The Tropical Andes Program foundation launched its Southern Pathways project, aimed at building a community tourism network among the mountain dwellers in the southern Venezuelan state of Mérida, coordinator Yves Lesenfants told Tierramérica. “There are some 30,000 residents in four depressed municipalities, with small-scale farming on very steep hillsides, but they are also home to three national parks that are vital for preserving threatened species like the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) and the helmeted currasow (Crax pauxi), and producing water that feeds the Urbante-Caparo reservoir,” with a capacity to generate 1,000 megawatts per hour, said Lesenfants.

The project calls for creating microbusinesses with services of room and board, transportation and guides, in the hands of families who will be provided with microcredits — backed by the Belgian organization Actec and the European Union.