INDEV 401 Update: December 3, 2012

This sixth and final bi-weekly report of the term was submitted after my trip to Chachapoyas.  I'll get some photos up soon.

Dan Root

INDEV 401 Bi-weekly Report

December 3, 2012

Last week, I accompanied my coworkers on a trip to Chachapoyas, a city in the northern Amazonas region of Peru.  The impetus for this trip was the sixth annual national rural community tourism (RCT) conference, which took place over a three days period, bringing together RCT associations from all over Peru.  During this conference, I had the opportunity learn about RCT experiences taking place within an incredible variety of cultural and environmental backdrops, from the ecologically rich Amazon rainforest, to the austere mountain deserts of the central highlands, to the peculiar and colorful floating villages on Lake Titicaca.  Together, it was a poignant reminder of the incredible diversity of natural and cultural riches that can be found in a single country.

            The conference also provided me with an opportunity to reflect once more on the role that tourism can (or cannot) play in protecting these diverse permutations of human experience.  In a previous report, I discussed the ways in which RCT can provide a layer of economic protection to those aspects of human well-being that are often ignored when evaluating ‘development’ projects from a simple economic cost-benefit analysis.  I also posed a question regarding tourism and authenticity in cultural practices, roughly: does a cultural practice inevitably lose intrinsic value when it is transformed from an ‘authentic’ form of cultural practice into to just another special feature of a touristic product?

            At first glance, it does seem that unique cultural practices, based in centuries of expressive tradition, lose some sort of ‘authenticity value’ when transformed from pure manifestations of cultural expression to featured selling points for potential tour packages. This view encapsulates my immediate thinking upon hearing the words ‘tourism’ and ‘authenticity’ together in a sentence for the first time. It may be, however, that by fetishizing a naive concept of immutable authenticity, such a response fails to consider the true, dynamic functionality of many cultural practices. Traditional cultural practices cannot be understood as static activities whose forms remain fixed through time, regardless of internal and external influences.  As societies grow and change, so too do iterations of cultural practice, which respond as necessary to the needs and desires of their patrimonial cultures.

Recently, as has been the case throughout history, many unique, beautiful, and meaningful traditional practices, unable to adapt to the exigencies of a changing world, have been swept aside by the often banal and always growing monolith of capitalism’s ‘global society’.  Through RCT, which gives traditional cultural manifestations a tangible market value, cultural practices can adapt, (as they have for centuries), in order to continue as a vibrant part of that society, subsisting and thriving within a protective market niche.  Also, by instilling a tangible market value into cultural practices, RCT is often returning such practices to their utilitarian roots.  Many traditional practices that seem to modern observers to be pure examples of cultural expression, e.g. singing and storytelling, have traditionally been sustained, in part, because of important functional roles, in this example, as a form of recorded history and a means of spreading important information.  When one considers these facts, ‘authentic tourism’ may not seem like such a paradox after all.

To examine this question from an international development perspective, it may be useful to refer to the development theories of the ever-wise Amartya Sen, who argues that ‘development’ is fundamentally about freedom.  At stake in this case is the freedom of rural communities to determine the fates of their own traditional practices.  Through capacity building projects like that of GEA, communities are given tools to determine for themselves how exactly tourism will be managed, what elements will and will not be included, and ultimately, whether or not they personally want aspects of their culture to be made available as a tourist ‘product’.   

However beautiful, priceless, or irreplaceable a ‘pure’ traditional culture may seem, it is important to remember that the communities which guard over such practices are much more than interesting anthropological case studies.  They are, rather, communities of real people, confronting real problems in a really difficult world.  Ultimately, communities themselves should be deciding whether or not to embrace RCT.  Philosophical debate may continue, but if the diverse and impressive showing at the national RCT conference in Chachapoyas was any indicator, communities from throughout Peru have effectively chosen their own answer to this question, responding with an emphatic and wholehearted ‘yes’.

