Over the past 10 years, a new, more sustainable form of tourism has taken hold in the Mediterranean basin: agrotourism. In this tourism experience, rurality is not just a location, but the very source of interest. Residents, local products, agricultural know-how, landscapes, social practices, culinary specialties and much more are to rural tourism what historical monuments are to mass tourism.
As the years passed, tourism has exploded, becoming a rich and dynamic economic sector for the Mediterranean basin. However, the increasing volume of tourism has become the target of ever-greater criticism: pollution, cities that are unlivable for locals, forced displacement of local residents and threats to historical and natural sites. More generally, it is the folklorization of cultures that is condemned: the staging of traditions to satisfy the curiosity of tourists, a caricatured form of entertainment, despite an authentic cultural and human exchange.
Agrotourism, then, appears as a more sensible, more sustainable, more human form of tourism, in which encounters and cultural and natural heritage are central. The Mediterranean region, with its rich culture and specific agriculture, lends itself perfectly to this new approach. People come here for the olive groves, the symbol of the region, to taste the oils and the dishes simmered in them, and to interact with locals whose culture and philosophy are unique to those who live on the shores of the Mare Nostrum.
In rural areas, agriculture is the main sector in terms of employment, and the one that sets the pace the economic, social and environmental life of the community. It is also a difficult sector, offering low wages and a fast-paced lifestyle. Combined with the tourism sector, it finds a second wind and creates a virtuous circle of development in the village: those who come to visit the farm will come to discover other local businesses in the neighborhood, look for accommodation or restaurants…
So many women decide to set up initiatives of this kind, whether on the farm or via cooperatives. Not only do they activate a virtuous circle, they also become active players in gender equality, becoming more economically independent and integrating new social circles. Last but not least, as they are often in charge of the household, they are also the first to reinvest their money in education and health.
When a woman embarks on agrotourism, it’s a multitude of Sustainable Development Goals that are met.
With Héméra Initiatives, this is what we want to present: to shed light on these women who share their rural Cultural and Intangible Heritage via agrotourism structures. We want to bring these women’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals to the attention of the institutions, because we are convinced that they are crucial contributors to resolving these issues.
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