The moment we’ve all been waiting for has arrived: it is time to meet the projects selected for the 2nd edition of the Mentoring for Small Tourism Businesses, promoted by Conservation International Brazil (CI-Brasil), in partnership with Futuri and Raízes Desenvolvimento Sustentável.
This action is part of the Tourism + Sustainability Project, whose central purpose is to boost responsible enterprises and contribute to promoting more sustainable tourism in the far south of Bahia.
The chosen businesses will receive collective mentoring with experts from the responsible tourism market, individual advice from mentors appointed for each business, as well as support for improvement in six areas: structure and governance, people, products and services, communication and the market and local development, as well as seed capital of up to 15,000 reais to invest in business improvements.
Out of the 20 initiatives selected, five are tourist attractions, five are tour operators, seven are food businesses, two are cultural projects, and one accommodation business. These initiatives are located in the municipalities of Alcobaça, Caravelas, Nova Viçosa, Prado, Porto Seguro, Belmonte, Santa Cruz Cabrália, Una, and Canavieiras, in Bahia, Brazil.
Check out those selected:
1. Ayê Ecoturismo
Alcobaça – BA
The Ayê Ecotourism initiative is still in its infancy and aims to offer trips along the Itanhém River, hiking trails with visual access to the local mangrove swamp, Apicum (a transitional biome between a mangrove swamp and the Atlantic Forest), the Atlantic Forest and direct access to areas with family agro-ecological production, with the opportunity to choose the produce to be consumed on-site.
2. Arte Manha – Intercâmbio Pedagógico Socioambiental e Cultural
Caravelas – BA
The Socio-Environmental and Cultural Pedagogical Exchanges have been developed for 19 years, in a partnership between the Vale de Massapê Agroecological Village and the Arte Manha Cultural Movement, in the municipality of Caravelas. The actions consist of art education workshops and socio-environmental dialogues with students from public and private schools from all over Brazil, bringing together the cultural manifestations and scientific productions of the Abrolhos Bank.
3. Acarajé da Gilca
Caravelas – BA
Entrepreneur Gilca dos Anjos Silva is an acarajé baker based in the city of Caravelas. For more than 10 years, she has been bringing the typical taste of Bahia to her customers, mainly through Arte Manha, where she prepares acarajés for schools that participate in educational tourism in the region. Initially operating from a fixed point in the city center, she adapted her business during the pandemic to focus on delivery services and local events, maintaining a loyal customer base.
4. Cumuru Magical Tour
Cumuruxatiba, Prado – BA
Cumuru Magical Tour has been operating in the region for 15 years, offering accommodation, itineraries and trips, tourist experiences, and transfers. It is the only receptive agency in the region. Cumuru believes in sustainable tourism and the possibilities for growth that the area presents.
5. Turismo de Base Comunitária Puxim Cidadão do Mangue
Resex de Canavieiras – BA
The community of Puxim da Praia is a small community located in the Resex of Canavieiras/Bahia, little known even to residents. Puxim works with community-based tourism in the community of Comandatuba, where visitors and tourists experience the social and cultural dynamics, learn about the history, and read and interpret the geographical landscapes both in the Comandatuba community and in other communities that border or are part of the Canavieiras RESEX.
6. Corumbau Passeios
Corumbau, Prado – BA
Corumbau Passeios is an ecological and cultural tour agency in Corumbau and the surrounding region. In addition to boat trips, in which visitors can see the coral reefs, whale watching, beaches, and rivers in the region, the business forms partnerships and also organizes trips on other boats in the region, buggy rides, trips to Indigenous villages and reserves, stand up paddle and kayaking.
7. Corumbaíba
Corumbau, Prado – BA
Corumbaíba is a new venture, located on Corumbau beach and run by two cousins, residents of the traditional community in the region. They sell açaí inside green coconuts and regional products that favor other local merchants, such as cocadas and coconut beiju. They are environmentally conscious in terms of the packaging their products require.
8. Escama Turismo
Caravelas – BA
Escama Turismo is a tour operator that offers nautical trips on the Abrolhos Bank, such as whale watching from June to November, trips to Parque das Paredes, and overnight stays in the Abrolhos National Marine Park. With a native team, one of their great differentials is that they offer lower prices and even free travel for locals.
9. Etnoturismo Aldeia Juerana
Porto Seguro – BA
The Juerana Village Ethnotourism Project was created with the aim of spreading Pataxó culture in a way that breaks down stereotypes, as well as providing economic autonomy for the young people involved. The initiative was encouraged by the Cacica (female chief), but is led and operated by 33 local young people.
The venture is still in its early stages, but they are already involved in tourism, having led some visits that included hiking trails, food, selling handicrafts, and cultural presentations. The big difference is that they have coexisted with Afro culture since the village was founded and, for this reason, show aspects of both cultures and define themselves as Afro-Indigenous.
10. Flor de Tangerina
Santo André, Santa Cruz Cabráli – BA
Flor de Tangerina is a house conceived and run by women, a mother and a daughter from Ilheus, who are reviving the forró culture in the village of Santo André and the surrounding region, as well as reviving the northeastern sertanejo culinary culture. With strong family ties to this culture, the space began its management with a focus on gastronomy and has also established itself with the traditional forró on Fridays.
