OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

With better processing and marketing, there is potential for more earnings from existing agricultural products. This could in turn reduce pressures on marginal lands. For example, as the sense of consumer responsibility grows, some North Americans and Europeans are creating market demand for organic and shade-grown (bird-friendly) coffee, and for “fair-trade” coffee, where producers get a larger share of the profits. This market might help Vilcabamba’s coffee growers to earn more than they currently receive in the domestic market. There may be similar opportunities with sugar. Earning possibilities from some of the “natural” products of the land (e.g., honey, indigenous herbs for medicines, teas and cooking) may also be further developed.

Also important, of course, are the opportunities to earn income from tourism. The most obvious opportunities are in basic services related to accommodation and food. However, visitors can also stimulate the development of more creative services. These include services that require little capital investment, and that therefore introduce opportunities for those who are cash poor. One example is nature-guiding. There are many spin-off benefits when visitors hire a guide to gain local insight into the natural environment. Not only do they support livelihood options, they also create incentives for local people to maintain and improve on their land-based knowledge, and promote greater local interest in the protection of natural systems and features.

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