Invest in Local Communities
Traveling or studying abroad with InPlace, guarantees you're investing in the local economies of the places you visit. This includes both models for community-based tourism, as well as locally-led initiatives spearheaded by community leaders. Prioritizing relationships to value everyone's unique strengths creates opportunities for innovation and ensures locals have the agency to imagine their own futures. Check out our Principles for Responsible Travel and see some examples highlighted below to learn more.
Ban Taptawan
Ban Taptawan is a Moklen village along Thailand’s Andaman coast. The Moklen are one of Thailand’s three last nomadic sea peoples and some of the few remaining worldwide. However, their traditional way of life is under threat due to large-scale coastal development, marine pollution, over-fishing, and lack of secure property rights.
To help preserve their culture and earn income for the community they are trying to create a sustainable model for tourism that shares their way of life and promotes conservation.They have also begun working with IMPECT to create larger networks between indigenous and ethnic communities in Southern Thailand and organize to advocate for their rights.
Community Learning Hubs
Through Dr. Chu Manh Trinh's work, communities in central Vietnam have come together to create a network of Community Learning Hubs. Their goal is to support local livelihoods and conserve their cultural heritage and natural resources by hosting university students, professionals and tourists in 'community school.' Using an asset-based approach to community development, local leaders are devising strategies to leverage their unique strengths and pedagogy to teach others to value what is unique to where they live. Instead of university faculty taking the lead, local leaders teach classes and are empowered as experts. In turn, this will foster mechanisms for integrated watershed and coastal management to preserve fisheries and ways of life while contributing to the economy.
Artificial Glaciers
Most villages in Ladakh are agricultural and rely on glacial melt for irrigation. Some years, particularly now with climate change, the timing of the glacial melt has become erratic. If the water comes too late, the seeds dry out leading to widespread crop failure. For communities that rely primarily on subsistence agriculture to provide food for the harsh winter months, this can be devastating.
Recently, a Ladakhi engineer named Tsewang Norphel invented the idea of artificial glaciers in hopes of providing a more reliable source of water. Artificial glaciers are essentially large ice reservoirs, created by diverting near-freezing stream water behind rock walls. They are built at lower altitudes than natural glaciers so as the weather warms during the spring months, they melt sooner and provide crucial water for irrigation.
Support the Local Economy
