Conservation Tourism

Rice

/ Amie Inman / Leave a comment

I recently read the fascinating story of Inakadate, a small village in northern Japan struggling against a global economic downturn.  The rural community with a population of fewer than 10,000 people had none of the charismatic landscapes that typically drive tourism. Twenty years ago a clerk in the Town Hall was asked to figure out how to bring that very thing to the bucolic village surrounded by rice paddies and apple orchards.

The story goes that Mr. Koichi Hanada saw school children planting purple and bright green rice as a class project when it occurred to him that the varied hues could be used like a natural artist’s palette. Continue reading →

I Belize I Can Fly

/ Organikos / 2 Comments

Guest Author: Robert Frisch

The tiny islands or “cayes” off the coast of Belize sit in the middle of beautifully serene coral atolls and are surrounded by the world’s second largest barrier reef.  Like shallow lakes in the middle of the ocean, the atolls host several UNESCO world heritage sites and some of the best snorkeling and scuba diving in the world.  My team, consisting of three Johnson  students and an MPA student from the Cornell Institute of Public Affairs, found itself tasked with providing consulting services and business advice for the owners of one of these cayes in what turned out to be the most unique spring break of my life. Continue reading →