Ecotourism is one of the best alternatives to attain true sustainable development in rural communities. Alltournative is the pioneer in ecotourism in the State of Quintana Roo; Mexico. Since 1999, Alltournative has developed eco-tourist projects that have benefited the economic, social and cultural development of various Maya communities.
The tourist-based economic sustainable development offered by Alltournative is of vital importance to the Maya communities as an alternate occupation to adverse conditions of the land which allows only for poor subsistence agriculture.
In each ecotourism project, Alltournative has achieved significant economic sustainable development for the inhabitants, established programs for cultural and ecologic preservation as well as promoted the natural and cultural treasures of Mexico.
Alltournative through its work alongside the Maya communities seeks to:
Increase Maya communities' income.
Create direct jobs inside the community and avoid migration of the inhabitants.
Improve life quality for the inhabitants.
Education of the inhabitants in ecotourism practices.
Preserve and rescue customs and culture.
Preserve flora and fauna.
Foment respect for traditional customs within the community.
Offer the opportunity of cultural and professional development to the members of the community, primarily focusing on children and adolescents.
The sustainable development of the Maya communities is supported by the agreements made with community groups, or ejidos, where the communities inside this area of influence are committed not only to achieve social and economic development, but also to avoid logging and hunting in the areas visited by tourists and beyond.
Through these agreements protection and conservation of great areas of rain forest, middle perennifoliae and subperennifoliae jungle as well as the great diversity of endemic flora and fauna is achieved, such as spider and howler monkey, swamp crocodiles located in the lagoons of this area, five of six species of Mexican felines (jaguar, puma, ocelots, jaguarundies and margays), white collared peccaries, white-tailed and Temazate deer, a great diversity of birds, amphibians and other reptiles as well as different species of trees, bushes and epiphytes, just to mention some.
Currently, Alltournative supports three sustainable development projects involving six different communities: Pac-Chén, Tres Reyes, Punta Laguna, Rancho San Felipe, Chikin-Há and Kantenah, turning these areas into natural sanctuaries whose protection is based on the agreements and goodwill that exist between Alltournative and the members of each community.
A few decades ago the Pac-Chen area was only a working camp. The leader was Mr. Pedro Poot, who worked the chicle tree with a team of men and their wives until the market fell in the 1960’s. These jungle people then went back to their original town, Chemax, but found themselves without land and with no opportunities. Four courageous families returned to the jungle to settle and establish a community. They chose an area belonging to the federal government near an “inclined hole” which in Mayan is Pac- Chen. That is why their community, which was located 2.5 miles from where it is today, was given this name.
For 25 years the people of Pac-Chen lived far from civilization, deep in the jungle with no form of subsistence except for a meager harvest of maize, beans and vegetables, and some hunting for their own consumption. The nearest town was almost six miles away.
In the 1980’s, the government promised to build a road connecting Pac-Chen with the state highway if the community could be moved a little closer. By then there were 10 families who had emigrated to the lagoon that we now know as Pac-Ch-n. After 10 years, the government fulfilled its promise and built the road that connected them to civilization.
In 1999 Pac-Chen signed an agreement with Alltournative and incorporated tourism as an activity in their community.
Tres Reyes is a town beside the highway. There is a Cenote called Chimuch 5 minutes away and another Cenote, an open one (a Cenote with a collapsed roof) within the town that drops down more than 65 feet. The community’s inhabitants used the latter as a refuge from hurricanes such as Gilbert in 1988 and Roxanne in 1995, and therefore decided to name it the Cenote of Life. It was later turned it into the town garbage dump.
In 2002, due to the great success of the sustainable expeditions to Nohoch and Pac-Chen, the government of the state of Quintana Roo offered Alltournative financial assistance to create similar expeditions to other destinations. It was at this point that Alltournative and the Tres Reyes community signed an agreement to jointly clean the Cenote of Life and operate the area for ecotourism.
A walk along the jungle paths in search of spider monkeys; a canoe ride through the immense lake of crystalline waters; a swim under the calm sky to relax body and mind: This is Punta Laguna. A Mayan community immersed in the jungle between Yucatan and Quintana Roo, where, by conviction of its people, they protect plants and animals that for centuries have shaped the site’s natural landscape.
The Punta Laguna jungle has enormous, lush tropical trees dispersed among lower vegetation. Thanks to their conviction, these trees have not been cut down to plant the crops that are so badly needed by its people. This conviction is the preservation of the "wilderness", the habitat of the spider monkey and numerous bird species of various forms, colors, customs and songs. In 2005 this became the fifth expedition.
In Rancho San Felipe, where Don Pedro Rodriguez’ family has lived for various decades and which is now a small community of roughly 30 people, there is a cenote called Puerta del Cielo (Heaven’s Door). There is also another cenote in the region whose name comes from Mayan: Nohoch Nah Chich, which in English means the large bird house. This cenote is 1.24 miles west of highway 307, between Cancun and the Tulum archaeological site. The Jungle Crossing to Nohoch was opened in 1999.
Brought up by his grandfather, Don Silvano Ku left his native town in the state of Yucatan in search of opportunities for a better life. He made the trip to Quintana Roo on foot, accompanied by his family and his compadre and best friend. They began to work in coconut farms located in the Playa del Carmen area, when this town was inhabited by only three families. There was almost nothing in the area except for one street that communicated the “Shaman” and the “Nohol” (the North and the South).
One day, he and his compadre decided to leave the coconut farms and they traveled to the “Nohol” (South) until they settled in the area next to Puerto Aventuras. They found a jungle rich in fauna to hunt and survive. Later his compadre built a palapa. After a short time they had a disagreement and Don Silvano’s family had to leave, but a kind old man named Severiano Gónzalez, who he had known before and who lived nearby, invited them to come and live with him and work the land. In fact, he later sold them part of his land for a symbolic sum. In this part of the jungle there was a beautiful system of Cenotes that the new owner, Don Silvano, decided to call Chikin Há (western waters) since it was to the west of the road. In 2003 he signed an agreement with Alltournative.
About 30 years ago, Don Benedicto Kinil Aguilar came from the town of Chemax in the state of Yucatán to the place he lives today, Kantenah.
He came because of the work conditions in Chemax and because as a chicle worker, he could find employment during chicle harvesting season from July to January. The chicle was then sold to companies in Tulum and/or Playa del Carmen, where they cooked the chicle and exported it to the USA and Europe. The price was three pesos a kilo.
Chicle production was a profitable commercial activity at that time and it provided sufficient income to support his family. It was complemented with maize and other crops such as chile, watermelon, bean, zucchini, etc.
With the fall of the chicle market, Don Benedicto turned to agriculture and stayed in the area. At that time, as in other parts of the country, the government was giving land to the peasants in the form of ejidos.
The government gave Don Benedicto and his family 250 square acres to farm. As time passed, Don Benedicto’s children left to work in Playa del Carmen as bricklayers and eventually moved to this city, some of them marrying and starting families. Don Benedicto never moved to Playa del Carmen. He stayed in his palapa in Kantenah.
The project Mayan Zip-Line Kantenah on Don Benedicto’s land was conceived in November of 2006. It began to operate on January 6, 2007. It followed the same model of the other Alltournative expeditions: the company signs an agreement with the ejido members to pay a monthly fee to use the land for tourism and promises to hire local people as guides.
