Hijos de Siete Lagos Heritage Tour

AFFILIATION
CARD MRI Hijos Tours Inc.

DESCRIPTION

The Hijos de Siete Lagos Heritage Tour is a community-based programme that celebrates the history, nature, culture and people of San Pablo City, Laguna. This project is conducted by CARD MRI Hijos Tours. This project aims to bring heritage tourism closer to those who usually don’t have the opportunity to join such activities. The tour reaches the microfinance clients and staff of the CARD MRI Group, the implementing organization. The microfinance clients are primarily women MSMEs whose priorities do not yet include heritage tourism. The tour's narrative focuses on the region’s political history, especially women's struggles and successes, and how one can participate in nation-building. The tour of historical San Pablenos aims to mirror lived experiences and connect with local people’s lives.

Hijos de Siete Lagos Heritage Tour_3

Beneficiaries

Local elders, who are the storytellers and curators of these tours. They embody the region’s oral stories and traditions and match them with existing journals and documented books;
Community tour guides – after the narrative has been developed, the following step is to train local guides to become the communicators of these stories;
Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) – when the narrative and guides are ready, the last phase is to gather a pool of MSMEs to be tour service providers. All the food, transportation, souvenirs and other tourism-related services are directly sourced from the community.

Outputs

Tools to provide financial opportunities to communities;
Documentation and preservation of local oral stories and traditions.

Outcomes

Communities and their stories supported and sustained;
Environmentally conscious travel options more actively chosen;
Intangible heritage more protected and advocated for;
Proactive support of heritage-based travel options by community of travelers.