Klaus Hart Brasilientexte

 SummaryWith the onset of globalization our lives have assumed an unprecedented form onmany levels. While the effects of globalization are shaping and affecting our lives onthe international level, its alternative “ localization – reverses this trend by prioritizinglocal participation models that foster the development of communities and thediversification of their economies. The present thesis researches and describes the

impacts of both globalization and localization on a fishing village in Northeast Brazil.

 To understand the effects of colonization and globalization on Brazil the thesis focuseson statements of national and foreign experts in chapter 1 and 4.In chapter 5 the author researches localization and how the village residents perceivethe specific economical, ecological, cultural, political and social issues of theircommunity in times of globalization. In view of threats of real estate speculators totheir land and sinking profits caused by industrial over-fishing, the residents wereforced to seek alternative sources of income. We get informed about their reforms ofsustainable livelihood, innovations, and socially responsible projects of a particularlocal development. We observe that the formation of citizens` responsibility,empowerment, and participation is created at the local level.Referring to the opinions of major exponents about the benefits of globalization inchapter 3, the author is presenting an empiric research study in chapter 6, with aqualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews, where we find out how local peoplethink about the effects of globalization and localization. The individual interpretationsof the natives about the effects are analyzed and presented in order to scrutinize thestatements of the globalization proponents.We find out that the natives think positively about the idea of approaching ”theglobal village, but with strong local participation, control, and decision making.Exchanging information, counselling other communities and interconnecting in globalnetworks is seen as a strengthening of local empowerment processes and asinstruments of counterweight to globalization challenges. Analysing the policies ofglobalists and international development institutions, the author proposes moredemocratic global governance and a fairer participation of new actors and forces in themaking of global decisions. He emphasizes the promotion of a fair, socially morebalanced and sustainable globalization that is anchored at the local level, to safeguardthe basis of all citizens against the threats that appear in the shade of globalization.3PrefaceGlobalization is a popular topic at the moment, and a profound worldwide processthat is reshaping and affecting our life and is generating heated debates in manycircles – even in those of Social Work. Anti-globalists decry a widening ”North-Southeconomical gap but Globalists believe that open markets provide better chances formillions of poor people in the ”Third World. So the question is: why has globalizationbecome so controversial?I have spent some years in Latin America thinking and researching about economicand social issues that I came across in daily life, and I have witnessed some winnersand an increasing number of globalization losers in the past twenty years. So myinterest in the effects of globalization and localization has grown.The reader maybe asks: ”Globalization ok – but why a thesis about the effects on aBrazilian fishing village? Here comes some information: it is 25 years since my firstcontact with Brazil, which was a mixture of shock, surprise and fascination. The shockis over, my knowledge of language and about Brazil increased, and living & workingthere for some years in the end had one effect: my fascination for Brazil has stayed. Ittook me years to become familiar with this subcontinent and to understand its cultureand people (better?). The glossy clichés of Brazil “ Rio de Janeiro beaches, the ”Girlfrom Ipanema, soccer, and samba of ”O País do Carnaval1 (”The Country of Carnival)are common-place “ but I won´t spend time with them here – because I am interestedin the ”poorhouse of Brazil: the Northeast. Having lived there in a small fishing village“ Jericoacoara “ and working for some years in projects of Community Development(CD) have made me familiar with Northeast Brazil on a local level: especially with localculture, coastal life style and fishing communities in Ceará.Tourism is one of the big economical growth factors for the state but brings alsothreats to native communities, their home-land, their environment and their culture.Like in Jericoacoara where I have witnessed the means of the ”global growth coalition,which is composed of tourism managers from Europe, brokers, resort-planners, realestate-”sharks, local politicians and bureaucrats from the IADB and World Bank atwork and the mostly devastating consequences of their efforts: the traditions and thespecific culture are fading away, natives sold their land at