Amazon Interactive
The Ecotourism Game
Build a tourist compound and attract more tourists
The four of you leave your cropsfor several weeks to clear a patch of forest and build a simple touristcabin. The other people of Pangayacu watch with a mixture of curiosity andamusement. The cabin is one kilometer (half a mile) from the center of Pangayacu.A few tourists are disappointed that they can't stay with a Quichua family,but most are satisfied. Several tourist groups visit Pangayacu every weeknow, staying for two to four days. They enjoy seeing the rainforest andlearning about Quichua c
ulture,such as the blowguns which were once used for hunting.
The money coming in has paid off all the debts you acquiredto buy the outboard motor for the canoe, the cabin furnishings, and otherexpenses.
Now that the rest of the people of Pangayacu see how muchmoney tourists bring, they are more interested in the ecotourism project.At the next community meeting, Mariano suggests making the project communal,so everyone works and benefits from it. Pedro and Fernando want nothingof this, saying they built the tourism business up and deserve to benefitfrom it most. Agustin, however, would like to include the rest of the community.He says it is the only way the project will work in the long run.
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| You don't work much in the fields nowadays, but everyone else Pangayacuis. Most other Quichua have cleared a hectare of primary forest for newcrops. | Income from tourism comes in steadily, and you no longer need to sell cropsin the market. |
What do you think?
Keep the project in the hands of the small group
Open the project to the entire community
