Needs Assessment
Part of the advocacy of the Pochon Youth Group is to help maintain and preserve the richness of the cultural heritage of Mayoyao by organizing the youth, who were left behind and tended the rice terraces and inviting tourists/guests to join in the eco-tours and hopefully learn to appreciate the cultural practices of the Mayoyao ancestors who tried their best to create and bestow a rich culture to the present generation.
To be able to address this, the group was able to come up with the eco-cultural tours. It will help encourage community participation in the restoration and conservation of their remaining traditional rice terrace systems and practices in their ancestral domain.
Through the 2010 Ten Accomplished Youth Organization competition, the University of Luzon Students in Free Enterprise gets the chance to aid the Pochon Youth Group in the business dynamics of the eco-cultural tours. It is noteworthy to mention that the project was initiated by the Pochon Youth Group and that the ULSIFE partnered with the group to contribute their expertise on business and economic concepts as well as with the intensification of the advertisement and/or promotion of the activity, the eco-cultural tours.
To be able to address this, the group was able to come up with the eco-cultural tours. It will help encourage community participation in the restoration and conservation of their remaining traditional rice terrace systems and practices in their ancestral domain.
Through the 2010 Ten Accomplished Youth Organization competition, the University of Luzon Students in Free Enterprise gets the chance to aid the Pochon Youth Group in the business dynamics of the eco-cultural tours. It is noteworthy to mention that the project was initiated by the Pochon Youth Group and that the ULSIFE partnered with the group to contribute their expertise on business and economic concepts as well as with the intensification of the advertisement and/or promotion of the activity, the eco-cultural tours.
Beneficiaries of the Project
The direct beneficiaries of the eco-cultural tours are the host communities, the local tour guides, the cultural performers, the Indigenous Knowledge (IK) Holders and scholars who will be conducting lecture-demo on native house construction, the transport group, the caterers, lodge owners, and the tour participants themselves. The indirect beneficiaries on the other hand include the Pochon Youth Group, University of Luzon SIFE Team and the Municipal and Barangay Government Units.
The host communities benefit from the tours by being able to save from the expenses of the planting/harvesting activity due to the fact that the tourists participate in the planting/harvesting activity. The local tour guides were given their appropriate tour guide fee for the assistance they extend in guiding the participants on the trekking part of the activity.
The cultural performers and the IK holders are also paid their fees for the performances they render. The transport group and the caterers including the lodge-owners also get their respective fee for the services they render. And the participants’ benefits come in the form of unforgettable and authentic experiences during their stay in Mayoyao.
The Mayoyao Local Government Units is saved the trouble of advertising the town’s products through the ecotours. The tour participants are the ones who will in turn do the advertising in order to attract more visitors to Mayoyao. The Pochon Youth Group directly benefited from the ecotours through some income from the endeavour and the satisfaction of their objective of bringing in visitors for the other project stakeholders. ULSIFE gets to fulfil their role of extending their helping hand to more communities and find greater opportunities of improving not only the members of the organization but more so the organization itself. The conduct of this project resulted to impacting approximately 18,000 populace of the Mayoyao community, directly and indirectly.
The host communities benefit from the tours by being able to save from the expenses of the planting/harvesting activity due to the fact that the tourists participate in the planting/harvesting activity. The local tour guides were given their appropriate tour guide fee for the assistance they extend in guiding the participants on the trekking part of the activity.
The cultural performers and the IK holders are also paid their fees for the performances they render. The transport group and the caterers including the lodge-owners also get their respective fee for the services they render. And the participants’ benefits come in the form of unforgettable and authentic experiences during their stay in Mayoyao.
The Mayoyao Local Government Units is saved the trouble of advertising the town’s products through the ecotours. The tour participants are the ones who will in turn do the advertising in order to attract more visitors to Mayoyao. The Pochon Youth Group directly benefited from the ecotours through some income from the endeavour and the satisfaction of their objective of bringing in visitors for the other project stakeholders. ULSIFE gets to fulfil their role of extending their helping hand to more communities and find greater opportunities of improving not only the members of the organization but more so the organization itself. The conduct of this project resulted to impacting approximately 18,000 populace of the Mayoyao community, directly and indirectly.
Project Implementation Process
The ecotourism project is jointly implemented by the Pochon Youth Group, the ULSIFE, the Mayoyao Tour guides, Trekkers, and Indigenous Knowledge Holders Allied Organization (MATTIKHAO), the AKHA’KHAEMEH Cultural Performing Group, the host community, the transport group and the catering section, and the lodge-owners, with the support of the Mayoyao Local Government Unit.
ULSIFE provides for building the image of the ecotourism activity at Mayoyao via internet among other means of promotion. Furthermore, ULSIFE contributed to the betterment of the ecotourism activity through the upliftment of business ideas and dynamics of the project. The Pochon Group provides the initiative and at the same time the link to the target market of participants. The MATTIKHAO on the other hand provides the licensed tour guides and those who will demo on the native house construction part of the activity.
The AKHA’KHAEMEH Cultural Performing group provides for the entertainment of the participants. The host communities serve as the host and provide the site for the planting/harvesting activity. The transport group provides the necessary transportation to and from the host communities while the catering section provides the meals for the participants for the entire duration of their stay in Mayoyao. The lodge-owners provide the lodging for the participants while the Mayoyao LGU provides security for the duration of the activity.
ULSIFE provides for building the image of the ecotourism activity at Mayoyao via internet among other means of promotion. Furthermore, ULSIFE contributed to the betterment of the ecotourism activity through the upliftment of business ideas and dynamics of the project. The Pochon Group provides the initiative and at the same time the link to the target market of participants. The MATTIKHAO on the other hand provides the licensed tour guides and those who will demo on the native house construction part of the activity.
The AKHA’KHAEMEH Cultural Performing group provides for the entertainment of the participants. The host communities serve as the host and provide the site for the planting/harvesting activity. The transport group provides the necessary transportation to and from the host communities while the catering section provides the meals for the participants for the entire duration of their stay in Mayoyao. The lodge-owners provide the lodging for the participants while the Mayoyao LGU provides security for the duration of the activity.