EXPERIENCEg u a t e m a l a

Vol.003 June 2009

Rio Dulce Riviera, Izabal, Guatemala

EXPERIENCEg u a t e m a l a

What’s new...Voluntourism is now making more sense to guests visiting Guatemala and the

region.

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The Big Green DealTijax’ natural reserve in Rio Dulce is an example of green tourism in the region

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Guatemala goes GreenThe Rainforest Alliance initiative looks to promote

all entities working in tourism to go greenPage 4

A (H1N1) VirusImportant notice about the Influenza A (H1N1) in Guatemala

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El Estor, Bocas del PolochicRefuge of wildlife; Nest of life! a paradise for nature

lovers and bird watchers.

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WHAT’S NEW IN GUATEMALAVOLUNTOURISM Travel, learn and get in touch with locals as close as it gets. by PPDM, June 2009

The conscious, seamlessly integrated combination of voluntary service to a destination and the best, traditional elements of travel — arts, culture, geography, history and recreation — in that destination. As part of this blessed country we are well aware of the social challenges that VolunTourism can potentially address but also the opportunity it represents to Guatemala. But we are also asking ourselves at least two very important questions:

Is such an approach feasible, sustainable, etc.? Can volunteerism, which is generally not categorized nor planned for as episodic engagement, be converted to do so?

There are several VolunTourism models that are being utilized by other countries in the world over. These models have been developed primarily from the goals and objectives that each country has established for itself, while honoring its community. Guatemala may focus upon any of the following:

• Long-term sustainability and decent work source for the community • Risk mitigation & development diversification • Donor familiarization & cultivation • Collaboration & partnership • General education & awareness • "Voluntourist" recruitment & placement for episodic engagement Guatemala should be in the process of determine the primary

purpose of our VolunTourism initiative and what audience we should target with our promotional efforts.

Once we have selected a VolunTourism model that supports our goals and objectives, we will be ready to begin a cycle of our own - the perpetual cycle of implementation, evaluation and modification. Improvement will derive from the sincerity of our efforts to follow a steady diet of these three elements and to receive and make use of input from all the interested parties as they respond to each facet of the Guatemalan VolunTourism program.

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Guatemala goes Green The Rainforest Alliance's sustainable tourism program is working with scores of governmental and non-governmental organizations. We helped create the Sustainable Tourism Network of the Americas, which currently includes 60 member organizations from 23 countries in the region.As Secretary of the Network, the Rainforest Alliance has the responsibility of making sure that tourism businesses, local communities and tourists themselves understand how they can benefit from and contribute to sustainable tourism in the countries that safeguard a wealth of biodiversity and endangered ecosystems.

The Big Green Deal Written by Eugenio Gobbato

Hacienda Tijax, Rio Dulce, Izabal

We got the Green Deal certification for the

Hacienda Tijax, second year. Big Deal! One would

think that after having: Planted over 100,000 trees;

separating and recycling our organic garbage;

putting double septic tanks on every toilet; designing

and building in ways to blend into the environment;

building 2.5 Kilometers of trails by hand; conserving

over 42 hectares of Tropical Jungle forest; making

maps, bird lists, list of trees; medicinal plants and for

over 17 years struggling to keep the poachers out of

the land; saving the few remaining little beasties;

returning to the wild uncounted turtles, iguanas,

snakes and crocodiles; producing over a million

pounds of natural rubber; conserving our own

watershed and water supply system; we should have

earned our stripes, or established our “Green

Pedigree” so why trouble with the “Green Deal

Certificate” ?

First because we (Hacienda Tijax) think of

ourselves as members of a wider network of

Institutions and business that genuinely want to keep

Guatemala “Green” and literally save the planet, we

work closely with Alianza Verde, Rainforest alliance

the “Green Deal” people and many other Institutions

like the CONAP, ECORIO, FUNDAECO, MADRESELVA

and many others on issues such as the Mining in

Izabal, Garbage Collection and processing,

reforestation and more. In fact by being one of the

first to sign up and participate we hoped to give the

Green Deal Seal recognition and a chance to be

accepted as a “brand” with some meaning for the

visitors and users of our services.

In order to obtain the Certificate we had to

comply with endless paperwork mostly to prove

compliance with all existing local laws such as:

labor legislation, safety and security, sanitation and

cleanliness, taxes and legal framework of the

company, land ownership; is it registered? do we

have a contract with the government for the shore

line? and much more. The “Green Deal”

evaluating team reviewed our books, our social

security payments, our payroll to insure proper

wages are being paid and so on.

So when and if you do visit us you may see we

proudly post our “Green Deal” certificates and you

should know that our staff is well paid, that we do

pay taxes and social security, pick up our trash and

try to keep the planet healthy.

I post this to make this point as in the past we

have had comments from some passengers

questioning our “Green” status. One actually thought

another small Hotel was actually more “eco-friendly”

than ours, another questioned our having a

swimming pool. In the fist case we were being

compared to a little Hotel which is quite popular with

the backpackers but other than “Invading” a small

piece of shoreline on what used to be one of the

more pristine rivers in the area and thus changing the

nature of the place for ever, they have done nothing

for the environment that I know of in the last ten

years, no tree planting, who knows what they do with

their garbage and sewage what kind of wages they

pay, whether they have built in security and safety

features like fire extinguishers, first aid kit, etc. They

were just lucky that no one threw them out when

they should have mostly due to governmental

incompetence, now they brag about being

Ecological…

Now about having a Swimming Pool, first let

me say that the vast majority of visitors DO NOT

complain about the Pool, second let me say that no

matter what mitigating measures a place like ours

implements it will have an impact on the

environment. The important thing, I think, is to carry

out enough positive actions like the ones mentioned

above in order to offset the inevitable negative

impact from the presence of humans in a given

space. So if the pool is a no-no please forgive us we

promise to continue doing a lot more good than

harm to the environment.

EXPERIENCE GUATEMALA

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EXPERIENCE GUATEMALA

Photo Gallery

important noticeGuatemala

Antigua streets

Antigua Canopy Tour

Indigenous wearing

Enjoying Atitlan lake turixativo.comw w w . t u r i x a c t i v o . c o m

Bocas del Polochic, El Estor, IzabalD e f e n s o r e s d e l a Naturaleza is an none p r o fi t a n d n o n e g u b a r n m e n t a l

organization that supports m a ny e nv i ro n m e n t a l projects, including the

preservation of nature and wildlife in several regions. Currently “Defensores”

has six reserves spread throughout Guatemala: Sierra de las Minas in Zacapa & El Progreso, Sierra del Lacandon in Peten, Parque Naciones Unidas in Guatemala, Bocas del Polochic in Izabal, Valle del Motagua in

El Progreso and Jardin Botanico in Escuintla.Bocas del Polochic is officially considered as a wildlife refuge

and is called “Nest of life” due it abundant vegetation, well

preservation and other natural conditions that allows wildlife, including the Manatee to leave there.

Before roads and railroads, Lake Izabal was the link between

Alta Verapaz and the rest of the world. What is now known as "El

Estor" was the landing and trading post for cargo and travelers to frontier towns such as Cobán. Commonly referred

to as "the store" in English, the name evolved to its present form due to Spanish-speakers

style of pronunciation and spelling.

Recent construction of roads has left El Estor a minor port

visited mostly by locals and the adventurous traveler.The population of El Estor consists largely of Kekchi

speaking indigenous people.

EXPERIENCE GUATEMALA

EXPERIENCE GUATEMALA16 calle 4-53 Zona 10

Edif. Marbella, Of. 4C

Guatemala city, Guatemala 01010

reservations@turixactivo.com

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