The Tourism Council of Prainha do Canto Verd e organized a 3-day Conference for Sustainable Tourism, with the participation of different interest groups within the village, such as fi shermen, women, men, youngsters, teachers and craft-workers, in order to draw up a blueprint for tourism development. Among the
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participants in the conference discussions were also the Instituto Terramar (an NGO created by Mr Schärer to work with coastal communities), tourism experts, neighbouring communities, local government offi cials and other NGOs. The result of the discussions was a strategic plan for Prainha do Canto Verde’s tour-ism development and the creation of a cooperative to undertake the project, COOPECANTUR, an acronym for Tourism and Handicrafts Cooperative (SOS-ZonaCosteira, 2003).
Prior research on the bottom-up approach to tourism development includes
‘spotlighting the everyday lives of everyday people’ (Agrusa et al., 2003). The village of Prainha has a calm, tranquil, peaceful way of life, a communitarian culture and the possibility of interacting with the villagers, which is the village’s essence for attracting tourists. The local residents of Prainha knew that this har-mony could be jeopardized easily, depending on the type and number of incom-ing tourists. Therefore, one of their fi rst steps with the bottom-up approach was defi ning to whom the residents of Prainha wanted to portray their culture and how accommodation and other services would be provided.
The results of the strategic planning sections are summarized below, including the defi nition of their niche market, accommodation and food for visitors, as well as activities.
Niche market
Guidelines for market selection are quite strict. Travel agencies and local tour operators are not involved in the promotion and marketing of Prainha’s prod-ucts and services (restaurants, hotels and activities). On the contrary, the Internet and word of mouth are the preferred marketing channels. However, Prainha villagers do encourage agencies that specialize in responsible culture tourism and community tourism to contact COOPECANTUR to organize spe-cial offers. Villagers want to attract those who are sensitive to the environ-ment, conservation, local cultures and who want to learn about the community organization. ‘Those individuals who seek tranquility and the natural beauty offered by the region, who are interested in the culture and traditions of the Sea Dwellers and are engaged in preservation (…). People who can live with-out swimming pools, bwith-outiques and agitated nightlife’ (SOSZonaCosteira, 2003). Among those whom the villagers are attracting are ecologists, students from different areas, members of human rights movements and religious groups.
Additionally, besides the Internet and word of mouth, links are being made with international organizations that attract those concerned with socially respon-sible tourism and the impact that tourism has on traditional cultures. Some of the international organizations that are attracted by Prainha are ‘Arbeitskreis fur Tourismus und Entwicklung’ in Basle and Tourism Concern and Fair Tourism in the UK (Studienkreis, 2003). Recently, Prainha has joined a network of coastal villages in Ceara, the Tucum network. One of the main objectives of this network is to consolidate marketing efforts to a target audience of communitarian and sustainable tourism lovers.
124 J. Agrusa and G. Albieri
Accommodation and food
Where are tourists going to stay? Where and what are they going to eat? Who is going to provide accommodation and meals? Those were important questions that had to be answered by the residents of Prainha do Canto Verde. With a clear vision of what they wanted to gain from tourism development and using their community approach to problem solving, those questions were answered in a creative and innovative manner.
Accommodation is offered in guest house rooms in a family setting, called
‘pousadas’, which can be owned privately or by the community. Also, tourists can rent bedrooms in locals’ houses. Prainha has no more than a total of eight overnight accommodation facilities, providing lodgings for a maximum of 45 people in rooms with private toilet and shower. Accommodation rates including breakfast are about US$8.00/day and meal costs are approximately US$4.00/
meal. Local cuisine is offered in small restaurants owned and operated by the villagers and includes a fresh catch of the day of fi sh or lobster. Shrimp, chicken, rice, beans and other locally grown products are also served, with fresh mango, orange or cashew juices, beer, coffee and, for dessert, fresh fruits like bananas, pineapple and cashew.
Activities
Tourists expecting jet skis, banana boats, paragliding and parasailing are defi -nitely coming to the wrong place. Activities available at Prainha provide tourists with the opportunity to be in contact with nature and the local culture in a natural context. Local tour guides arrange sailing trips on board a jangada or catamaran;
lead the tourists across sand dune landscapes; reveal hidden saltwater lagoons;
and discover neighbouring fi shing villages. Excursions include trips to nearby projects like the oyster farm that female fi shers have developed in a mangrove area adjacent to the River Jaguaribe. Historically, fi shing was exclusively for men of the village who were fi shermen, but the development of this oyster farm has given the women a position to provide an income in a culture where men are expected to be the only income provider.
Tourists can also arrange visits to the local school, participate in local events and celebrations, sail on research trips in the marine reserve which is being established and sail on scheduled fi shing trips (Fortalnet, 2003). One can defi ne Prainha’s villagers as happy, festive people. The annual calendar of activities is intense and rich with history, giving visitors many different options to experience the local culture, including religious, national and local celebrations. On a visit to the local school, visitors can learn, through songs performed by the children’s choir, about the village’s history, including the invasions by land speculators, the regatta of 1993 and the villagers’ concern for the environment and their culture.
The regatta is an annual event. Different marine ecology themes are chosen for it and the local children paint the sails of the jangadas with their art and cre-ativity. The purpose of the jangada is to celebrate the bravery of ‘jangadeiros’
and to show off their navigation skills, at the same time raising awareness of the
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environment; thus, it is called the Ecological Jangada Regatta. It has been cele-brated since 1993 and has inspired other communities to organize their own ecological regattas. The regatta is an important measure which demonstrates that tourism is a complementary source of economic development and that the villagers are committed to their roots so that the prevailing usage of the jangadas is for fi shing. Jangadas may not always be available for tourists to enjoy because they are used for fi shing in order to provide and maintain the village’s supply of fi sh. The fi sh supply for the villagers has priority over a tourist’s joyride.
Crafts
The native culture is also portrayed through the crafts that are developed by the local children, women and artisans. Handicrafts, embroidered work and toys created by the children can be acquired at the local souvenir shop. Local beach-wear brand clothes, such as bikinis and sarongs, can also be purchased in the local store.
The statement of a French visitor summarizes perfectly the bottom-up approach to cultural tourism adopted in Prainha: ‘here the visitors adapt to the villagers, and not the other way around’ (SOSZonaCosteira, 2003). A local resi-dent shared with one of the authors that ‘we [Prainha villagers] don’t have much, but what we have, few have’.