Garifuna Resistance to Mega-Tourism in Tela Bay

by James Rodriguez

Today, the Garifuna have well-established communities along the Caribbean Ocean on the Gulf of Honduras, southern Belize, the Guatemalan coast (along the port city of Livingston), the Island of Roatan, in addition to coastal cities in Honduras and Nicaragua.

“Our culture is based upon establishing a harmony with our natural environment,” explains Teresa Reyes, a community leader in Triunfo de la Cruz village.

The deforestation process needed to begin construction of the 312-hectare Micos Beach & Golf Resort started in January 2008.  The local Garifuna population are neither happy with the prospects nor the process.

As an alternative, most members of the Garifuna communities are betting on the development of small-scale eco-tourism.  Such industry provides direct income without any middlemen and is less stressful on the natural environment.  The fishermen gladly offer to take tourists to Punta Sal or around the Micos Lagoon in their motorboats and canoes.  In Miama and Barra Vieja one can find a few families willing to cook up fresh fish or the traditional rice and beans dish, while very rustic cabins can also be found to sleep in.

Along the beaches, locals have built palm canopies: “We built them for the tourists as sun shelters.  We want them to come visit us,” explains a Barra Vieja resident.

Trying to compete against the unlimited economic resources of the Tela Bay Touristic Development Society may seem an impossible task.  Nevertheless, a women’s project in San Juan has taken up the challenge and found the courage to invest in the community.  Three beautiful all-equipped cabins were inaugurated in April
2008.  Each costs $40/night, regardless of how many guests stay.

“We want a project that belongs to us.  We don’t want outsiders to come and exploit us or remove us from our ancestral lands.  We want to develop an eco-tourist industry which is ours and which will sustain our Garifuna cosmovision and respect the natural environment,” says Reyes.

ALL PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE: James Rodríguez, www.mimundo.org

James Rodriguez is a photo journalist who has traveled widely among Garifuna communities. With his permission, we share excerpts from his online commentary:

http://mimundo-jamesrodriguez.blogspot.com/2008/07/garifuna-resistance-a...