Amazon Interactive
The Ecotourism Game

Build a tourist compound

The four of you leave your crops for several weeks to clear a patch of forest and build a simple tourist cabin. The other people of Pangayacu watch with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. The cabin is one kilometer (half a mile) from the center of Pangayacu. A few tourists are disappointed that they can't stay with a Quichua family, but most are satisfied.

Almost all the tourists ask about Quichua culture. You remember a few traditional songs and dances, but only modern pop music is played at local fiestas. Should you put on a traditional cultural program or let them enjoy a more typical fiesta,with a stereo playing recent radio hits?

Would you like to hear a bit of traditional Quichua music (108K in AIFF or WAV) or a radio hit song (50K in AIFF or WAV)?

There has been little change in land use. Currently about a third of all community land is primary rainforest.

Tourists pay only $40 a day, but the money has a big impact. At this rate, you and the others will make about $1000 this year, almost twice what you earn from agriculture.

What do you think you should do to entertain tourists?

Stage a traditional cultural program
Have a contemporary fiesta