CAPACITY-BUILDING IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES. A case of Participatory Action Research (PAR)

The academic literature emphasizes the importance of community involvement in tourism training processes. However, there is a lack of reflections about how to design and implement collaborative training programs in rural and remote areas. This paper presents the four phases of a Participatory Action Research (IAP) cycle developed in the Lacandon Jungle of Mexico in collaboration with the Lacandon and Ch'ol indigenous groups. The aim of the project was to build human capacity in the areas of tourism systems, interpretation of natural and cultural heritage, and tourism product design. These areas were complemented with specific training programs for those traditionally relegated in their communities: women and youth. The account of the different IAP phases shows how ancestral knowledge is the basis for solid tourism training. The involvement of young students in the capacity-building program, the employment of formats tailored to local contexts and the exercise of scientific reciprocity serve to cultural revitalization, self-esteem strengthening and endogenous development of indigenous communities.