Psychological Empowerment

To maintain a community’s sense of self-esteem and well-being, it is vital to preserve the tradition and cultural identity of many small-scale, undeveloped societies. A local community that is hopeful about the future, is self-reliant, and demonstrates pride in traditions and culture, is more psychologically empowered. Community based tourism that is considerate of cultural norms and builds respect for local traditions can be empowering for the local people.

Fig. 6 The Nagalue farmer’s association (Source: Francisco Rivotti)

At Guludo guests have the opportunity to visit the villages surrounding the Lodge to see what every-day life is to the local people. A typical village tour commences with a visit to the ‘barracas’ or small shops, where guests are able to purchase material which is then taken to the tailor to skillfully craft into a garment of choice. Guests also have the opportunity to see the primary school, the chief’s house, the mosque and discover a typical village home. The self-esteem of many community members are enhanced because of outside recognition of the uniqueness and value of their culture, their natural resources and their traditional knowledge.

A collaboration of small women’s cooperative was selected to make and produce soap with medicinal properties. Ten ladies were chosen who presented an interest in the micro-enterprise based on who had the most suffering or the largest families to support alone. This project provided the women with confidence, identity and income that will ultimately improve their quality of life, but not disproportionately greater than anyone else, averting social disempowerment. Several other groups, consisting mainly of women, have been established within the local area to sell goods directly within their communities, to the resort guests, and finally to the owners. These goods are made from traditional materials produced locally and includes palm and bamboo weaved items, ceramics, and bracelets and trinkets (Fig. 7). Guests are strongly encouraged to purchase merchandise from these groups to help boost the community’s and the women’s cultural identity and importance. The additional support and encouragement of enterprise development within the

Fig. 7 Housekeeping ladies modeling Nema bags, Guludo Beach (Source: Guludo Beach Lodge)

local community has helped to establish cultural identity and boost self-esteem, particularly in traditionally low-status sectors of society such as women and youth.

Community members have been inspired and eager to seek out further education and training opportunities as a result of learning how to speak, read, and write in English. Guludo Beach Lodge works with 150 local suppliers and employs more than 50 local people from the village and other surrounding villages. In Guludo, there are two ethnic groups, the Macau and the Mwani who speak Portuguese and Ki-Mwana respectively (Giraldo, 2009). The co-founders encountered difficulties employing members of the host community as a result of the language barrier, therefore English language classes for all employees were established free of charge (Giraldo, 2009). The management regards their staff speaking English as an important quality as majority of guests are from English speaking countries.