the cheapest prices to smartinvestors and live now in favelas2, the number of hotels and boarding-houses jumped1 Title of the identical romance of the highly acclaimed Brazilian writer Jorge Amado from 19422 favela means slum, originating from a strategic situated hill in Canudos, called ”Favella. Itappeared first in Euclides da Cunha`s book: ”Os Sertões “ Campanha de Canudos, 1898.4from 8 to 150 in the past five years and the sons of traditional fishermen are drivingtourists in buggies over pristine landscapes and protected sand dunes nowadays.Beside that there are few seasonal service-jobs, drug trafficking and prostitution – thenew areas of occupation that turned out in harsh reality for the natives “ and prettydifferent to the jobs that have been proudly promised by the investors years before.During the past two years, studying in the Master-Program of the KSFH, while I havebeen thinking about ”the idea for my Master thesis, I went back to Brazil on severaloccasions. What I realized of the ongoing ”progress that has affected most fishingvillages on the coast of Ceará radically changed my views of globalization and localdevelopment. That™s why I have chosen a small fishing community called Prainha doCanto Verde 3 for my thesis that goes a different way. Prainha has always impressedme very positively in its extraordinary ways of resistance, participation, and itsoutstanding community organization and development in the past 20 years. Beside mystudying and reading I decided to stay there some time, research right into thecommunity and interview some inhabitants about their opinions – concerning theirown village` s past, present and future “ to find out, how potentials and effects ofglobalization and localization are seen by the natives and how they act and developtheir community on both global and local level.1 Historical roots of Prainha do Canto VerdeThe history of the Indigenous groups who lived at the coast of Ceará is not easy toreconstruct, because of the lack of detailed and reliable documentations (see picturebelow). In pre-Portuguese colonization times this coast was terrain of a semi-nomadicIndigenous tribe, the Tupí-Guaraní, who were migrating along the Northeast coast,occupying the best ecological niches, which they settled for some time until theyfound a better one. They lived generally by hunting and gathering, fishing and planting- using simple slash-and-burn techniques in the Atlantic Rainforest, where they wereplanting manioc, corn, beans, sweet-potatoes, peanuts and harvesting wild-growingcoconuts, cashews and tens of fruits, like pineapple, passion fruit and papaya near thecoastal area. Their contacts with other groups were generally defined by familyrelationsto their own tribe.3 Translation: ”Small beach of the green edge5Ancient Indigenous rock paintings of Sete Cidades National Park © W. KrönnerFar from being only awed by the white newcomers, the indigenous inhabitantsdisplayed curiosity and hospitality, a willingness to exchange goods, and a distinctability at aggressive defence. Portugal viewed the Indigenous as slave labour andpossible allies from the onset and turned often to violent persuasion. The Europeanstook advantage of existing differences between the Indian tribes to pit one against theother and to form alliances that provided auxiliary troops in their colonial wars (seeBernecker et al., p. 21; Ribeiro 1995, pp. 31-32; Fernandes 1989, pp. 19-20).The oral history of PCV can be traced back to 1860, when first settlers came toPrainha and built their huts, made of wood and palm leaves, near the coast line. Thefirst documented event of PCV goes back to 1928, when a newspaper from Fortaleza,the ”Jornal O Povo reported about the ”jangada adventure of four fishermen, whenthese took up a challenge and sailed in a typical sail raft in two weeks to Belém a cityat the Amazonian Delta, over 1.000 miles northwards.In 1974 the families fled from torrential rainfalls, which led a lagoon to break from itsbed and a flood carry the huts to the Atlantic, thus originating the move of thecommunity to the present location. Periodic droughts caused rural-to-coast migrationsevery time they occurred and confronted the coastal population with new challenges(see Caruso 2004, pp. 259-262).In 1993 a new stage in the history of Prainha began, when four fishermen in thejangada ”SOS Sobrevivência (SOS Survival) started their trip to Rio de Janeiro (about2.500 km to the south) on 12, April, protesting against predatory fishing, real estatespeculation, mass tourism development and the lack of state government support forsmall scale fishermen. With the logistic support of 2 women traveling by car, theyarrived in Rio de Janeiro on 16, June being expected by Doryval Cayimmi (a very6popular local musician), a crowd of fans and the national and international press. Thetrip was the starting point for the mobilization of the fishermen and communities ofthe coast of Ceará.2 The community of Prainha do Canto VerdePrainha do Canto Verde is an example of