Solimar extends a big congratulations to the Uganda Community Tourism Association (UCOTA) as it will be presented the TO DO! Socially Responsible Award for 2012 in recognition of its Pearls of Uganda program. This is the second consecutive year that one of Solimar’s clients is awarded the TO DO! Award. Last year’s winner was the San Miguel del Bala Ecolodge, a community-run ecolodge in the Bolivian Amazon.

What are the Pearls of Uganda? 

The Pearls of Uganda Program, which officially launched in May 2011, was created by Solimar in partnership with the Uganda Community Tourism Association under the USAID-funded STAR (Sustainable Tourism in the Albertine Rift) project. When Winston Churchill visited Uganda he called it “the Pearl of Africa.” Decades later, tourists can experience the same stunning beauty through the Pearls of Uganda and its network of cultural attractions or “Pearls.”

The Pearls of Uganda are a collection of authentic cultural community attractions located throughout Uganda. Run by local communities, these attractions include nature walks, village tours, cultural performances, traditional cooking demonstrations, and craft workshops. They are designed to provide travelers with a glimpse of traditional and modern day Ugandan life. Profits from the tours and attractions benefit local communities as the money goes to support schools, fund conservation projects, and provide income for local guides and performers.

The Pearls of Uganda network also establishes partnerships with hotels, tour operators, and other businesses that are committed to sustainable tourism. These “Pearls Supporters” pledge to contribute to conservation and community efforts in exchange for promotion and partnership under the Pearls network.There are currently over 20 Pearls of Uganda attractions and over 50 private sector Pearls Supporters

What are the TO DO! Awards? 

The “TO DO! Contest for Socially Responsible Tourism” is organized by Studienkreis für Tourismus und Entwicklung (Institute for Tourism and Development) and invites entries from all over the world. The award was created in 1995 in response to newfound global focus on conservation and ecotourism initiatives. The award aimed to not only celebrate ecotourism but also simultaneously push local populations to participate in and benefit from its implementation.

Awards are given to those who honor the principles of environmental compatibility, while also exemplifying all of the following behaviors:

• Awareness Raising
  Enhancing the awareness of the local people regarding the risks and benefits of tourism development in their economic, social and cultural life;
• Wide-ranging benefit
  Participation of a broad local population strata in the positive economic, social and cultural effects of tourism;
• Qualified jobs in tourism
  Guarantee of the attractiveness of jobs in tourism for the local people by improving working conditions relative to payment, social security, working hours as well as education and training;
• Strengthening of identity
  Strengthening the local culture and the cultural identity of people living in tourist destination areas;
• Minimization/avoidance of damage
  Avoiding and minimizing any social and cultural damage caused by tourism in tourist destination areas.

The Impact of the Pearls of Uganda Program

The Pearls of Uganda success story is a true testament to the benefits sustainable tourism can offer local communities as all profit generated by each Pearl directly contributes to the socio-economic empowerment of it community members in a manner that is not detrimental to their cultural heritage and natural surroundings. So far, the program has experienced impressive results. Since the start of the Pearls program, the number of guests to each community has increased year by year and there has been a huge increase in the inclusion of Pearls on set itineraries of mainstream tour operators, as well as listings on their websites.

For years, Solimar has worked to promote sustainable growth through tourism in destinations around the globe. With one special project, we’ve had the opportunity to turn to our own back yard and look at how the tried and tested programs employed in the deserts of Africa, the mountains of Eastern Europe, and the jungles of Central America can be deployed in a culturally rich and environmentally fragile location in the United States.

The Black Belt Region of Alabama stretches through 13 counties and has historically been an agriculture center for the state. It has also weathered a sordid history of political disenfranchisement and violent racism. As a result, the region faces severe challenges of poverty. The small community of Gee’s Bend, located within the Black Belt, is a community of just over 200 people located an hour away from the civil rights flashpoint of Selma.

People have been traveling to Gee’s Bend for years to appreciate their scenic location on the Alabama River, visit their famous quiltmakers, and experience a sliver of southern culture that is still unique, palpable, and authentic.

Solimar has worked with Sustainable Rural Regenerative Enterprises for Families (SURREF) through a Ford Foundation grant to build a new community-based tourism enterprise that will maximize tourism revenues by offering – for the first time – tourism packages that encourage visitors to stay longer, spend more, and truly appreciate all that this small destination has to offer.

Nearly complete, a destination development strategy has been designed with Solimar’s guidance to create itineraries that capture the culture elements of Gee’s Bend and market them to an eager market. Highlights will include a hands-on interactive experience with Gee’s Bend world-famous quilters, a riverside lunch of local favorites catered by a local chef using local produce, and a guided walking tour of key historic sites including a spot visited by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

The community-based tourism development strategy is a culmination of nearly 6 months of interactive workshops and brainstorming sessions with regional destination managers, local tour operators, and over 100 community members.

The sales, marketing, and operations of the prescribed destination management company will all be handled by Gee’s Bend residents trained in according to Solimar’s enterprise development training process.

The tours are set to launch to a pilot audience at the end of the year.

In November 2011, Solimar began working on a proposal for the AFM6 project from the L’Agence du Partenariat pour le Progrès (APP), a Moroccan government agency that was created by the Prime Minister’s office for the execution of Morocco’s 5-year, $697.5 million dollar award from the Millennium Challenge Corporation. The Solimar team worked tirelessly for 6 weeks to produce a well-executed 225-page proposal. On March 2, 2012, Solimar was officially notified by the APP that we had won the AFM6 project. The 13-month project titled Promotion des Circuits Touristiques Integrant L’artisanat (Promotion of Tourism Circuits that Integrate Handcrafts), aims to create and promote tourism routes in the medinas of the historic cities of Fes and Marrakech. Both Fes and Marrakech are imperial cities in Morocco and the medina in Fes is a UNESCO world heritage site. Marrakech is probably most famously known for its central square, Place Djemma el Fna.

The AFM6 project will create six tourism routes in each city that will integrate historically and culturally significant buildings, interpretive craft centers and artisan workshops. The routes will feature orientation signs for guidance and interpretive panels that will be easily identifiable and readable by both domestic and foreign visitors.

Aid to Artisans, Solimar’s technical partner for this project, will provide assistance with the craft interpretation component of the project and help create the content for interpretive panels as well as content for other promotional materials for the routes.

By the end of the project, the team aims to achieve the following five objectives:

1)    Increase the number of tourists who participate in tours
2)    Increase average spending of tourists in craft products while on the tour
3)    Increase the satisfaction and interest of tourists for Moroccan craft
4)    Increase use of tours by tour guides and travel agencies
5)    Increase the number of artisans linked to the tours

This project is scheduled to kick off on May 23. This will be Solimar’s third project in Morocco. We hope to continue to have a strong presence in the country in the future.