Portland State University
Portland State University
UNST 421: Capstone - Sustainable Rural Development in NW Argentina
Winter 2012
Leopoldo Rodríguez
leopoldo@pdx.edu
Pre-travel meetings: Office hours:
January 23, 25 and 30 Feb 1 at 12:00 MW 13:00 to 13:50
Cramer Hall 147 East Hall 346
Tourism should be developed in a way so that it benefits the local communities, strengthens the local economy, employs local workforce and wherever ecologically sustainable, uses local materials, local agricultural products and traditional skills. Mechanisms, including policies and legislation should be introduced to ensure the flow of benefits to local communities. Tourism activities should respect the ecological characteristics and capacity of the local environment in which they take place. All efforts should be made to respect traditional lifestyles and cultures.
-Berlin Declaration on Biological Diversity and Sustainable Tourism, 1997
Sustainable tourism practices: efforts defined and designed by a community in the quest to gain economic benefits and self-reliance, social responsibility and equity and implementation of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors as they engage in tourism development.
-D. Matarrita-Cascante, M.A. Brennan and A.E. Luloff, “Community Agency and Sustainable Tourism Development,” Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 18, No. 6 (July 2010), p. 752.
Course Description:
Students will learn about the challenges of designing and implementing rural development projects. We will work with one or two community groups based in San Pedro de Colalao, Tucuman, Argentina. One of the groups is composed of students seeking college level certification in sustainable tourism, the other an association of local rural producers interested in tourism activities. Throughout our work with them we will pay attention to questions of social and environmental sustainability. We will assist these organizations in the pursuit of their goals, keeping in mind that we have a lot more to learn from them than what we can hope to contribute. In addition to contribute whatever skills we have to advance their goals, we will draft a final report for presentation to community authorities, members of our partner organizations and the community at large.
Learning Outcomes:
• Familiarity with the social and economic challenges faced by developing nations and first-hand knowledge of the complexities of development in South America (Diversity of Human Experience)
• Capacity to discern alternatives to achieve ecologically sound and equitable development in a rural context (Critical Thinking)
• Ability to engage in fieldwork through direct observation, interaction with local population and collection of information (Critical Thinking)
• Enhanced cross cultural communication through the exchange of ideas and information with members of diverse social and ethnic backgrounds (Communication)
• Awareness of the cultural and environmental impacts of tourism activities, necessarily bringing into question the impact of your own presence on the community (Social Responsibility)
• Enhanced understanding of global citizenship through reflection on your role as an educated foreign visitor who has the privilege to visit and conduct research in a far away land (Social Responsibility)
Course Logistics:
We will spend three weeks in Argentina, two weeks of which will be in San Pedro de Colalao. We will spend the first four days of the course in Buenos Aires, visiting major sites, learning about the country’s history and exploring its contemporary challenges. In San Pedro de Colalao we will meet with town officials, business people and NGOs; visit some of the local attractions including rivers, ancient rock carvings and mountain highlands; interact with rural dwellers in their homes and listen to presentations by local craftsmen and academics. Program fees cover all ground transportation (except to and from the airport), lodging, some food (breakfast and four program meals) and all mandatory activities (excursions, museums, speakers, etc.).
Students will be divided into 3 groups with 4 to 5 students each (see below). Groups will have a particular assignment to accomplish, and teams will have to collaborate with each other in the elaboration of the final report. At least one student proficient in Spanish will be assigned to each group in order to facilitate work with community members. The instructor and a few students will serve as translators for speakers and at meetings with community members.
Every day we will have opportunities to discuss how things are going and address issues as they arise. You are encouraged to contact me directly if you have any concerns. On Wednesday, February 29, we will have a mid-capstone meeting and written evaluation to reflect in greater depth about the experience up to that point. It will be an opportunity to take stock of what we have accomplished and potentially redirect our efforts if deemed necessary. We will also reflect on our presence in San Pedro and our responsibilities as global citizens in remote rural areas.