a ”resource community, that passed throughmany socio-economic restructuring processes since the impact of radical globalizationlinkedchanges began to show effects. In resource communities like Prainha theunifying tie is the economic base, which sustains the community. Fishing villages aretraditionally considered to be resource communities. Its key characteristics are likely tobe shaped by a common identity and culture (see Neil & Tykkyläinen 1998, pp. 4-5).Satellite picture of coast area with Prainha do Canto VerdeSource: Google EarthPrainha do Canto Verde (PCV) is a small fishing village located at 126 km from thecapital city Fortaleza, in the Southeast of Ceará. The community at the Atlantic coast(see map on page 61) is part of the municipality of Beberibe (distance 13 km), and iscomposed of approximately 1200 residents. The community` s ecosystem is composedof ocean, beach, moving sand dunes, and the coastal board (see satellite-pictureabove). Behind the area of the sand dunes lie freshwater lagoons, small farming plotsof manioc, corn, sugar cane, cashew- and mango trees, and coconut palms. Near by arelarge mangrove swamps which are partly preserved, but already threatened by shrimpcultivation projects.7The native population is a mixture of Indigenous, African, and European origins,preserving strong traces of the Indigenous culture, being integrated in the coastalenvironment and living in harmony with their natural habitat. The culture of thecoastal communities puts a high value on their collective system concerning the use oftheir land and soil, the daily catches of their fish, their families, the use of tools andothers items.Aerial view of Prainha do Canto Verde source: © René SchärerIn Prainha, like in many villages on the coast of Ceará, people have been very used tothe typical Northeastern local policies of mechanisms of concentrated power,dominated by local clans for decades, and to concomitant characteristics likenepotism, influence peddling and impunity (see chapter 4.4). The emergence oftourism has given rise to a host of new problems for the coastal residents. Severalimpoverished communities that have tried to participate on the lucrative touristmarket, have found themselves finally on the loser side. The land speculation has oftenunleashed destructive patterns and forced many residents to abandon their land andmove to backyards` favelas. Despite their settlement since the 1850s none of thevillage`s natives had bothered to register his property, to gain a legal title over theland. Such a registering process is costly and not common in coastal villages with poorinhabitants. But the situation changed dramatically in 1979, when a notorious landspeculator, Antonio Sales Magalháes, appeared to buy several plots and to register 749hectares of Prainha`s community land. But with his undisguised attempt toappropriate himself of the village`s land, and being even successful in legalizing thetransaction through a later judgment of the district court, Magalháes had carried hisimpudence too far. The massive threats of their existential basis caused thespontaneous reaction of the community`s residents to protest, fight and organizeagainst these illegal acts. They started to worry and to think about their livelihood, thefuture of their families and the fate of being at the mercy of speculators and investors,like in many other coastal villages of the region that had already been fully affected by8the impact of the so-called ´tourism growth coalition´. A final sentence from theFederal Superior Court of Justice, concerned with the land conflict at the moment isstill not pronounced, but expected to be solved in 2006.In 1989, in direct consequence of the menace and with the support of the ´Centro deDefesa e Promoçáo dos Direitos Humanos´ (Centre for Defense and Pro-motion ofHuman Rights), which Liberation Theologian and Cardinal of Fortaleza, AloísioLorscheider had created to assist poor communities in land conflicts, the Association ofthe Village Residents of Prainha do Canto Verde was founded (see picture below). Theassociation turned into a driving force for the further development of the community,more than 300 residents are members of the association today.Community assembling building of Prainha © W. KrönnerThe social entrepreneurIn 1991 René Schärer, a Swiss citizen and airline manager at the time, visited Prainhafor the first time, and became involved with the community. Interested and informedabout the coastal living conditions, he outlined a first small project to encourage theresidents in constructing a cold-storage unit and in transporting their fish and lobstersdirectly to the market, without any intermediaries. The creation of the ”Cooperativados Pescadores (Cooperative of Fishermen) was the next step. The ideas were realized,the fish-storage unit was built and a truck was bought with the financial help ofinternational friends and supporters of René Schärer`s idea. In 1993 he decided to cutshort his airline career and moved to Prainha. Beside