Fieldwork involves drinking a lot of rice wine.

I finally got permission to visit the communities in the buffer zone on Thursday. I went from one interview to another with the commune officials to determine their goals for a community-based tourism (CBT) business in their commune and to learn what they already know about tourism development. These places have tons of potential, with breath-taking scenery and residents excited about hosting tourists. However, there are many challenges, the biggest being the general ignorance of the residents and the authorities about tourism. They are very enthusiastic, and the officials talked about engaging in "rapid yet sustainable" economic development, but the obvious focus is on rapid. My involvement will ultimately center on capacity-building and awareness-raising among commune residents and officials so that they can make more informed decisions.

I spent most of Thursday in Bong Lai village, a small rural village set amid forest-cloaked mountains and valleys of rice fields. The village leader, Mr. Su poured us rice wine made with the honey he collects from the more than 30 beehives next to his home. Chi Sen and I wandered the village, making rice wine toasts with the men and conducting impromptu English lessons with the army of children following us. Everywhere I go I see evidence of modernity and wealth juxtaposed with poverty and the traditional. I saw a man pushing a rickety bicycle with a large flat screen TV balanced on it, satellite dishes attached to wooden homes without doors, beautifully carved pool tables placed under tarp shelters, and wifi offered in tiny guesthouses situated on dirt roads.

I spent Thursday night at the house of the richest family in the village. The head of the household trades in illegal game from the nearby forest. Mr. Su says that the best way to make money in the village is illegal logging and hunting within the national park, but that the people are tired of the difficult work involved and would like a job that allows more time with their families while providing as much or more money. Hosting tourists and taking them on guided hikes into the mountains to visit the waterfalls and caves dotting the area is an option, but developing tourism here is complicated for too many reasons to get into on this blog.

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