A short report in support of a Community Project in Belize
This is the first in what will eventually be a series of books about the Toledo Peoples' Eco Park Plan that will transform the lives of all the people of Toledo District in Belize. It is the situation as it exists in Belize. This edition is in Colour an inexpensive version is in course of preparation.
Excerpt
A History of the Toledo Ecotourism Association and the
Toledo Peoples' Eco Park Plan
First of all; what is TEA and how did it start?
In 1990 a small group of Belizeans combined at a meeting to discuss the future of all the diverse population groups of the Toledo District. It was in an atmosphere that had been fired up by the enthusiasm generated at the time of Independence from Great Britain. The world was a new and was, once again, an exciting place to be. Freedom was the catch word of the Eighties and 'Nineties in Belize. The freedom of the brave new world was nowhere stronger than in Toledo, home to members of all the diverse peoples who had settled in the area, previously known as British Honduras, over the years.
Nothing was impossible to those who gathered at the Methodist school in Punta Gorda at the behest of William 'Chet' Schmidt, the Director of the Toledo Home Site Farming and Ecological Centre and founder and former President of the Belize Tourist Industry Association, in Toledo one Saturday morning; the day chosen to allow villagers to come to town on their Market Day bus.
“Eight workshops in all were held and each developed the theme of 'What is Tourism?'
It must always be remembered that in those days the subject of tourism in Belize was as new as the independent nation itself. The people were gaining new knowledge and learning new skills.
The first three workshops dealt with Mass Tourism. That is the “canned” or mass movement of people from other countries through the country, showing off the various aspects of the country. Mass Tourists essentially, have little time to savour the nature of the country, to enjoy the simple pleasures of “just being there.” In essence, if not controlled properly Mass Tourism can be destructive and result in the loss of the very thing that attracts visitors.
The next three workshops dealt with eco- or adventure tourism. The very essence of eco-tourism is the careful and considered exposure of the natural resources of a country to the visitor. It attracts those people who do want to linger, who are aware that they can easily destroy a fragile ecological infrastructure. Even a bare foot placed in the wrong place can destroy, or help destroy, thousands of years of natural development. Thousands of such feet can result in the permanent loss, once again, of the very thing that attracts visitors.” ~ Chet Schmidt.