his engagement as projectdevelopment worker, counsellor and motivator for the community, he laid thefoundations for the ”Instituto Terramar (Institute Land-Sea). This NGO has sincedeveloped to become the principal organization that supports coastal communitiesand popular movements in their quest for public policies towards a coastal sustainable9development. René has dedicated his time working with jangadeiros – artisanalfishermen – in the development of strategies for sustainable management of the spinylobster fishery, having recently participated on a Government Task Force to revisefisheries management in Brazil. René is a member of International Collective inSupport of Fishworkers (ICSF), and is one of the 50 innovative leaders of theFoundation AVINA. René receives a fellowship from ASHOKA FOUNDATION whichallows him to carry out his activities.Jangadeiro – fisherman with picture of his family © W. KrönnerCommunity needsThe community of Prainha is one of these new groups that are engaged in meeting´community needs´ related to infrastructures, education, vocational training and newprojects for their livelihood, as above-mentioned by Campfens in chapter 5. All theissues mentioned by him are part of Prainha`s reality: water supply, sanitationsystems, roads, garbage disposal, schools, community and day care centers, health,and other such infrastructure and service needs.Before the 1990s the families of the village (see picture above) were almost totallydependent on income from fisheries, which was not more than half a minimum salary(official value of R$ 285.00 = US$ 120.00 in 2005).10Fishermen of Prainha preparing a jangada © W. KrönnerPeople lived from fishing but have depended additionally on public welfare, handoutsfrom politicians or a helping hand from family members that had migrated to the bigcities. Today most families have a higher income from a variety of sources butpractically all of them depend still on fishery for their livelihood. In 2005 fishing andcommerce account for 50 % of local incomes, the rest is more diversified now than inthe past because of local development projects such as the community based tourismproject.3 Empowerment, participation and sustainable developmentParticipation, empowerment and sustainable development refer to broader benefits tothe overall community. The community development process attempts to install agrowing sense of community awareness in individuals, which ultimately carries overinto the enhancement of community life. Individuals develop a sense of caring for theircommunity and are therefore more motivated to be involved in their community andto have an impact on it. There is a greater sense of interdependence, cohesion andcooperation among members of the community. All of this further strengthenscommunity pride and empowerment.3.1 EmpowermentEmpowerment is a tool shared by many disciplines and arenas: social work,psychology, education, economics, community development and studies of socialmovements and organizations, among others. How empowerment is understoodvaries among these perspectives. In recent empowerment literature, the meaning of11the term empowerment is often assumed rather than explained or defined. Rappaport(1984) has noted that it is easy to define empowerment by its absence, but difficult todefine in action as it takes on different forms in different people and contexts. Evendefining the concept is subject to debate. But asserting a single definition ofempowerment may make attempts to achieve it formulaic or prescription-like,contradicting the very concept of empowerment (see Rappaport 1984, pp. 1-2).A common understanding of empowerment is necessary, however, to allow us toknow empowerment when we see it in people with whom we are working, and forprogram evaluation. How we precisely define empowerment within develop-mentprojects will depend upon the specific people, culture, and the context involved. As ageneral definition, however, the author suggests that empower-ment is a multidimensionalsocial process that helps people gain control over their own lives. It is aprocess that fosters power (that is, the capacity to implement) in people, for use intheir own lives and their communities, by acting on issues that they define asimportant (see Wilson 1996, p. 617).Three components of this definition are basic to any understanding ofempowerment. Empowerment is multi-dimensional, social, and a process. It is multidimensionalin that it occurs within social, cultural, economic, and other dimensions.Empowerment also occurs at various levels, such as individual, group, and community.Empowerment, by definition, is a social process, since it occurs in relationship toothers. Empowerment is a process that we can compare to a path or journey, one thatdevelops as we work through it. Other aspects of empowerment may vary according tothe specific context and people involved, but these remain constant. In addition, oneimportant implication of this definition of empowerment is that the individual and