Travelling from Italy to Central America takes a long time: an intermediate stop in France or Spain and many hours flying over the ocean. But when you arrive on one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean you forget to be tired.
The Dominican Republic takes up two thirds of the island of Hispaniola (the remaining part is occupied by Haiti) and offers a series of natural attractions and a tropical climate. Far from the idea of a relaxing holiday, last July I went there to coordinate a group of volunteers for an Italian NGO – Ucodep – working on a project of eco-tourism. Ucodep has a long history of experience in the northern part of this country, in the cities of Salcedo and Bonao.
Its activity here started with a group of coffee producers about 10 years ago, as coffee cultivation has a predominant role in the economy of Dominican Republic. Following a more than 75% drop in the price of coffee in the last decade due to an international market crisis, many producers abandoned their crops and substituted them with others, such as fruit plantations, which didn’t improve the economy and even had serious consequences such as soil erosion.
Ucodep has especially been working on promoting initiatives to reorganize coffee production and marketing. During 2004, a project was set up to promote traditional crops and evaluate local cultural and environmental heritage in order to identify the possibility of local social and economic development.
This initiative, named “la Ruta Del Café”, is based on an experimental Tuscan tourism model (the “Wine Road”) and is made up of a series of routes that value coffee cultivated using sustainable techniques and certified as a quality brand (Jamao coffee). The intervention of Ucodep favoured the foundation of a consortium of producers (Coscafè), which has allowed for a 360% increase in their incomes over the last years, with a progressive involvement of local producers.
The project promotion was developed through sustainable cultivation practices, production rules, and a quality brand. It has also established a basis for sustainable and responsible tourism, organizing welcome community services and the development of paths proposed for tourism.
The tourism industry in Dominican Republic dates back to the ’70’s and the model developed here has been an “all inclusive” one that leaves a really poor margin of fairly distributed wealth and tourism profits. Eco-tourism, developed in the nineties, has been receiving a growing interest, mainly due to an attempt at market diversification.
In the Dominican Republic, eco-tourism is still little known to the majority of people and is perceived, moreover, as a “trendy” tendency of current markets, instead of an alternative development model. There are now many areas which are officially declared protected but which have instead capitalized on tourist activities that have highly detrimental social and environmental impacts in order to increase tourism. This attitude is confirmed by the difficulty of recognizing the link between eco-tourism and greater benefits for the poorest sectors of society.
“La Ruta Del Cafè,” today developed in the cities of Salcedo and Bonao, is an attempt to improve the life of people in these places. Every year tourists come here to see the process of coffee production and discover unique pathways into the tropical forest. This project of eco-tourism is a huge effort that Ucodep, along with local staff, is making for a sustainable economy in Dominican Republic.
Images: property of Eva Pratesi
For more information about volunteering: Rep.Dominicana 2008 - Jamao-Ruta Del Café
To know the tourist routes: Viaggi Solidali
What Lonely Planet Italia says: Repubblica Dominicana, ecoturismo e Ruta del Café
See also in Ecolocalizer: Eco-Tourism Destination: Bokeo, Northern Laos
Read this week’s articles on foods and farming around the world:
INDIA – Tulsi or Holy Basil – India’s Sacred Medicinal Herb
INDIA – “I Am No Lab Rat”, Campaign Against Genetically Modified Foods Spreads Across India
OCEANIA – New Biodiversity Reports and Facts from the Amazing Sustainable Table
Hello I am reading this article and it is very interesting. this is somethin g similar in my country Colombia, where la ruta del cafe is there for some years and the eco-tourism is now one the main atractives.
Hi Gloria, some weeks ago I met a woman from Colombia, she told me about eco-tourism, she said there is an increasing interest there. It’s great! I hope to visit your country soon to discover your ruta del cafè..Where can I find more information about the ruta in Colombia??