The Oslo Statement on Ecotourism will be published as one of the main outcomes of the Global Ecotourism Conference 2007, which took place 2 weeks ago.
The conference organizers have crafted, based on the main themes and topics of the conference workshops, the draft statement.
Download the PDF draft statement

Another pleasant discovery in Oaxaca (again, thanks to Ron Mader!) was El Pochote, the largest organic market in town, which takes place every Friday and Saturday from 9am to 4pm at Garcia Vigil #817.

I was introduced to my great pleasure to this enchanting mix of flavours, colours and smells (the idea of a rural and exotic version of London’s Borough Market came across my mind as soon as I stepped in…), where you can try fantastic food prepared with fresh ingredients, local sweets and candies, exotic beverages like Tejate (tasty and refreshing coconut-based drink), and of course the organic coffee and chocolate Oaxaca is famous for.
Ron told me not all products are organic, although everything that is featured in the market (packaged or unpackaged) is natural.

Other items sold at El Pochote are body care products, flowers and plants, mezcal, and natural health remedies. I am sure I am forgetting many other things… I suggest someone should go there and report them in a comment

During my stay in Oaxaca I finally had the chance to meet Ron Mader, founder of the award winning website Planeta and contributing editor for Ecotourism and Latin America of Transition Abroad.

Ron has been living in Oaxaca for the past 6 years, and amongst his many activities he is now actively helping the artisans and tourism operators in town to give a new and fresh start to their businesses, which have been seriously affected by the lack of tourism of the past year, following the social uprising in town.

Through Oaxaca Options – a series of discussions, lectures and small fairs organized by Planeta – he is encouraging tourism operators and local artisans to share their experience for the development of eco, rural, and cultural tourism in town. He is also offering free seminars on the use of the Internet as an effective marketing tool to increase business opportunities and sales.

I was very surprised to see Oaxaca so empty. I had definitely underestimated the negative impact of the social and political crisis and of the consequent travel warning issued by the US government in November 2006 on tourism. Two months ago a ‘milder warning’ recommending caution while travelling to Oaxaca was extended by both the US and Canadian authorities.
I thought maybe in Europe we did not have full press coverage on the situation, hence my naïve attitude, but now that I have been in the city for a few days I can not see any reasons why visitors should not come to Oaxaca.

I was glad to hear from Ron that the negative situation has also generated many ‘reaction projects’, from associations of accommodation providers and language schools to other private initiatives which show the deep love the people of Oaxaca have for their city.

The crisis is now over and its negative impact on the local business is something that has been discussed in too many details. What we like to do now is to focus on the recovery process in all its positive aspects: we love to see local artisans showing their work on Flickr, and Mexican artist Francisco Verástegui drawing a delightful map of the historic trees of Oaxaca. These centenary trees are still there, regenerating their hometown with new oxygen, and ready to offer their shadow to million of tourists!

Frida as a Saint? As a Martyr?
This is the result of my thoughts on the worship that started about fifteen years ago following an exhibition of her paintings in Berlin and the publishing of her biography by Hayden Herrera.

Living in Coyoacan, I had the chance to meet Frida Kahlo and and Diego Rivera when I was a child, and a few years ago I decided to design a tour which follows the steps of this controversial couple.

People are now standing in a long queue which goes all around the Casa Azul, gathering like a flock to get into this ‘mystic and holy’ place.

Sisal bags bear Frida’s picture embroidered in spangles, and her face is painted on beach pareos - with her dark, thick, bird-like eyebrows flying in the ocean’s wind.
Frida, Frida, everywhere… on scarves, ties, mirrors, and clay figures from Oaxaca. Postcards of her with that erotic shade above her lips have now become icons competing with the images of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Writing books about her recipes and essays about her art, publishing facsimile of her diary, has now become a literary phenomenon.

Despite having been criticized by many Mexicans as a very commercial movie, Salma Hayek’s Frida succeeded in promoting our country at its best, something the previous film of Paul Leduc with Ofelia Medina (what an excellent work of art!) did not manage to achieve.

The theater performance Cada Quien su Frida (Each one’s her own Frida) played by Ofelia Medina takes now place in the house of El Indio Fernandez and is produced by his daughter Adela.

A few years ago the colonial village of Coyoacan was just a southern suburb of Mexico City, almost unknown to tourism. Now it has become a place of pilgrimage, a magnet attracting ‘curious’ visitors.

