Project Lambahoany: eco-tourism as a sustainable source of income to the villagers in rural Toamasina.
How the rural population benefits from eco-tourism: If an average of 2 tourists per week visit a village and are charged 50,000 Ariary per day per person (€20), with about 10 villagers providing services, 10 households will receive an additional income of 40,000 Ariary per month, which means their current average household income is doubled.
So as to better preserve the forests, which are vital for eco-tourism, Project Lambahoany offers new agricultural methods to villages participating in eco-tourism, which will render the slash-and-burn practices unnecessary and give a higher yield and so more income as well. What is more, improving the standard of living in the villages (introduction of electricity, alternative means of income and safe drinking water) will reduce the migration of young villagers to the towns, thereby decreasing the burden on the urban environment (high rates of unemployment leading to idleness and crime) and giving the village a new future.
