February 2014 Pez Maya, Mexico

Women empowerment in Punta Allen: Contributing with ecotourism cooperative Las Orquideas de Sian Kaan
Summary The Pez Maya community work main objectives are to keep a close and healthy relationship between GVI and the community, to raise awareness on different key environmental issues as well as to build capacities among the community. As a part of this project, the staff and volunteers from Pez Maya were taken on four different eco-tours organized by the new women cooperative in the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve Las Orqudeas de Sian Kaan. This activity was very important not only to reinforce our relationship with the community but to contribute to women empowerment in Punta Allen fishing village. Report The Pez Maya community project is performed mainly in the town of Javier Rojo Gomez, better known as Punta Allen. The Sian Kaan Orquids Cooperative (Orqudeas de Sian Kaan) was created about two years ago by a group of outstanding women from Punta Allen that wanted to offer a different product in the Reserve, diversify the tourist options and support the family economy. They have been working and training very hard for two years to become an ecotourism cooperative in the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve and have faced - and overcome - many difficulties to achieve their dream. They have proved as unfounded the skepticism of other people from the same community and established the project at the same time as taking care of their homes, teaching or cooking, etc.

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Figure 1 Kayak tour in Punta Allen

Their project has been supported by different institutions like the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), Amigos de Sian Kaan, the Compact UN program and the WWF. On February 16th we had the privilege to participate, as tourists, in the hiking, history, kayaking and cycling tours, guided by the members of this cooperative. The objectives of this activity were to provide willing, interested bodies for the ladies to practice their performance on the different tours; to tell them our opinions and also to provide them with a guide of the English vocabulary and phrases they will need to learn to offer a better service to international customers.

Figure 2 Hiking tour

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Each group included a member of staff who took notes during the tour whilst the volunteers took video and pictures to help as a reference when producing the guide and providing feedback to the ladies.

Figure 3 Kayaking in the mangrove system

All the tours generated different opinions and lots of feedback, but in general it was a beautiful experience and it was very rewarding to see these women happy, following their dreams and sharing their knowledge and experiences with us. To find out more about the Pez Maya expedition visit:

http://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/marine-conservation-expedition- mexico

References Vicente Ferreira. 2013. Mujeres y turismo, el caso de la Cooperativa Orqudeas de Sian Kaan. Turismo, Conservacin y desarrollo sustentable. Link: http://conservacionyturismo.wordpress.com/2013/09/16/mujeres-y-turismo-elcaso-de-la-cooperativa-orquideas-de-sian-kaan/

Angela Paredes. 2013. Punta Allen, refugio en Sian Kaan. Latitud, lderes y negocios del caribe mexicano. Link: http://www.latitud21.com.mx/punta-allen-refugio-ensian-ka%C2%B4an-2/

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