Building Communities as Businesses

NOVEMBER 12-15, 2018

SUMMARY REPORT

Jamaica, W.I. November 12-15, 2018

A. INTRODUCTION

The International Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPT) International Community Tourism Conference was staged at Mona Visitor’s Lodge, UWI, Mona. The four-day event commemorated 2018 as the ‘International Year of Community Tourism & Peace’ marking 40 years of Community Tourism.
The IIPT presented the conference in association with Countrystyle Villages as Businesses (CVAB), the University of the West Indies Open Campus, Making Connections Work Ltd UK, Diaspora Connect 2022, YES Foundation, the Caribbean Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Livelihoods, the National Best Communities Foundation and the UWI Mona Tourism Society.
The conference was co-chaired by Masters of Ceremonies Mrs. Gillian Rowlands, Vice President IIPT Caribbean, and Mrs. Valerie Dixon, Vice President CVAB. It was supported by title sponsors Compete Caribbean and the Caribbean Tourism Organization, representing Caribbean governments. On the first day, Dr. Luz Longsworth, UWI Open Campus Pro Vice Chancellor and Principal, welcomed participants with an overview of UWIOC’s formal partnership with CVAB and the important and reciprocal relationships between Community Tourism and accessible education and their joint plans for expansion throughout Jamaica and the Caribbean. Mr. Louis D’Amore, Founder/President of the IIPT, further set the stage for the conference by presenting IIPT’s history, its expanding influence on tourism’s role and responsibility in peace-making, and its long-standing partnership with Countrystyle’s pioneering of Community Tourism. The keynote speaker on Day 2 was Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture
and Fisheries, the Hon. Audley Shaw.
Later speakers included Professor Ina Boxill, Chairman CVAB and Head of UWI’s Centre for Tourism and Research, Valerie Veira, Executive Director JBDC, Dr. Kadamawe K’nife, UWI Mona and COMTRUST Patron, Diana McIntyre-Pike, President Countrystyle Community Tourism Network, CVAB and IIPT Caribbean, Alison Kenning Massa, Vice President, CVAB, Dr. Clifton Reid, Chairman, Manchester Peace Coalition (an IIPT endorsed project), Dr. Carolyn Hayle, UWI Mona, Melanie Taylor, President, UWI MonaTourism Society, Mrs. Jacqueline DaCosta, Founder/Chariman National Best Foundation, Dr. Marcia Brandon, CEO Caribbean Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Livelihoods and Roy Page, CEO, Asterix Tourism Services Ltd. Guest speaker at a welcome reception on the evening of Day 2 was Alexander Pike, General Manager R Hotel Kingston and a promoter of Community Tourism in the city.

The conference showcased numerous case studies a few of which are mentioned here: Barbados Community Tourism Network (first accredited programme in the Caribbean), the Africa Community
Tourism Network, Lopinot Countrystyle Tourism Village Trinidad and in Jamaica, Beeston Spring, Treasure Beach (first Village Home of Community Tourism), Resource Village (Marcus Garvey & Taino
Heritage), Rastafari Indigenous Village, Trench Town, and Charles Town Maroon Village. Displays of Villages as Businesses products were represented by Orange Bay, Beeston Spring, and TRENCH Town and others which featured Agri-tourism, Arts & Craft, Wellness & Music.
Study tours of Kingston and of Mandeville and Resource Village followed the conclusion of the conference mainly with the Title Sponsors COMPETE CARIBBEAN delegates who were very impressed with the economic development approach showcasing community lifestyle and businesses.
The conference theme “Building Communities as Businesses” emphasized the understanding that Community Tourism is not a niche form of tourism or an additional appendage of an industry that benefits a relative few. Rather, it is community development using the numerous niche markets for authentic tourism as the catalyst.
The following summary, reflecting the individual presentations and question and answer sessions, covers the most important and recurring themes, the principal immediate initiatives emerging from the conference, and the wide range of other specific concerns and recommended solutions.

B. MAJOR THEMES

1. THE NEED FOR GREATER GOVERNMENT SUPPORT. The conference, while highly successful, was notable for the lack of sponsorship by Government and the Tourism Industry. This was
noted by the keynote speaker, the Hon. Audley Shaw, Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries and the IIPT Founder/President, Dr. Louis D’Amore who met with the
Minister of Tourism to encourage more support.
Several of the key speakers also found the small number of government and tourism industry representatives attending the conference significant, emphasizing that there appears to be a
lack of recognition that:
– Sustainable Development does not happen at the
macro level. Transformation starts at the urban and
rural community level. Communities must have a direct stake in how they operate.
– Social entrepreneurship empowers people to
empower themselves. It increases productivity, has
a huge return on investment and multiplier effects,
and saves the costs of programmes to address social dysfunction.
– Government needs to support and facilitate more
and, wherever feasible, do less, avoiding competition
with grass roots, creative and effective organizations. The growth of Community Tourism could have been much faster with government assistance and partnership.

Minister Shaw’s response was to tell the attendees “’The journey of a thousand miles begins  with the first step.’ Now you need a government that is going to give you the support you need to make Community Tourism successful. Because of the wide range of my portfolio, I will  use that as the Minister of Tourism, the Prime Minister, with the Cabinet, that we need a proper well-structured policy on Community Tourism. This is my commitment to you.”

2. THE IMPORTANCE OF RESETTING MINDSETS.

Expanding Community Tourism and optimizing its  benefits for individuals, families, communities and return on investment for the national economy requires attention to changing mindsets. Community Tourism training and mentoring:
– helps community members understand the importance of recognizing, protecting and adding value to available natural resources, including Jamaica’s unique environments and genetic
resources.
– emphasizes the value of social and human capacity: “we are building people, not buildings.”  It embraces the many ways of encouraging a positive attitude in the craftspeople, farmers and other community members who are often held back by low expectations, operate on a short-term, small-scale basis and experience difficulty in accessing financing and markets.