thecommunity are funda-mentally connected.To create change we must change first individually to enable us to become partnersin solving the complex issues facing us collectively. In collaborations based on mutualrespect, diverse perspectives, and a developing vision, people work toward creative andrealistic solutions (see Wilson, 1996; Florin & Wandersman, 1990; Speer & Hughey,1995). This synthesis of individual and collective change is the author`s understandingof an empowerment process. This inclusive individual and collective understanding ofempowerment is crucial in communities with empowerment as a goal. It is in thecritical transition, or interconnection between the individual and the social that12development processes show their power and their value (see Page & Czuba 1999, pp.2-3).3.2 ParticipationParticipatory development requires that residents are motivated to engage inestablishing the basis for planning, carrying out and updating their activities that willbring about the change in their own lives. Their participation is meant to ensure thatthe change will be more appropriate to their needs and expectancies.The concept of participatory organizations is thus focused on the local level anddepends upon local situations, interest and capacity to engage in action for change(see Vincent in Hickey & Mohan 2004, p. 111).Participation in community development generally means the inclusion of localpeople in formulation and implementation of projects – increasing the efficiency andleading to improvements in the community (see Veltmeyer & O™Malley 2001, p. 13).But there is, however, an alternative conception of participation that is both sociallyempowering (of the people involved) and transformative (for the broader institutionalstructure of society): participatory development (PD). This concept, which is favouredby the author, is to understand as a process with decentralized, non-authoritarian, andbottom-up strategies, to be implemented with the agency of community-basedorganizations. Furthermore PD means a humanistic conception of society, that isenvironmentally sustainable, and that is based on a sense of real communityunderstanding. In this view, local residents are incorporated in the developmentprocess from the very beginning and it is up them to define the problems, identifypossible solutions, and finally take action. A PD approach also accounts for the issuesof power and privilege within communities and also with any outsiders, who may bepart of the process. Participation in this conception is viewed as potentiallyempowering and as transforming for both systems and participants (see Veltmeyer &O™Malley 2001, p. 14).3.3 Association of the ResidentsLooking at structural differences from other communities at the coast of Ceará, theoutstanding organization of the community in Prainha and the participation of itsresidents is striking. The organization is very well developed and structured, especially13for Northeast Brazilian standards. The most important organ of the community is theAssociation of the Residents with about 300 members.Community councilsThere are several community councils now for:- Education- Health- Fishing and land- Tourism and handicraftsCreative handicraft lessons in the local elementary school © W. KrönnerThe councils elaborate and execute a variety of community projects. In meetings of thecouncils, the board of directors and in general assemblies, the future of the communityis discussed, planned and defined. Visible divisions and arguments about certainstrategies and projects occur but in the end the decisions of the community membersare taken without long lasting conflicts.With the financial and ideal support of the Swiss association ”Amigos da Prainha doCanto Verde (Friends of Prainha do Canto Verde) and of Instituto Terramar manyprojects have been developed. Among these projects we find one with the firstartificial reef made of recycled tires, or the ”School of the People of the Sea(vocational school for fishermen), the creation of a Marine Extrativist Reserve, theelaboration of an ”Environmental Zoning and Urbanization Plan for the village areaand the introduction of a new type of sailing ship for fishing on the high seas, the selfbuiltcatamaran.143.4 Sustainable developmentSustainable development has become a powerful and controversial theme in thediscussion of policy makers and practitioners. The concern of sustainability hasbecome global, but it is not simply a matter of environmental issues, economic justice,ecological care, and development strategies. It is basically about people and theirsurvival as individuals and cultures. Sustainability has become an important part of thediscussion of development. Focusing on the prevailing strategies of global economicintegration, with free trade and open borders, many practitioners and academics claimthat our thinking about innovative development strategies must change. The approachof sustainable development means and requires more than the defence of our naturalenvironment. The