Grading and Assignments:
A central component of the grade will be active participation, from attention to instructions and speakers, to engagement in discussions and demonstrated initiative in group projects. Participation will count for 20% of the grade. Attendance to all activities, including pre-departure meetings, is mandatory. Any absence without a clear justification will result in the loss of participation points.
Students are required to read a number of articles on Argentina and eco-tourism development (see list below). Upon completion of these readings, and prior to departure, students must submit a 5-page essay where they draw from the readings to reflect on what they expect to encounter and hope to contribute to the community of San Pedro. The essay must make direct reference to all (or at least a majority) of the readings listed below. This essay will constitute 20% of the grade.
Students will be divided into groups to facilitate their work with our partner organizations. There will be clear objectives established for each group. Achievement of the objective plus a 5-page report of the work conducted will constitute 25% of the grade. Group reports will be due on March 7th at 5 pm.
The entire group will elaborate a final written report consisting of the area reports plus additional sections and information that help bring the area reports together. The final report must contain specific and feasible steps that our community partners can take to further their objectives. The final report, due on March 8th at 5 pm, will count for 25% of the grade.
Two presentations will be required to finish the course. The presentation to the San Pedro community is likely to take place on March 9th at 11 am. Presenters will have to do so in Spanish. Those unable to present in San Pedro will present to the PSU community during the Spring term. These presentations will count for the final 10% of the grade.
Audiovisual Documentation:
You are encouraged to document the activities of the capstone via photos and video. A selection of participant’s photos will be exhibited in the halls of the International Studies Program during the Spring term of 2012.
Working Groups:
The groups that will work with community organizations will be formed upon arrival to San Pedro. The idea is to let our partner organizations decide how we can best serve their needs, rather than try to impose our ideas of what they need from us. Establishing precise group tasks and objectives over a long distance is impractical, which is why we need to wait and have a day or two of discussion with them prior to the creation of working groups.
This does not mean that we have no idea of what we will be doing there. I have been in contact with our partner organizations and most likely we will assist in the consolidation of a new hiking and horse-back riding service named Coquena (established by members of both the rural producers organization and the college certificate group). Areas where our assistance may be required include: translation of documentation to English, elaboration of handouts/advertisement, setup of web presence and training for its maintenance, building basic English language skills, elaboration of hiking map using GPS, and compilation of a local plant and animal guide. In addition, last year we discussed the possibility of establishing crafts workshops and this idea may become a project for one of the groups.
Topics and Readings:
The following topics and corresponding readings provide fundamental theories and concepts for the course. Many of these topics will be covered in our pre-departure and on-site meetings. You are responsible for conducting these readings prior to your arrival in Argentina. They are the basis for your first 5 page assignment.
1. Rural development
J. Ramisch, “Rural Development,” in Paul Haslam, Jessica Schafer and Pierre Beaudet, Introduction to International Development, Oxford University Press, Ontario, 2009, pp. 323-344.
2. Eco-tourism for sustainable development
Zoomers, Annelies. “Global Travelling Along the Inca Route: Is International Tourism Beneficial for Local Development?” European Planning Studies, August 2008, Vol. 16 Issue 7, pp. 971-983.
Stroma Cole, “Information and Empowerment: The Keys to Achieving Sustainable Tourism,” Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vo. 14, No. 6 (2006), pp. 629-643.
3. The political economy of development and crisis in Argentina
Rock, David. “Racking Argentina.” New Left Review. Sept-Oct. 2002, pp. 54-86.
4. Agriculture in the Argentine Northwest
Pengue, Walter A. “Transgenic Crops in Argentina: The Ecological and Social Debt.” Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, August 2005, Vol. 25 Issue 4, pp. 314-322.
5. Ecology of Northwest Argentina
Tanner, Thomas. “Peopling Mountain Environments: Changing Andean Livelihoods in North-West Argentina,” The Geographical Journal, Vol. 169, No. 3, Sept. 2003, pp. 205-214.
Molinillo, Marcelo. “Is Traditional Pastoralism the Cause of Erosive Processes in Mountain Environments? The Case of the Cumbres Calchaquies in Argentina.” Mountain Research and Development, Vol. 13, No. 2 (May 1993), pp. 189-202.