-instills renewed pride in and respect for Jamaican culture, “aspects of which are in danger of
being appropriated and diluted.”More and more visitors desire to experience Jamaica’s authentic “vibes,” increasing the importance of growing Community Tourism in protecting music, dance, stories., cuisine and traditions.
– Encourages entrepreneurial as well as visitor satisfaction.
– reinforces the value of collaboration and community responsibility, cohesion and peace.

3. THE IMPORTANCE OF LINKAGES AND COLLABORATION.

The great value of Community Tourism is that because it uses tourism as the catalyst for broad-based community development, it has the potential to advance most, if not all, of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
–  Speakers noted that the SDGs, while individually valid and admirable, tend to be addressed and monitored in their individual categories. However, the pursuit of Community Tourism
provides opportunities for gaining skills and education, increased family income, improved protection of health, safety and the environment, greater opportunities for gender equality and
more peaceful communities.
– It has taken time for tourism, and now especially Community Tourism, to be recognized by major donors as a serious or legitimate area of focus for support and investment. Seeking funding from issue-focused donors requires the ability to present an array of objectives from the point of view of each donor or call.
–  The breadth of Community Tourism’s effectiveness and influence thus underscores the importance of collaboration – with government and the tourism industry, between and among
entrepreneurs, and within and among communities. “Individuals can only do so much; together we can do so much more.” Community Tourism’s potential power also underscores the
importance of preventing more “conglomerates taking over tourism and pushing out small  businesses and micro-entrepreneurs.”

It should be noted that the Ministry of Tourism was invited to do a presentation on the LINKAGES HUB which was not done and requests for the presentation has not materialized which could be included in the final report.

C. PRINCIPAL PROPOSALS

1. STRATEGY RETREAT. Following up his commitment, the conference partners have requested Minister Shaw, with the collaboration of the Minister and Ministry of Tourism, to facilitate a
high-level one-day retreat among industry, community, academic and business leaders and government (including Transportation, Education and all other related ministries). The purpose
is to discuss how to support our commitment to empowering and training farmers, fishermen, craftspeople and others in hospitality and entrepreneurship, from securing funding for CVAB’s
next initiative (training ten communities across Jamaica) to longer-term strategies.

2. THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE PROJECT with Manchester/St Elizabeth/Kingston

3. DIASPORA CONNECT OPTIONS FORUM ACTION PLAN

D. SPECIFIC CONCERNS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Improve access to financing for small and micro businesses – the fastest growing economic sectors.
a. Protect the capacity of credit unions (which are under pressure).

b. Encourage legalization of house and/or land through titling programme to give would- be borrowers equity and security.

c. Bring back the old Partners’ practice.
d. Mentor SMEs in business plan preparation.

2. Improve protection of intellectual property — including patrimony, products, indigenous technologies, stories, etc.
a. Train entrepreneurs to make “poor man’s copyright.”
b. Protect 800 species of endemic and other valuable plants (genetic resources)
i. Emphasize/require standard community contracts with visitors, researchers
ii. Record knowledge, oral history, local names etc.
iii. Make use of JIPO, UWI Herbarium for taxonomies and labeling
iv. Provide more IP mentoring
v. Track and document assets –UWI students through the UWIOC-CVAB  partnership?

3. Sharpen marketing and products

a. Communities wishing to participate in Community Tourism should be encouraged to choose/select among the 40+ niche markets.
b. Communities need to be encouraged/assisted to form linkages, partnerships, clusters and networks. Collaborations:
i. Show strength in numbers and passion to hold Government to its commitments

ii. Provide a marketing edge – theme regions or trails linking several villages
iii. Help tours make money and attract the donor community.
c. Place greater stress on the importance of story telling and of videos in marketing for the digital age and generations.
d. Place emphasis on unique experiences and quality and authentically Jamaican products demanded by the young markets and the massively growing African, Chinese and Indian markets, who respectively focus on history, art and food.
e. Assist /mentor creative entrepreneurs with marketing and especially budgets.
f. Focus on assisting small producers to scale up to sustainable levels, especially through support for JBDC which trains, mentors and facilitates in the following areas:
i. Teaches business planning and
ii. Provides label and packaging design and supplies in quantities realistic for small
producers
iii. Encourages seamstresses to become fashion designers
iv. Develops group brands to expand access to markets for small producers
v. Mentors small producers in financing alternatives to bank loans.

4. Increase attention on protecting irreplaceable environmental and productive resources.

a. Examples of threats cited:
i. bauxite mining to Pedro Plains
ii. limestone mining to Canoe Valley
b. Strengthen the partnership with JOAM:
i. Build on the Interconnection of the wellness and agritourism Community Tourism niche markets in particular
ii. Train communities in organic production and backyard composting
c. Concern that with ganja legitimization large companies are pushing out small farmers
who used to keep communities going.
i. model to emulate: Westmoreland growers with under 1 acre have formed group and sell under their own brand
ii. Concern about the burden of regulations and fees on small producers (e.g. tariff on organic seed packet)

5. Follow a strategic plan for spreading initiatives into other parishes

a. As the Manchester Peace Coalition expands to other parishes, it should include and integral wellness component and recruit One Love Peace Ambassadors
b. Develop and emulate the Golden Triangle model which is included in the Diaspora Connect Options Forum report from Jan 3 2019 with Rudi Page CEO Making Connections Work UK/Diaspora Connect 2022 with Manchester/St. Elizabeth/Kingston