ECOCLUB Blogs™

It's been a long winter in North America. To help ease people into spring, Kalahari Management is launching a contest that will have you remembering happier (and possibly warmer) times.Readers are invited to share their travel stories on our forum at www.reinventuretravel.com/forum They can be funny, heart-warming, quirky or thought-provoking.Our illustrious panel of judges (bribed by free beer and pizza ) will pick the best story posted during April and May.The winner will receive a complementary copy of Reinventure: How Travel Adventure Can Change Your Life by Carol Patterson and Saving Paradise: The Story of Sukau Rainforest Lodge by Albert Teo and Carol Patterson.I look forward to reading your travel talesCarol

CAMAT was established in 1998 by a wide spectrum of tourism stakeholders for the promotion of ecotourism in Chitral and Northern Areas. It is not-for-profit registered tourism company. The objective of the association is to diversify people’s livelihood opportunities by creating off-farm job opportunities so that pressure on land resources will decrease and natural biodiversity and ecology will restore. From 2003-7, CAMAT worked through the financial and technical support of UNESCO with a project titled ‘promotion of ecotourism in the mountainous region of Central and South Asia’. The project had eight partners from Central and South Asia. In Pakistan the project rested with CAMAT, which implemented the activities under the following themes to achieve the project's broader objectives: Protection of traditional cultureProtection of natural environmentCapacity buildingNetwork buildingAdvocacy campaign Though UNESCO project came to an end, CAMAT is continuing its activities mostly by the voluntary support of its Board of Directors and cultural groups and natural club throughout the Chitral district. We would like the like-minded NGOs around the world to come forward and support CAMAT in its efforts to protect the virgin natural environment and traditional culture of both the Kalash and Khow communities. CAMAT’s BoD and the Kalash and Khow...

(Editorial in Issue 100 of ECOCLUB, International Ecotourism Magazine) QUOTE“The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil. We see before us a huge community of producers the members of which are unceasingly striving to deprive each other of the fruits of their collective labor—not by force, but on the whole in faithful compliance with legally established rules” – Albert Einstein, Why Socialism? , Monthly Review, May 1949 No one really knows how long this latest systemic crisis may last or how it will end - hopefully not in tears, not like the 1929 one. But it does present a unique opportunity: it can help reveal the resilience and the necessity of small-scale, sustainable tourism, family & community-owned, and prove the unsustainability of mega-resorts, in particular all-inclusive, condo hotels and golf, the funders of which are getting weaker by the day! Within Ecotourism as well, we need to move away from discredited neoliberal recipes, dependencies on aid and other agencies, nefarious mushups like corporate social responsibility, triple bottom lines and carbon offsetting. As Murray Bookchin pointed out “we live in a highly cooptative society that is only too eager to...

Diane was a hotel housekeeper in the Niagara Falls area of Ontario, Canada. When she tried to start a union in her hotel, she was fired. Following action by UNITE HERE, she was re-hired by the hotel, however harassment has not stopped.More details:http://www.istandwithdiane.ca/index.php?op...id=44&Itemid=59Related Report:http://www.niagarahotelworkers.ca/download...otel_Sector.pdfFrom Unite Here's website:UNITE (formerly the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees) and HERE (Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union) merged on July 8, 2004 forming UNITE HERE. The union represents more than 450,000 active members and more than 400,000 retirees throughout North America.UNITE HERE boasts a diverse membership, comprised largely of immigrants and including high percentages of African-American, Latino, and Asian-American workers. The majority of UNITE HERE members are women.

The new 703km long - 8m tall wall separating the West bank from Israel, will eventually have the luck of the old one in Berlin. In the mean time, it can also start looking more colourful, like the Berlin one eventually did, with graffitti!With Euros 30, you can have something written on it (not as exciting as Banksy's of course)and at the same time - organisers promise - support peaceful, small social, cultural and educational projects in Palestine.How about the classic "walls have ears, and ears have walls"Related:http://www.sendamessage.nl

Every mainstream politician seems to have an opinion about the root causes of the latest crisis. But let's hear it from someone far more intelligent: The Einstein few know, writing in 1949, in the first issue of the Monthly Review: QUOTEI have now reached the point where I may indicate briefly what to me constitutes the essence of the crisis of our time. It concerns the relationship of the individual to society. The individual has become more conscious than ever of his dependence upon society. But he does not experience this dependence as a positive asset, as an organic tie, as a protective force, but rather as a threat to his natural rights, or even to his economic existence........Man can find meaning in life, short and perilous as it is, only through devoting himself to society. The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil. We see before us a huge community of producers the members of which are unceasingly striving to deprive each other of the fruits of their collective labor—not by force, but on the whole in faithful compliance with legally established rules......Private capital tends to become concentrated...

Given the turbulent state of affairs, Pakistan received fewer tourists as compared to years in the past. We still expect less turn out of tourists—both national and international ones—in the year 2009. However, it is realized that tourism industry is very much affected by the tense situation at national and international level, which are in many ways outside the influence of the local communities, who always bear the brunt of such untoward situation. Pakistan has consistently being projected as a turbulent destination by tour operators, tourism companies and governments around the world because of the prevailing condition in the country. This is where things take adverse turn for the people in those region where tourism has been a thriving industry in the past and people invested in the invested in improving tourism infrastructure within their given financial resources but for nothing to earn in return. In the meantime, social projects linked with tourism industry have also suffered a serious setback. Whatever is the capacity of the local indigenous communities, they do not spare their efforts to correct things. Let’s hope for the best in the years to come and to work with great commitment in order to promote ecotourism in the...

Kalash communities in Chitral are considered to be the remnant of the army of Alexander the Great. They entertain rich and colouful culture. To them festival is not something as entertainment. Rather it is a part of thier faith and workship. Next Chilimjosht will fall in the month of May when spring will sweep through the Chitral district. It is such a beautiful time to visit Chitral in general and the Kalash valley in particular. Contact us to make your visit enjoyable ane entertaining.

The village Booni is situated 80km to the north of Chitral town. It is the largest village in the entire Chitral district and is famous for its fresh fruits, cool orchards and friendly, hospitable and peace-loving people. In Booni, tourists will find guesthouses where traditional food will be served. The village is surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Hindu Kush which that provide opportunities for both one-day and long-distance trekking. Here in this village paragliding has become a popular sport amongst the youngsters. They are looking forward and patronize the sport and to turn into a potential attraction for tourists in the years to come.

Note from Nikki: This brief report below makes the concept of culinary heritage preservation seem extreme. At this point in time, it needs to be extreme in many regions of the world. More comments to follow. Tuscan Town Accused of ‘Culinary Racism’ for 'Ethnic' Food BanBy Flavia Krause-JacksonJan. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The Tuscan town of Lucca is being accused of “culinary racism” after banishing from its historic center restaurants that serve different “ethnic” foods.Lucca’s municipal council ruled yesterday that “with a view to safeguarding culinary traditions and the authenticity of structure, architecture, culture and history, establishments whose activities can be tracked to different ethnicities won’t be allowed to operate.”The architects of the ban say it applies to fast-food outlets, which includes not just kebab stalls, but also takeaway pizza stands, and the aim is to highlight the local cuisine that boasts dishes based on beans, rabbit and salt cod. A spokeswoman confirmed the new rule -- an update to a 2000 ordinance -- and said it applies only to the area within the town’s fortified medieval walls inhabited by 8,000 residents.Still, the direct reference to “ethnicity” adds an “occult” aspect to the rulings, Paolo Cocchi, the regional councilor for Culture, Tourism...