Thanks for reading

Dan

Photos: Huaraz

A few weeks ago, some friends and I headed out for a long weekend in and around the city of Huaraz.  There, we spent three days exploring lakes, forests, and ancient temples in the Cordillera Blanca, the highest mountain range in the world outside of the Himalayas.  Here are some photo highlights:

These pictures were taken from the roof of our hotel in Huaraz. If you look closely, you can see the impressive peaks of the cordillera blanca rising up to the east of the town.

After a day spent exploring the city of Huaraz and acclimatizing ourselves to the thin mountain air, we set out on a trip to the Chavín de Huántar archaeological site.  On the way, our bus stopped at lake Querococha, shown here.

After a stunning drive through the mountains, our bus finally arrived at Chavín de Huántar, an ancient temple built by the Chavín, a technologically advanced pre-Incan culture which dominated this part of the world until around 300 BC.

The following day, we set out once more into the mountains on a visit to Huascarán National Park.  On the way, we visited the Yungay cemetery, built to commemorate the 25,000 who died in a 1970 Yungay avalanche, which wiped out the entire town.

 This sobering yet beautiful monument presents an amazing view of rebuilt Yungay and the surrounding countryside, including an impressive view of the cordillera negra, the smaller, yet no less beautiful mountain range which lies to the west of Huaraz.

Continuing from Yungay, we eventually abandoned the drivers whom we had contracted in Huaraz, (since, as it turns out, they didn't have permission to enter the park), and set off on foot into Huascaran National Park.

Forsaking the road, we set forth into the jungle...

Finally, we arrived at beautiful lake Llanganuco...

 ...were we finished off our journey with a lunch of roasted cuy, or guinea pig.  Actually, it does taste a lot like chicken.

And that was more or less the trip.  The following day we bused back to Lima in time for work on Monday morning.

Thanks for reading,

Dan

Photos: San Lorenzo de Quinti

Hello everyone,

Since I haven't posted any pictures from my trip in awhile, I thought I'd dedicated this and the following posts to photos which I've taken over the past few months. In my previous post, I described my field-excursion to San Lorenzo de Quinti.  Here are some accompanying photos:

The View of San Lorenzo from my hotel

Hard at work (rare photo evidence).

                         
                       






                           Beautiful San Lorenzo

The llama train arriving from Tanta.

Villagers who live higher in the mountains sustain themselves partially through trade with communities located in more forgiving climates.  Villagers from Tanta bring meat and textiles in exchange for vegetables and fruits grown in the fertile valleys surrounding San Lorenzo.

I was interested in the llamas, but these kids were way more interested in my digital camera.  Everyone had to take a turn...

                 More shots of SLQ

 Leaving San Lorenzo de Quinti

Thanks for checking up on me.  Pictures of some of my other advertures (Huaraz and Chachapoyas) will be soon to follow.

Dan

INDEV 401 Update: November 5, 2012

Hi everyone.  In an hour or two, I'll be leaving to visit the beautiful city of Chachapoyas.  I'll be gone for a week, and since I wanted to post at least one blog before I left, I've decided to share this INDEV 401 update, from November 5th (only a few weeks late).

