Making Tourism Benefit Communities Adjacent to Archaeological Sites

November 2013 – November 2014

Summary

The Government of Belize received funding from the European Union via the Belize Rural Development Program II (BRDP II) to finance the project entitled “Making Tourism Benefit Communities Adjacent to Archaeological Sites (MTBCAAS)”. Co-financing for the project is being provided by the Government of Belize through the Ministry of Tourism (the Belize Tourism Board and the National Institute of Culture and History). The project is being implemented by the Belize Tourism Board and the National Institute of Culture and History through a Project Execution Unit housed at the Belize Tourism Board offices.

The objectives of the project are:

To improve economic opportunities in rural communities and contribute to the reduction of poverty.
To enhance the tourism experience through improvements in tourism infrastructure and services at selected sites.

The project intends to achieve three results:

Result One: Improved monitoring systems at archaeological sites;
Result Two: Improved health and safety provisions and infrastructure at archaeological sites;
Result Three: Enhanced the diversification of community based tourism products and services offered at archaeological sites.

From November 4, 2013 to November 24, 2014, Belzeb Inc, a company with locations in Grenada and Haiti dedicated to working with artisans in the development of market driven craft products and hand-made organic botanicals for the Caribbean tourism industry partnered with Aid to Artisans to provide consultancy services to achieve Result Three of the project by addressing the craft sector. This involves the development and delivery of a training program in standardization, branding and certification for Belizean made arts and crafts products being sold at archaeological sites and elsewhere. ATA and Belzeb Inc will also advise on how best to utilize the marketing resources of BTB and NICH to assist artisans in marketing their Belizean made products for international consumption. This initiative will directly impact and benefit artisans living and working in communities that are primarily near to 9 archaeological sites: 1. Xunantunich 2. Barton Creek 3. Actun Tunichil Muknal 4. Caves’ Branch 5. Altun Ha 6. Lamanai 7. Nim Li Punit 8. Lubaantun 9. Blue Creek. The ATA team comprised of Judy Karwacki, president of Small Planet Consulting, and Daniela Viscarra, founder of Jalsuri Foundation.

Accomplishments as of Oct 31, 2014

A Rapid Assessment was conducted in 4 archaeological sites to identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing artisan groups near the sites and to evaluate the tourist market for artisan products.
4 sets of local Market Readiness Program were conducted in the four sites equipping about 95 artisans with the proper business skills for entry into the tourism market.
A Train-of Trainer was conducted for 17 facilitators which included artisan leaders, local coordinators, and government officials.
2 rounds of Product Development were conducted with over 60 artisans to develop new and improve existing product offering for the tourist market.
Over 300 products representing more than 50 product lines for home décor and accessories in wood, calabash, stone, textile, cement, clay, and jewelry.
More than 70 % of the artisans benefitted are women.
The “Unique Belize” Brand was created for all the new products developed under the MTBCAAS project. This brand was included in all promotional and marketing materials for the artisans who participated in the project and their product collections.
A certification process has been put into place for the Belize Tourism Board and partners to implement passed the life of the program.
The Launch of Unique Belize was conducted in late October 2014 to introduce the new brand and highly improved product collection developed under the project. Over 200 products were exhibited gathering 40 artisans and 250 guests from all over the country.