6. Ethnic relations in the Argentine Northwest
Chamosa, Oscar. “Indigenous or Criollo? The Myth of White Argentina in Tucuman’s Calchaqui Valley.” The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 88, No. 1 (Feb., 2008), pp. 71-106.
Vom Hau, Matthias; Wilde, Guillermo. “'We Have Always Lived Here': Indigenous Movements, Citizenship and Poverty in Argentina.” Journal of Development Studies, August 2010, Vol. 46 Issue 7, pp. 1283-1303.
Tentative Itinerary/Schedule:
Specifics may change depending on on-site arrangements and conditions.
|Day 1 |Sun, Feb. 19 |Arrival in Buenos Aires. Meet at 1 pm at hostel for orientation. Walking tour of Recoleta.|
|Day 2 |Mon, Feb. 20 |Tour of Buenos Aires to include Plaza San Martin, Calle Florida, Teatro Colon, Plaza de |
| | |Mayo, Café Tortoni and Congress. |
|Day 3 |Tue. Feb. 21 |Tour of Calle Defensa, San Telmo and La Boca. |
|Day 4 |Wed. Feb 22 |Morning presentation by academic on the political economy of contemporary Argentina. |
| | |Afternoon walk around Palermo. Late afternoon departure to Tucuman. |
|Day 5 |Th. Feb 23 |Morning arrival to city of Tucuman and departure to San Pedro de Colalao. Lunch at Centro |
| | |de Energia y Protección del Medio Ambiente. Town orientation and introduction to town |
| | |authorities or partner organizations. |
|Day 6 |Fr. Feb 24 |Morning meeting with partner organizations. Establishment of working groups and |
| | |objectives. |
|Day 7 |Sat. Feb 25 |Hike and countryside asado to Chulca river (6 kms from San Pedro). Food and option of |
| | |swimming, weather permitting. |
|Day 8 |Sun. Feb 26 |Morning visit to Anthropology Museum. Afternoon meeting with community partners. |
|Day 9 |Mon. Feb 27 |Morning hike around Hualinchay. Afternoon work with community partners. |
|Day 10 |Tue. Feb 28 |Morning trip to Trancas and talk with INTA. Afternoon work with community partners. |
|Day 11 |Wed. Feb 29 |Work with community partners the whole day. Mid-capstone meeting in the late afternoon. |
|Day 12 |Th. Mar 1 |Early morning trip to Tucuman. Meeting with ENTE Turismo Tucuman officials. Presentation |
| | |by UNT academic on environmental and/or social characteristics. Stay overnight in Tucuman.|
|Day 13 |Fr. Mar 2 |Free day. Option to travel to Tafi del Valle and Cafayate. |
|Day 14 |Sat. Mar. 3 |Free day for travel, rest or catching up. |
|Day 15 |Sun. Mar 4 |Free day for travel, rest or catching up. |
|Day 16 |Mon. Mar 5 |Hike to Piedra Pintada (5 kms from San Pedro). Afternoon work with community partners. |
|Day 17 |Tue. Mar 6 |Visit to regional zoo. Afternoon work with community partners. |
|Day 18 |Wed. Mar 7 |Wrapping up of projects with community partners. |
|Day 19 |Th. Mar 8 |Teamwork on group reports. Group reports due at 5 pm. |
|Day 20 |Fr. Mar 9 |Morning presentation to community. Farewell lunch with community partners. Afternoon trip |
| | |to Tucuman. Overnight bus ride to Buenos Aires. |
|Day 21 |Sat. Mar 10 |Morning arrival to Buenos Aires. |
Travel Documents:
A passport in required for admission to Argentina. US citizens must pay approximately US$150 for a visa (valid for 10 years) upon arrival. If asked for the purpose of your trip, state tourism, not study. Tourists are generally given a 90-day stay. If you plan to stay longer than 90 days I recommend that you exit the country into a neighboring nation (Uruguay is an easy and preferred destination) and then reenter Argentina, maneuver that automatically extends your stay for an additional 90 days.
