Food Tourism in Indigenous Settings as a Strategy of Sustainable Development: The Case IfIlex guayusa Loes. in the Ecuadorian Amazon
This paper seeks to contribute to the discussion on how to enhance food tourism inemerging, tropical countries characterized by a large number of indigenous groups and a highbiodiversity. A sacred plant for the Kichwa indigenous communities labelledIlex guayusaLoes.(Aquifoliceae) is used as a case s...
| Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | article |
| Status: | Published version |
| Publication Date: | 2016 |
| Country: | Ecuador |
| Institution: | Universidad Regional Amazónica |
| Repository: | Repositorio Universidad Regional Amazónica |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:repositorio.ikiam.edu.ec:RD_IKIAM/224 |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/su8100967 http://repositorio.ikiam.edu.ec/jspui/handle/RD_IKIAM/224 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Food tourism Indigenous communities Ancestral knowledge Guayusa Biodiversity Kichwa |
| Summary: | This paper seeks to contribute to the discussion on how to enhance food tourism inemerging, tropical countries characterized by a large number of indigenous groups and a highbiodiversity. A sacred plant for the Kichwa indigenous communities labelledIlex guayusaLoes.(Aquifoliceae) is used as a case study. Twelve recorded interviews with different stakeholders of theAmazon region of Napo in Ecuador were analysed. The results of this qualitative research show thatthe Western-based theory on niche tourism based on experiential and intimacy theory is compatiblewith four principles which are related to the cosmovision (worldview) of Kichwa indigenous groups,namely: mutual learning, empowerment, regulated access to intellectual property and communitylegislation. The framework proposed seems suitable to understand food tourism in an indigenoussetting. Furthermore, the integration of Western-based food tourism with an indigenous cosmovisionmight contribute to a more sustainable land use and more equitable social development. |
|---|