Matthias Bohné
President, Ecoconut Tours, Inc.
I made my entire university programm in the field of the International Economy specialized on Developing countries. At the end of my first year Master's degree (2005 ), I left one month as volunteer for a coastal program for environmental protection on the island of Olango in the Philippines.
I chose this destination in a completely unpredictable way. Furthermore, it was my first stay in a developing country and I knew absolutely nothing of this Asian country. But it is during this initiatory journey that I tied up my first contacts with the environment, the population, and the local culture. During this voluntary stay, I worked in partnership with the Philippine Department of the Environment and Natural Resources ( DENR) and I was able to establish numerous contacts with the staff of this sector as well as with several coordinators of NGO(NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION) based on this island in the Philippines.
And so during my internship at the end of my studies (during my second year of professional MASTER DEGREE of International Economics and Local Development at the University of Paris Pantheon - Sorbonne in 2006), and thanks to the support of my professional contacts in the Philippines, I left working 10 months in NGO still based on the island of Olango as Community Organizer on a program of Ecotourism implanted in this island. I also realized my thesis by studying the link between the ecotourism and the participation of the local communities there by analyzing more particularly the role of the participation of communities on the efficiency of a local development project related to the ecotourism in the Philippines. It is during this long internship that I met Mrs Edilberta Lambojon, my current business partner, who works at the same time as community organizer for the DENR while being a coordinator for an international NGO based on the island of Olango.
It is thus in the crossroads of these at the same time specific, theoretical and practical skills about Ecotourism in the Philippines and more particularly in the region of the island of Olango that was born the common project to create Ecoconut Tours Inc. ( www.ecoconut.net ), a Tour Operator promoting responsible tourism, to develop tours, giving then to our visitors the possibility to discover a tropical island protected as well as all the cultural, social and environmental secrets which it conceals.
The decision to create Ecoconut Tours inc. came from the observation that in the Philippines every ecosystem plays a crucial role by protecting the balance of the environment and by preserving the survival of the local communities since their main source of income depends on it (fishing).
But these local natural beauties are very threatened, on one hand by the constant increase of the population and on the other hand by the mass tourism which has already damaged a part of the ecosystems.
It seemed to us thus fundamental to contribute to the tourist development of the country at the same time by trying to preserve the environment, to make sensitive, and to make the local communities participate in the conservation of their natural resources while offering to them a new alternative source of income. It is in this context that Ecoconut Tours Inc ., as Tour Operator created in feb 2009, decided to develop a Social and responsible tourism, in close collaboration with the local communities and the DENR, to share with our visitors this experience.
467 contactsIt all began with the closing of a professional meeting between Filipino, assistant of development programs in the communities that are managed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines (DENR), a coordinator of an international non-governmental organization (NGO) based on Olango, and a French, Masters graduate of International Economic Sciences & Local development, doing volunteer work for the last years for a NGO, specialized in ecotourism projects.
All these competencies and the passion for ecotourism has led to the creation of Ecoconut Tours Inc. aimed at developing tours, where local culture and social and economic traditions are preserved.
Ecoconut Tours Inc. is a Tour Operator devoted to developing ecotourism in close cooperation with the local communities and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines. We share with our visitors an incredible ecological and human experiment with the discovery of Olango island.
Our tour circuits make it possible for our visitors to discover a preserved tropical island by setting out for the exploration of the “Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary”. Here it is possible to observe migratory birds at a site of exceptional beauty (in the presence of a guide), participating in activities such as swimming and snorkeling in the protected Marine zones. There is also a direct contact with the local culture thanks to the permanent contact which we have established with the local community (tasting of regional foods, possibility of staying one night in a local family, etc).
1. Our values.
- To have the private sector, on the one hand, play an active role of economic and social development, and, on the other hand, to preserve the environment, by promoting responsible ecotourism.
To use social and responsible tourism as a source of local development.
- To work in close cooperation with the local communities and the Department of the Natural resources of Philippines.
- To allow tourists to be actors in a local development process.
2. Our objectives.
- To sensitize our visitors to the environment and to the local culture.
To create an awareness in the local community of the stakes of their living environment.
- To allow our visitors to have an unforgettable experiment through the discovery of a tropical island preserved by the “Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary” and the Protected Marine zones, and to establish an authentic exchange with the local community.