You are required to carry documents on you at all times while in Argentina. However, it is not a good idea to take your passport everywhere you go because losing it would represent a potentially serious setback. Instead I recommend that you make copies of the pages in your passport that have your name and picture and your Argentine entry visa (make copies of the latter after arrival in Argentina). Carry the copies with you and leave your passport hidden in your belongings at the hotel.
Money:
You will be responsible for covering some expenses out-of-pocket during your stay in Argentina. The largest necessary expenditures are likely to be ground transportation to and from the airport in Buenos Aires, entry visa, and meals not covered in the program (see below). Additional expenditures will mostly be at your discretion and may include souvenirs, entertainment, additional excursions, etc. You should have at least US$600 available to cover out-of-pocket expenses.
You may bring the money needed for out-of-pocket expenditures in cash. This will require you to have a safe place to keep it during the trip as well as changing into Argentine pesos at an exchange house or bank. There are no places to change dollars into pesos in San Pedro, and in Tucuman, the nearest city where the transaction can take place, they are notorious for absurd rules regarding the state of the bills to be exchanged. If you bring cash I strongly suggest that you purchase pesos while we are in Buenos Aires.
The other option is to bring an ATM card. Any card with a VISA or Mastercard or Cirrus logo should work in Argentina. There are some drawbacks to this approach. The ATMs charge a US$4 fee per transaction, and no more than US$300 can be withdrawn on a single day. You do receive the cash in Argentine pesos, and there is one ATM machine in San Pedro. It does not always work however, and at times it runs out of cash, which could be an issue if we have 13 foreign students taking money out of it for 18 days.
My suggestion is that you bring some cash, and plan to use the ATM for the rest. You could do half cash, half ATM, only using the ATM if you see that you are running low on the pesos you purchased in Buenos Aires.
Credit cards are not a common means of payment in Argentina. Stores that take them usually add a 3-5% surcharge for credit card payments. To the best of my knowledge there are no businesses in San Pedro that accept credit cards. You may want to bring one just in case, but do not expect to be able to use it outside of Buenos Aires.
Packing:
Please limit yourself to only one luggage and pack it as lightly as possible. We will be traveling by bus to San Pedro, and the fewer and lighter the packages that you carry the easier it will be for you and the group. Furthermore, if the luggage that you put in the cargo compartment of the bus is too heavy, you may be required to pay for the extra weight.
Although it will be late Summer when we arrive in Argentina and you can expect the weather to be generally warm to hot, nights in San Pedro can be rather chilly and a few rain storms are more than likely. For this reason you ought to consider bringing clothes for rainy days and cool evenings.
Below is a list of items I highly recommend that you include in your luggage. The list is intended to point out items that you may not normally think about and does not include everything that you need to bring. Pack additional items according to your needs.
-light rain jacket
-light sweater or fleece sweatshirt
-long pants comfortable for hiking
-shorts
-swimming suit
-walking/hiking shoes
-flip flops
-hat for sun
-sunglasses
-sun screen
-insect repellent
-photo and/or video camera
-water filter system or water purification
Some of you may want to consider bringing a laptop computer, as this would facilitate some of the work for the group and final projects. However, I strongly recommend that you keep the laptop out of sight most of the time, particularly during our stay in Buenos Aires, but also at the hotel in San Pedro. Similar suggestions apply to expensive photo equipment and video cameras.
Please do not bring more than one week’s change of clothes. The hotel in San Pedro offers a washing service, and hand washing in the hotel’s restroom is always an option.
Arrival and stay in Buenos Aires:
All international flights to Buenos Aires arrive in Ezeiza Airport, which is located at a significant distance of the city. There are two preferred choices for transportation to the hostel. One is to hire a remis (unmarked taxi). There are several companies offering the service, but make sure you contract with one doing business in a booth right in front of the gate (the best known, although a bit pricier, is Manuel Tienda Leon). This option will leave you at the door of the hostel. A second, less expensive choice is to take a shuttle service, also run by Manuel Tienda Leon (I am not aware of other companies, but they may exist). You hire this service at the same location. However, it will drop you off at the company’s downtown location, not the hostel’s door. This implies that there you will have to take a regular taxi, usually lined up waiting for the arrival of the shuttle from the airport, to the hostel. Even after you account for the taxi, this option is likely to be significantly cheaper than the remis. Remis companies working from the airport usually accept credit cards, not so taxis.
