The Ecotourism Endeavor

This morning, Rogeria, Deivid, the two volunteers who arrived last night (Anna and Riho), and I drove to a farm about an hour away from Iracambi. The son of the farm's owner is starting a new ecotourism business, one of the first in this area I think. He offers ATV rides, mountain biking, and kayaking, and we went there this morning to discuss a partnership between Iracambi and his business, Verde Aventuras.

Ecotourism in this region is almost non-existent, yet it is one of the best ways for people to support themselves without cutting down the rainforest. Other rural business endeavors are mostly limited to cattle ranching, as well as coffee and eucalyptus plantations. However, tourists will not come to this region if there are no places to stay or "touristy activities" to do, and farmers are not willing to convert their farms and plantations into tourist attractions if there are no tourists. That's why entrepreneurs like the one we visited today are so crucially important; if they are successful, they can kick-start the flow of tourists into these historically non-tourist areas.

The conversation about the partnership between Iracambi and Verde Aventuras was all in Portuguese and lasted about 3 hours. I managed to understand some of it, and came out with one important take-away: Iracambi volunteers are a very important flow of people from outside Brazil and therefore outside money into this area. Therefore, it is very important for them to interact with the community, especially going shopping at local markets and supporting ecotourism businesses.

Several other volunteers and I hope to go kayaking there in the next few weeks, and I am looking forward to it!

The guy who owns Verde Aventuras also grows a bit of sugarcane on his farm, and we bought some from him. I bought a large chunk that can be eaten plain (it tastes like brown sugar with the characteristic "brown sugar" taste intensified), or used to sweeten drinks or food.

Some miniature chickens eating bananas! There was also a camboatá tree (Cupania vernalis) which attracted many birds. I really need to get my hands on a bird fieldguide so I can look up that neat long-tailed bird in the picture on the right!