conservation of a region` s eco-systems depends not only on politicalrecognition of its importance but also ”requires the strengthening and reconstructionof the social and economic capacity of people with the knowledge and ability toengage in the productive activities required for protecting and enriching the naturalsystems in which theses resources exist (Barkin in Veltmeyer & O™Malley 2000, p.184). Sustainability is a process rather than a set of well-specified goals, involvingmodifying processes in nature, culture, the economy and society. In the light ofglobalization processes many communities in developing countries have started toconstruct their own independent paths to alternative and sustainable development.An adequate local strategy to promote the principles of sustain-ability has to focus onthe importance of local participation (as a form of empowerment) and control of theway in which people live and work (see Veltmeyer & O`Malley 2000, p. 13).In PCV the paths of sustainable development involve a combination of traditionalforms of production like lobster catching and small scale fishing, with alternativestrategies like the local tourism and biological agriculture projects. Both themes will bepresented and discussed later in this chapter.Since the success of CD is crucially conditioned by local and social systems, it is bestdone not with a wholesale application of ´best practises´ applied from projects thatwere successful in other contexts, but by careful learning-by-doing. This requires along term horizon “ that is well evaluated, open to error, and learning from itsmistakes (see Mansuri & Rao 2003, p. 44).153.5 Small scale fishery of ”JangadeirosCeará is home for traditional working fishermen who operate about 2,100 jangadas(sail rafts) in the state. The fishermen of Prainha do Canto Verde capture a variety offishes and lobsters such as mackerel, snappers, halfbeak, tuna, stingray, sailfish,tarpon, snook and jewfish as well as spiny rock lobster, red lobster, and green lobsterwith artisanal methods. Prainha is a typical Northeast community of so calledjangadeiros, what means that the village`s fishermen still make their daily journeys onsmall rugged sail rafts, called jangadas, as they have done for centuries (see followingpictures). This unique vessel represents the fusion of a wooden raft, invented by theIndigenous of the Northeast, combinedTypical Northeastern Jangada – sail raft source: Caruso 2004with technological upgrades such as sail, centerboard and bench seat, which wereintroduced by the Portuguese invaders. The wood that is used for the construction of atraditional jangada, Piúba, is light and very porous and the trunks are fixed togetherwith a rope. Iron is not used for the construction, because the fishermen traditionallyfear that it attracts bad luck. The sail arrangement, which involves an unstayed mastand a sail bench, allows a triangular sail to be angled at 15 degrees to port or starboardwith a system of pegs (see Schärer 2002, p. 1; Levinson 2002, pp. 1-2; Caruso 2004, pp.163-169).16Jangadas with fishing equipments Lobster cages and handmade anchor© W. Krönner © W. KrönnerPrainha` s fishing fleet is composed of 74 jangadas. All are owned and crewed by about60 natives, with an amount of gears and target species. Lobster season starts in Mayafter a four-month country-wide capture prohibition period. During this period thejangadeiros fish in deep water regions targeting snappers and pelagic species, mostlysold locally or for local consumption. Fish production varies between 30,000 and50,000 kg/year. Lobsters are caught and landed live by the fishermen, tails reach thecooling facilities within 4 hours, to guarantee a high food security and quality for theconsumers (see Schärer & Schärer 2003, pp. 5-6).Lobster Source: Caruso 2004The cultural identity of the jangadeiros is deeply rooted in a self-image that bases onconcepts as liberty, courage, fight and endurance against the powers of wind, weatherand sea. Beside that, jangadeiros of Ceará were the ones in past centuries who refusedto support the slave trade, resisting the demands for their small boats to be used toferry arriving slaves ashore from the big sailing ships that had to anchor far from thecoast. The above-mentioned adventures of jangada trips to Belém and Rio de Janeirobecame famous and in 1942, Orson Wells, asked to make a documentary film aboutBrazil, leaves Rio de Janeiro and flies to Ceará, filming four jangadeiros on their journey17to Rio and recording their living conditions. Well`s project is never completed, only onesegment, called „Four Men on a Raft“ was actually filmed, to be included in Welles‘documentary, to be called „It’s All True,“ and that was in unedited, incomplete format,and in black and white with no sound. Only over 50 years later ”It’s All True wasreleased as a documentary, using only parts of the original work, but still a veryimpressive document of the jangadeiros` hard living conditions (see Caruso 2004, pp.269-280 and picture