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Today I’d like to tell you about my first work experience abroad: I have worked with the team of a Unesco Biosphere Reserve: the Ecodyfi organisation of Dyfi Biosphere.Please don’t consider the English too much, I have improved now, but I am sharing the articles exactly as the were written in 2011.

Ecodyfi office

First two weeks in Machynlleth 

Hi everyone!

I started working at Ecodyfi in Machynlleth, Powsy, Wales two weeks ago (the 23th of May). The real started was yesterday this is the reason because I waitin to write something in my blog. Now I know my work can be really intersting for me and for my thesis also. First thing to do is a research about sustainable tourism market in Wales and obviously compare Wales and Italy. This work will be long to do but I think is the most important things to do before propose any project of sustainable tourism. I mean, we can’t suggest anything if there are not people interested in. second point is: Which are the people who demands a lower carbon footprint. Is “low carbon tourism” a real demand and what are its characteristics? this second point is more difficult because is a niche than the first one but also more interesting for Ecodyfi.

 

By the way, Ecodyfi is the local regeneration organisation for the Dyfi Valley, in Mid Wales – a thriving bi-lingual community set in some of the UK’s most stunning scenery. – they said on their website – and it’s true!! I have done many photos of the river Dyfi and Machynlleth that are very very very beautiful places!! Well..are always beautiful places but with sunshine much better: the Dyfi Valley also.

Ecodyfi vision is based on the following ideas:

– Strengthening the local economy is the key to meeting social needs
– Tourism and farming are the most important local industries.
– The only kind of tourism that will succeed here is sustainable tourism. Short-term fixes will not do. Equally, the only kind of farming that will succeed here is sustainable farming.
– Local distinctiveness is the key to success in many markets nowadays, particularly in tourism and increasingly in local produce (including foodstuffs).
– Food, holiday and other products will all benefit from being associated with a clean, green image of the valley – where the Dyfi valley is a leader in sustainable community regeneration.
– Globalisation of production and distribution systems leads to unsustainable levels of resource use and waste creation and makes local economies more vulnerable to external factors. Reversing this trend is sometimes called “relocalisation”.

Their mission is “to foster sustainable community regeneration in the Dyfi valley”.

Local needs must be met within a long-term vision. This implies attention to global as well as local environmental sustainability, to the robustness of the local economy and to the capacity of local people to take responsibility.

These ideas are for me really interesting and I choose this organization because of their local interest and support.

Thanks for follow me!

Sara

[box title=”” align=”center”]Please if you take information from here, can you write a reference: Sara Vitali, http://sustainabletourismworld.org/info/ecodyfi-work-experience/[/box]