Dominican Republic ecolodge accommodation
How this vacation makes a difference
Environment
The project uses both extensive community involvement and an enterprise/private sector approach. It directly links the local community’s economic improvement with the conservation of natural resources (“ecological corridor”). Sustainable ecotourism is suited to alleviate poverty in this region of the Dominican Republic by simultaneously protecting the environment.
We run an authentic eco-project, with intense community cooperation and benefits. We have founded the local NGO (CIELO) where all other organizations of the village are members. We create awareness of nature conservation among local people and closely cooperate with the local "Association El Progreso". We focus on sustainable ecotourism, participation of villagers and improvement of economic well-being. We outsource our services and activities (horse rental, laundry, lodging, small bus transportation, local souvenir production and sales, etc), and are establishing a complete eco-centre with eco-lodges, restaurant and eco-shop.
We also cooperate among regional tourism enterprises to improve quality of existing tourism in the East, employing local people (e.g. as guides, helpers, waiters). This eco-project spreads most of the benefits among poor local peoples. Community work is done by volunteers, teaching the villagers about ecotourism and nature conservation and how they can engage in it.
Nature conservation and biodiversity protection is also part of our authentic ecotourism project. Together with the first tour guides, we have started a written inventory of birds in the area, their habitat, those endangered and why. This work will be continued with other less known animal species, and we are also looking for biology student interns and assistance from specialists available in the Capital’s university.
Community
As pioneer to create ecotourism in the area, we support not only the village but are known in the whole region of El Seibo as Honorary Member of the new Development Agency, with focus on the development of sustainable ecotourism with benefits for the comunity. My promise to support the local community since many years now is a daily pensioners life: whether writing project proposals for cacao farmers or fruit producers, assisting all the meetings of local and regional organizations, making day excursions to one of the many natural attraction like caves or waterfalls, and via Internet connecting peoples from all over the world with the local villagers (I am really talking 7 languages fluently) thus acting as a translator between the outside modern world and the poor Dominican countryside.
Globalization has reached this little Dominican village of Pedro Sanchez, and we want to make the best out of it: Show our rich nature to all visitors, offer local culture and traditions (like life guitar music or Folcloric dances) and of course create awareness of how everybody (locals and visitors alike ) can help to protect the Environment by making vacation inside the country, as a responsable traveler, thus helping in the alleviation of the great poverty everywhere visible.
Of course we employ only local peoples, for helping in our restaurant kitchen or accompanying us as local tour guide. We always connect our visitors to all our village peoples - they come as foreigners but they leave as friends, most of them promising to return....
Together with some locals, we have receintly started another touristic project called "El Criollo", with a large playground and rope park for kids, even a small ZIP-line for kids, offering local products and handicrafts made locally.
In other words, every dollar spent on such a vacation will make a big change in the life of a poor villager- and believe us, these poor farmers will not steal your digital camera or belongings, in contrary- they will invite you to enter their small cottage and enjoy a Dominican coffee.
