping to restore Calle 30 so the local community may offer an authentic Caribbean street experience to local, domestic and international visitors. The street will be made pedestrian friendly, the buildings painted and restored, and trash receptacles will be installed along with more street lights. Improved access to water will be established from the well or nearby aqueduct. The residents of Calle 30 will offer a number of typical products and services that preserve and strengthen Dominican cultural heritage while creating sustainable incomes for local residents and contributing funds to improve the community’s quality of life. The strengthening of these small community-based tourism enterprises will sustain 25-30 much-needed jobs in Calle 30, all of which will be held exclusively by residents of the street.
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La Caleta Beach Club |
La Caleta Submarine National Park is a bit of an anomaly. Located just 20 km from downtown Santo Domingo, the park is currently not overrun by visitors and urban pollution, but rather enjoys a reputation as a secluded spot to get away from it all. While thousands of domestic and international beach goers overwhelm Boca Chica beach every weekend (located 10 km further from the city) - La Caleta sits quiet.
The park does face many of the same conservation threats seen in other marine protected areas in the region. Unregulated fishing has depleted fish and lobster populations. And both the park’s infrastructure and conservation efforts are suffering due to a lack of sufficient funding.
The nearby community of La Caleta, founded on the land that the park occupies but relocated inland nearly 50 years ago, has its own challenges. The growing youth population of La Caleta find few employment opportunities, and many turn to drugs, crime, and prostitution to survive.
The “La Caleta Beach Club” will offer an exclusive alternative for Santo Dominicans, business travelers, and international visitors. The beach club will offer a number of natural, cultural, and culinary products that appeal to this diverse mix of target market segments - all the while directly supporting job creation, community development, and biodiversity conservation in La Caleta Submarine National Park.
The beach club will be operated by the La Caleta community under a concession provided by the Ministry of the Environment. A number of individual enterprises will exist to manage each product, but all will fall under an umbrella association that will administer the site and its operating costs (maintenance, promotion, security).
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Eco Lodge of Sonida del Yaque |
 The Eco Lodge of Sonida del Yaque is located right on the bank of the river Yaque which supplies renewable energy to the 6 cabins and restaurant located close to its shore. The Lodge is run by Dona Esperanza, a women’s association that received a UNDP Small Grant to start the lodge back in 1993. The grant allowed them to install a hydraulic generator that supplies energy to both the lodge and the surrounding communities of Los Calabazos and La Guazara. Though surrounding lodging options for Jarabacoa are full on weekends, Eco Lodge Sonido del Yaque stays empty due to a lack of marketing and promotion and quality assurance.
There is no signage on the road to inform travelers of its presents, nor is there anywhere for cars to park if they were to stop. There is a difficult 350-stair climb down to the reception, which is inconsistently staffed to take guests and phone inquiries. The cabins themselves are of sound structure but could afford improvements in comfort and quality and the restaurant is in need of upgrades as well. Aside from the lodge and restaurant, there are no other organized activities offered to up-sell to clients, which is hindering the potential revenue that could be brought to the communities.
The Ecolodge Sonido del Yaque has great potential to be a successful community business with correct market placement, rehabilitated infrastructure, improved operational standards and product diversification. Aside from creating road signage and parking, a market analysis should be performed to identify viable client segments and develop competitive pricing and promotional campaign strategies. An improved reservation and payment system needs to be put in place along with tourism operations training so that the Lodge is prepared to handle increased occupancy and clients seeking high-quality service.
To increase guest comfort, the stairs will be renovated along with the cabins and restaurant. In order for the lodge and the surrounding community to receive as much economic benefit as possible from its visitors, other products will be developed for the lodge including trails, trained guides, horseback riding, river activities, organic cuisine, a natural sauna, and packaged tours. |
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Enterprises
