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Millennium Village Tour (Rwanda) ICRT Responsible Tourism Conference, London, 08-01-2010. Eos Visions info@eos-visions.com www.eos-visions.com. Introduction. Millennium Village Tour Introduction Eos Visions Millennium Villages Project Millennium Village Tour Conclusion.
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Millennium Village Tour (Rwanda)ICRT Responsible Tourism Conference, London, 08-01-2010 Eos Visionsinfo@eos-visions.comwww.eos-visions.com
Introduction • Millennium Village Tour • Introduction • Eos Visions • Millennium Villages Project • Millennium Village Tour • Conclusion • William Easterly – Aid Watchers blog: • “Should starving people be tourist attractions?” • Comments of readers: • “people zoos” • “poverty tourism” • “poverty Disneyland” • “poverty porn”
Eos Visions • Millennium Village Tour • Introduction • Eos Visions • Millennium Villages Project • Millennium Village Tour • Conclusion • Educational travel and destination management: • Companies: Burundi, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda – and Germany • Clients: • Individuals/groups: Citizen ambassador travel, professional focus travel, charity travel, special interest travel, immersion travel, luxury adventure travel, professional volunteerism • Universities: Academic travel • Organizations: Donor travel, advocacy travel • Corporates: Incentive travel, investor travel, event management, consultancies
Millennium Villages Project • Millennium Village Tour • Introduction • Eos Visions • Millennium Villages Project • Millennium Village Tour • Conclusion • Innovative model for helping rural African communities lift themselves out of extreme poverty: • 12 village clusters in 10 African countries with a distinct agro-ecological zone • Interventions in agriculture, education, health and infrastructure • Highlights: Participatory community decision-making, improved science-based technologies and techniques, link to national level processes to allow for scaling up
Millennium Village Tour • Millennium Village Tour • Introduction • Eos Visions • Millennium Villages Project • Millennium Village Tour • Conclusion • Concept: • Educational day excursions on development challenges and the successful intervention package of the MVP • Tourism as part of the intervention package (income generation, community mobilization) • PPP with Earth Institute, UNDP, local government, community representatives • Creation of the Rwanda Nziza cooperative with over 200 members who take all decisions, participate and benefit • Various training and coaching programs (cooperative development and management, guiding and presentation skills, hospitality and hygiene issues etc)
Millennium Village Tour • Millennium Village Tour • Introduction • Eos Visions • Millennium Villages Project • Millennium Village Tour • Conclusion • Tour: • 35-minute drive from Kigali with geographical and historical introductions • Welcome at MVP headquarters for project introduction • Visit to Nyamata Church and genocide memorial • Various practical meetings with farmers, school workers, health workers and local micro-entrepreneurs • In between: Local lunch (restaurant or training facility) • Ubusabane get-together in a reconciliation community with presentations and cultural events • Late afternoon return to Kigali
Millennium Village Tour Millennium Village Tour Millennium Village Tour • Millennium Village Tour • Introduction • Eos Visions • Millennium Villages Project • Millennium Village Tour • Conclusion • Millennium Village Tour • Introduction • Eos Visions • Millennium Villages Project • Millennium Village Tour • Conclusion • Millennium Village Tour • Introduction • Eos Visions • Millennium Villages Project • Millennium Village Tour • Conclusion • Quantitative success (Jun 07 – Dec 09): • 90 visits with 733 visitors who paid an average of $72 • Total earnings of $52,925 • After deduction of project/tour running costs, 71.9% of earnings reached the community (total $18,928) • Community benefits: • Individuals: $5,620 • Groups: $5,981 • Funds: $7,325 • + sale of handicrafts
Millennium Village Tour • Millennium Village Tour • Introduction • Eos Visions • Millennium Villages Project • Millennium Village Tour • Conclusion • Qualitative success (Jun 07 – Dec 09): • Community: • Mentality change – empowerment for entrepreneurship • Building a reconciled “Rwandan” identity through interaction with foreigners • Reinforcement of cultural values • Visitors: • Awareness about practical development issues • Awareness about reconciliation efforts • Awareness about entrepreneurship vs. philanthropy
Conclusion • Millennium Village Tour • Introduction • Eos Visions • Millennium Villages Project • Millennium Village Tour • Conclusion • Success factors: • Available demand (MVP and Eos Visions) • Strong PR value • Favorable and motivated local government and community leadership • Ongoing community mobilization (MVP and Eos Visions) • Investments in institution / capacity building (MVP and Eos Visions) • Strong commitment to transparent benefit sharing
Thank you! Eos Visionsinfo@eos-visions.comwww.eos-visions.com