However, this saint will never be canonized.

by Marlene Ehrenberg (photo by glyph hunter)

One of the highlights of San Cristobal de Las Casas is the Na Bolom Centre. This museum/hotel/restaurant/shop is mentioned in every travel guide, and it was the house of the Danish archaeologist and anthropologist Franz Blom and his Swiss wife Gertrude Duby Blom, a photographer who arrived in Chiapas to conduct a report on the Lacandones, and eventually became the protector of this indigenous community and of their environment.

In occasion of my first visit to San Cristobal I spent a whole afternoon in the museum, and I was really fascinated by the story of the Bloms. There is an interesting collection of reports, photos and objects from their expeditions in the Lacandon jungle; of their first contact with the Lacandones, and their interest for the indigenous culture and traditions.

They eventually founded the Na Bolom cultural association, which was aimed to support the Lacandon community through many interesting projects which are still up and running to date. After the death of Getrude the association has been run by a patronato, and it has changed administration and management a few times in the past few years.

While in San Cristobal a few days ago I heard some voices about the fact that Na Bolom ‘was not the same as before’ and rumours about Lacandones not being paid fairly for their handcrafts (which are sold in the shop), and not being as welcome in the hotel-restaurant as before (Gertude explicitly disposed that the Lacandones should be Na-Bolom’s guests while staying in San Cristobal at any time, as they periodically travel to town to sell their handcraft).

Of course rumours and voices must be always taken with a pinch of salt: aid projects are not easy to run, and sometimes some members of a community benefit more than others, which generates complaints.
However, as I was so fascinated by the Na Bolom story and really liked this organisation, I decided to carry on a little investigation… I went to the Na Bolom shop and had a look at the prices of the handcraft there, which were not cheap. I asked one of the girls at the counter how much of the revenue would go to the Lacandon artist, and how the remaining amount would be used. I also asked her if she was personally involved in any of the aid projects supported by the organisation. She said she was a nurse working on the project for free medical aid to the Lacandones, and gave me a very positive feedback about it.
She also told me Na Bolom would keep only the 15-20% of the handcrafts, paying the artists a fair 80%. The other girl though corrected her on this, saying Na Bolom keeps the 45% of the revenue for each piece of sold handcraft. Quite a discrepancy in the information… although, I still think it would be fair if this 45% is spent entirely in the aid projects (once deducted the basic expenses, of course).
Unfortunately, there was no way for me to get to know this information, but I have no reasons to doubt the money made by the Na Bolom shop (and by the hotel-restaurant) is responsibly managed and assigned to these projects.

After a couple of days I left San Cristobal for a trip in the Lacandon jungle. Near the eco-lodge I was staying, some Lacandones were selling their handcraft. I asked them what they thought about Na Bolom, and this time the feedback was not that positive… A few artisans said they do not take their pieces to Na Bolom anymore, as they do not get paid as fairly as before. Plus, they were receiving complaints all the times about the quality of their handcraft by the Na Bolom representatives, who were trying to buy the pieces for less and less, saying they would be difficult to sell in the shop due to their poor quality.

Another member of the community said he was no longer asking for hospitality at Na Bolom while in San Cristobal, as most of the times he was told the rooms were occupied by paying guests, and the few times he stayed there he felt not welcome at all. Another lady said that when Trudi was alive (this is how the Lacandones still affectionately called Gertrude Blom) they could go there and eat any time, whereas now there are strict rules in hospitality and food distributions, with someone taking notes of their names, the times they go in and out, and everything they eat.
More comments followed, some also positive. For example, almost everyone agreed that the medical project was actually benefiting the community, and although they would take advantage of that only when they are really sick (the Lacandones still use their traditional healing methods), they were always given medical help when requested. Well, it was good to hear that, but I was also a bit sad in hearing some of the negative comments, especially because I had the impression that the Lacandones are quite proud people, who do not like much to ask for help unless it is really needed.
Furthermore, most of the complaints I heard started with “things are not the same as before”, meaning there was initially a good relationship between Na Bolom and the Lacandon community which somehow deteriorated, which is a pity.

My ‘investigation’ ends here; as I said, it was only based on rumours and all I wanted was listening to some more voices and collecting them; it would be great if others could be heard on this blog…