Duke University students partner with NC State’s P1tLab to develop a community-based ecotourism project in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Students from Duke University are collaborating with P1tLab to help rural community members in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, develop their ecotourism business. Playa Grande is a Mexican ejido , where land is jointly owned by a group of 70 community members. Residents of Playa Grande, like many rural communities in Mexico, participate in government-funded conservation programs where community members receive monetary compensation in exchange for their involvement in the sustainable management and stewardship of communal natural resources. Their conservation activities include fire prevention, protection against illegal logging and hunting, and maintaining corridors for jaguar protection. Ejido Playa Grande is part of a small group of communities that decided to invest their conservation program earnings into an ecotourism business, which is jointly owned by community members. Their company has been growing but community members are looking to improve their business stra...