Dan Root

INDEV 401 Bi-weekly Report

November 5, 2012

Last week, an opportunity arose for me to leave the office in Lima and spend some time working for GEA on an assignment en campo.  As a result, I was able to spend five days in the beautiful mountain village of San Lorenzo de Quinti, getting a closer look at the project which I have been marketing and meeting many of the people involved in its implementation. In San Lorenzo, as in Tanta and Canchayllo, GEA is overseeing a painting project intended to improve the appearance of several houses, providing the village with a more attractive and tourist-friendly facade. My job was to coordinate with the local construction workers contracted by GEA to record the measurements of every house in San Lorenzo that will be included in GEA’s project.  In the evenings, I also accompanied my co-worker Anna to meet with those villagers who had recently inscribed themselves into San Lorenzo’s community tourism association.  The people whom I met during these meetings have led me to new questions regarding inclusion and exclusion in capacity-building development projects.
When discussing development in University courses, we often contrast capacity-building forms of development, which seek to equip individuals and communities with the tools they need to take advantage of their own ingenuity and hard work, with a ‘charity’ model of development, which simply offers hand-outs to those in need.  It is generally assumed that capacity-building is a more effective model for sustainable development because it allows beneficiaries to take control of their own economic situations, thereby instilling the necessary sense of project ‘ownership’ and breaking a potentially endless cycle of donor dependency.  This is clearly the goal of GEA’s rural community tourism project in San Lorenzo, which aims to provide hard-working and entrepreneurial community members with secure and managed access to urban markets through tourism.  GEA’s capacity-building model of rural community tourism is, I believe, an effective tool for meaningful rural development.  Yet as a result of their exclusively capacity-based approach, GEA’s project may be leaving behind many in San Lorenzo who are in most desperate need of development assistance.
The situation of many whom I met in San Lorenzo de Quinti was epitomized by one elderly señora whom I met through these meetings, living alone with no education and no real marketable skills with which to earn a living.  Throughout her life, this individual has provided for herself by working as a subsistence farmer. Yet time has seen her body weaken and her children leave for the opportunities of the city, leaving her alone in a state of near-abject poverty.  Now, she has signed up to participate in GEA’s community tourism project, in the hope that it might provide her with some form of economic stability.  Unfortunately, her situation is such that she has very little to offer the project, and therefore very little to gain from any rural community tourism operation.  GEA’s project is designed to be an effective tool to help rural Peruvians help themselves, providing those who are able to run businesses or work as tour guides or artisans with access to larger and more stable markets. Yet, by exclusively focusing on ‘building capacity’, GEA’s project may be leaving behind those who are in the direst need of development assistance: those with little or no ‘capacity’ upon which to build.
This problem has not gone unnoticed by the members of GEA involved in this project.  Still, no simple solutions seem to be available.  GEA’s project is clearly designed to be a capacity-building project, with no budget availability for hand-outs.  This fact may mean that GEA’s capacity project could actually increase income inequality within San Lorenzo, a fact that would run counter to the goals of any rural community tourism project.  Currently, I do not see any easy ways for GEA to address this issue, but I will certainly continue to reflect on this issue as I continue to experience Peru.


Thanks for reading.  Hopefully, I'll have some pictures and information about my trip to Chachapoyas (and my previous trip to Huaraz) available for posting.

Dan

INDEV 401 Update: September 24, 2012

Hey everyone.  As per the requirements for my INDEV 401 course, I have been writing and submitting bi-weekly reviews which report on the status of my work and contain some of my thoughts with respect to my placement and to development in general.  In lieu of writing a real blog post, I have decided to post some excerpts from my INDEV 401 updates, which explain a little bit of what I've been up to and some of my questions that have been brought to light as a result of my time in Peru.  Here's the first one:

Dan Root

INDEV 401 Bi-weekly Report

September 24, 2012

One week ago, I began my work with GEA on a rural community tourism project called “Caminando con el Apu Pariacaca”.  This project is an attempt by GEA, a large, well-organized, and experienced NGO promoting sustainable development in Peru, to improve the well-being of those living within the ecological reserve of Nor Yauyos Cochas.  During my first week of work at GEA, I have spent a significant amount of time reviewing the project documents in order to better understand the product which I will be marketing in the coming months.  I have also had the opportunity to travel to two of the villages within the reserve in order to meet the people who stand to be affected by GEA’s initiative, and to experience Nor Yauyos Cochas like a tourist.
My interactions with coworkers and with the locals whom I met in Nor Yauyos Cochas have led me several questions about the role of tourism in development.  Fortunately, my travels to and from the reserve, a trip totaling close to 14 hours, provided me with ample time to reflect on the possibilities, both positive and negative, for tourism as a form of meaningful development, and to reflect on GEA’s approach to rural community tourism.
Admittedly, my first reaction upon hearing of my organization’s project and of my mandate therein was less than euphoric .  Assisting in the development of a marketing strategy for a tourism project seemed to me to be less than that which I had envisioned for myself during my INDEV 401 placement.  Much of the tourism which I have previously experienced bears little resemblance to the ideals of equitable and sustainable human development.  Yet GEA’s approach to rural community tourism seems as if it might offer communities with a practical way to meet pressing economic and social needs, while safeguarding important cultural and environmental resources of these communities.
Few would doubt that things like cultural practices and the natural beauty of the landscape in Nor Yauyos Cochas are of significant intrinsic value to those living in the reserve.  Unfortunately, such intrinsic value is often ignored when evaluating ‘development’ projects through a simple economic cost-benefit analysis. By implementing systems of rural community tourism, however, communities are able to give a market value to those elements of their lives which already carry an important intrinsic value, thereby protecting them from other forms of economic development which would harm these natural and cultural elements. Tourism is therefore able to provide communities with economic benefits including jobs, while providing an economic disincentive for other socially-harmful development practices.
Still, some questions remain in my mind regarding the authenticity of cultural practices once given a market value.  It is also worth considering whether or not any harmful side effects of tourism outweigh the social benefit brought about by economic protection of cultural manifestations?  These and other questions I hope to answer during my 8 months in Peru.