Do not accept, under any circumstances, taxi or transportation services offered to you at the airport arrival by an individual without an official booth nearby the exit gate.
It is generally safe to take taxis is Buenos Aires. You can identify them by the black bodies and yellow tops. They are usually flagged down from the sidewalk, but occasionally you may need to call one. Remises are considered to be the safest option, and I would recommend it for longer trips (such as to and from the airport). The hostel administration should be able to assist you with information regarding a remis if you were to need it.
You must check in the Hostel and be ready to go on foot excursion of the city by 2 pm on February 19th. The hostel in called Eco Pampa Palermo and is located in Guatemala 4778 (tel: 4831-2435). The location is quite central in an old neighborhood (Palermo) that has been increasingly gentrified as a result of the tourism boom in the country. The hostel is within walking distance (by Argentine standards at least) of the subway system, which can take you to most attractions in town. Most of our stay in Buenos Aires we will make use of the subway system, so you will get to know how to get around town in it.
Your hostel stay includes breakfast, which probably means a few medialunas (Argentine croissants) with mermelade or dulce de leche and coffee. All other meals in town will be independent from the program. At meal times, say noon or 1pm, we will try to be in locations with a diversity of eating options so that each has some choice regarding the type of food and the price range. By the time of evening meals you will be back in the hostel, free to explore possibilities in the neighborhood.
Trip to Tucuman:
In the afternoon of Wednesday, February 22, you will check out of the hostel and prepare your luggage for the long journey to the city of Tucuman. We will go to the Retiro bus station in several taxis. Our bus for Tucuman will depart around 6 pm, and we will arrive in the city at around 9 am. Although the bus ride includes food, it is recommended to bring additional food and water given the low quality of bus food. Once in Tucuman we will board another bus to San Pedro de Colalao, a trip that will take about 2 hours. We should be in San Pedro by noon of Thursday, February 23.
Stay in San Pedro de Colalao:
You will stay at Nieva, a hotel with restaurant on the main plaza. Your stay will include a simple breakfast (coffee or tea, pastries and an egg). Lunch will often take place on the go, so plan to make your dinner the main meal on most days. Evening meals in Argentina usually take place after 9 pm, but most places are ready to serve dinner by 8 pm. There are several other places to eat in San Pedro (even an ice cream parlor!), as well as grocery stores and a bakery, where you can purchase the basics to make yourself a sandwich or get a snack. Food in town is extremely inexpensive.
Everything in San Pedro closes at 1 or 1:30 pm for the siesta.. I will try to schedule some of our meetings during siesta time to make use of time that would otherwise be dead. You will have most evenings free to work on your projects, read, or enjoy the town and its surroundings.
I have allocated 3 days (Fr. March 2 to Sun. March 4) for you to have an opportunity to travel to nearby tourist attractions. They idea is to provide you an opportunity to see how tourism has developed in the surroundings. I highly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity, but did not include it in the program to avoid pushing its costs out of reach. For those who stay in San Pedro I will try to arrange alternative and less expensive distractions.
Upon return from the city of Tucuman, you may also have the option to spend the last week in San Pedro in a homestay rather than at Nieva. This was some of the work established by the capstone last year, but I need to confirm the availability of host families and the suitability to host students. Let me know if advance if you would be interested in this option.
Course Civility:
You are encouraged to read the Student Conduct Code (see ). It details your rights and responsibilities as a student and as a member of Portland State Community.
I want to point out that excessive alcohol consumption, resulting in inappropriate behavior, will lead to expulsion from the program.
Students with Disabilities:
If you are a student with a documented disability and registered with the Disability Resource Center, please contact me immediately to facilitate arranging academic accommodations.
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