We had our second Workshop last weekend! It was very successful. It took place in a small fishing community called Acapulco in the Tumbes Region in Northern Peru. We invited representatives from different authorities to give fishermen training in Business and Tourism Services. The workshop lasted 2 days, after which we did some interviews with the fishermen.

We had advertised the workshop via local radio stations and newspapers, pasting posters around different fishing communities and by personal invitation via phone calls to all the participants of the previous workshop. The call was very successful; we had participants from different backgrounds, not only fishermen, very eager to learn.

The first day of the workshop Antonio Miranda, a representative for the Direction of Tourism in the Tumbes Region, spoke about Sustainable Tourism and different Ecotourism projects that are taking place in the area. He also gave training on how to treat tourists, which really caught everyone’s attention. Then Henry Perez, a Tourism teacher from an Institute in Tumbes, talked about his experience working with artisanal fishermen and how sustainable, local experiential tourism is on the rise. This was shocking to the participants, since they thought that only luxury tourism could be successful. In the second part of the workshop, our international volunteer, Martin Sieg, gave training on how to do a business proposal and the different elements involved in having a business.

During the second day of the workshop a representative for the local Coast Guard, Officer Falcon, spoke about safety on the boat and safety measures needed to take in case of emergencies and/or accidents. Afterwards, there was a discussion group with the fishermen. Speaking about different aspects of the project we learnt a lot about what they were expecting of the project. We also discussed how they would like to organize and manage themselves, and how to sell the service. They are really enthusiastic about ecotourism with Manta Rays. One of the fishermen, who is also a carpenter, even offered his services to help refurbish the boats for ecotourism! Among the participants, there were two owners of a Tourist Agency, very interested in the project. This affirmed, to the fishermen, that the project is a solid business idea and that it could improve their income and quality of life, as they mention that fishing is getting scarce in the area.

We saw fishermen’s interest to learn more about marine species, and the impacts humans are having on them. So, aside from our Ecotourism project, we gave them fishing logbooks, so that they can keep track of captured species, quantities and distance from the coast each time they go fishing. This will also enable them to keep a record of sightings of endangered species and areas in which they find Manta Rays regularly.

At the end of our workshop we handed out a brief survey to assess fishermen’s thoughts on the workshop, how much they learnt, and if they had any suggestions. We were very pleased with the results. All of the participants thought the workshop was either “Good” or “Very Good”. And when asked how much they learnt, 100% of them answered “A lot”. In the suggestion section of the survey the majority said that they wanted more training!

After our workshop, we visited 4 of the participating fishermen’s’ boats and interviewed them about their thoughts and expectations on the project. Checking out their artisanal boats and taking pictures. The conversations about their expectations and ideas reinforced our ‘hands on’ approach for this community-based project, also strengthening the trust fishermen have put in us. For our next meeting we are planning to train the fishermen in Conservation and Sustainability, stressing the importance of this to attract Ecotourists. We also want to start designing tourism business models together with selected fishermen, and building alliances with Tourist Agencies and hotels. We will keep you updated on our progress!