Dan

Caminando con el Apu Pariacaca

Hi everyone,

It's now been a month since I've arrived in Peru, and think it's time to share a little more information about what it is that I'm actually doing here in Lima (not Huancayo, but more on that later).  I've begun my work with GEA on a rural community tourism project called "Caminando con el Apu Pariacaca" (walking with the Apu Pariacaca).  As I've mentioned before, this project is an attempt to promote community operated tourism in the Nor Yauyos Cochas reserve, located in the central highlands of Peru.  GEA is attempting to support the populations of three villages within the reserve, Canchayllo, Tanta, and San Lorenzo de Quinti, as they each endeavor to develop and manage their own rural community tourism operations.  GEA's project has been assisting communities with the commercialization of their unique tourism 'product', a task which includes website development and marketing, and with the implementation of community-run systems of tourism management.  Ideally, when the project ends in May, each community will be fully equipped with the necessary capacity to sustain their own community tourism operations.

So far, my role has been to gather information to be used in the project's website, and to assist in the management of social media marketing outlets, including facebook, twitter, and youtube.  The work has been fairly slow so far, but will likely pick up once I begin the task of translating promotional material.  Due to the nature of my work, it was decided that I should stay in Lima for a few months before moving to Huancayo.  I will therefore continue to work at GEA's headquarters here in Lima until November, at the earliest.  My supervisor Silvia and I are currently in conversation about my future role in the organization, and I may be moving to the reserve in November to work directly with community members on a commercialization project, though this is not yet confirmed due to funding issues.

A week or two ago, I got the chance to travel to the reserve with my coworkers and a group of local journalists.  The purpose of this trip was to raise awareness in Lima and throughout Peru of the amazing natural and cultural experience that is the Nor Yauyos Cochas reserve.  Here are some highlights:

The trip began in the village of Canchayllo.

We visited a nearby forest of puyos.  Puyos (the big spiky plants) are an endangered species, despite the fact that they can live for over 100 years.

Riding horses back into town for lunch

Trucha, or trout, a gastronomic specialty of the Peruvian highlands.

From Canchayllo, we headed over the mountains and across the reserve toward the village of Tanta. 

These vicuñas, which are believed to be the wild ancestors of the Alpaca, were a common sighting throughout the trip.

As we approached Tanta, we were greeted with this first sight of the Nevado Apu Pariacaca.  In Incan and preIncan mythology, this mountain was the physical manifestation of the Apu Pariacaca, the God of water and rain.

When we finally arrived in Tanta, the local community tourism organization had prepared a traditional dance to greet us with.

Afterwards, the villagers took us to a hill overlooking the Apu Pariacaca, where they performed a demonstration of an ancient ritual used to honour the Apu.

Finally, we arrived at Lake Piticocha, across from the nevado.  Here, journalist took pictures while villagers told stories and recited poems about the ancient Apu Pariacaca.

My coworkers, Silvia (right) and Gisela (left), enjoying a photo with a member of Tanta's community tourism organization.






And that was the trip.  Thanks for reading.

Dan