below).Despite the lack of significant state government support for the changes in the past 15years the quality of life of jangadeiros and their families has improved. Theirunderstanding and perception of ecological processes, fishery dynamics, responsiblefishery practices and sustainable principles have led to a better awareness of thejangadeiros` role in the future of Northeast Brazilian fisheries.Jangada leaving for fishing in the morning © W. KrönnerThe process was slower among the older and more illiterate fishers but is nowaccelerating with the young that are soon to graduate from the local Fishery School.Beside the Cooperative of Fishermen, another visible result of their awareness is thecreation of the ”Fishermens` Forum against Predatory Fishing of the east coast ofCeará which came to life in 1995, a movement that fights for the participation offishermen in the coastal management of fishery, lobster stocks and tourismdevelopment. The community` s fishermen are among the leaders of the Forum. In1995 they created their own fishing regulations, prohibiting the fishing of the smalllobster and currently, they are preparing the creation of a ”Marine Extractive Reserveunder a law that was the live conquest of Chico Mendes, the Amazonian leader of the”Rubber Tapper Union, who was killed in 1988 (see Schärer 2002, p. 7; Schärer &18Schärer 2003, p. 9). Prainha do Canto Verde is also the first community in the wholecountry to introduce a special school for vocational education in fishery called ”Schoolof the People of the Sea.3.6 Vocational training facilities: catamaran shipyardThe community of PCV has built two sailing catamarans in 2003, which already provedtheir excellent navigation- and fishing qualities. These catamarans mean a milestonefor the fishing activities of the community, since they are superior to the traditionaljangadas. Realizing that the catamaran is an ideal multi-use boat for the future of thefishing village, the idea of a catamaran-school-shipyard as a vocational training facilityfor the youth of PCV was borne (see pictures below).Catamaran School Workshop © W. KrönnerWith the financial support of the association ”Friends of PCV a new sustainable andinnovative project could be implemented. The temporary aim is to build twoprototypes of catamarans. The shipyard also means a innovate approach to motivatestudents to get a new perspective of career prospects with the curriculum and theirvocational experience. Solid lessons of wood work and naval construction techniquesare the hallmarks of this. While building a catamaran, students learn concretevocational skills such as reading a ruler, using a drill, gluing, and understanding a set ofplans. Participants are also challenged to develop more intangible skills, such asteamwork, and setting and reaching goals. Each participant earns a certificate ofcompletion at the end of the course and will be able to do well-skilled work ascatamaran shipbuilder in his future (see Caruso 2004, pp. 156-158).19Working on the second catamaran © W. Krönner3.7 Sustainable tourism projectAs already discussed in chapter 4.4.6 sustainable and ecological tourism represents acrucial force for social, cultural and economic development world-wide. We can seethe complexity of the term ´sustainable tourism´ with regard to the differentdefinitions and approaches of tourism organizations, concerned with the subject.Sustainable Tourism is the consequence of adapting the strategy of ´SustainableDevelopment´ to the world of tourism.On an international scale, it was formulated at the World Conference on SustainableTourism in 1995. It is generally accepted that sustainability in tourism means ”beingecologically acceptable in the long term and financially viable and fair from a socialand ethical viewpoint, for local communities. Thus, tourism must become part of thenatural, cultural and human environment, respecting the fragile balance that ischaracteristic of many holiday destinations, particularly on small islands and inenvironmentally sensitive areas. Sustainable tourism will place special emphasis onconserving the cultural heritage, and traditions of local communities, enablingdestinations to enhance their social and cultural heritage and improve the quality oflife of their people (www.insula.org/tourism; 09.08.2005).Another conceptual definition comes from the World Tourism Organization,concerning the Sustainable Development of Tourism as following:„Sustainable tourism development guidelines and management practices areapplicable to all forms of tourism in all types of destinations, including mass tou20map of the communities on Ceará`s southeast coast source: EMBRATURrism and the various niche tourism segments. Sustainability principles refer to theenvironmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and asuitable balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee itslong-term sustainability (www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/concepts.htm; emphasisesin the original; 09.08.2005).