Indigenous Communities

Agricultural, communal, and indigenouscommunities, organized as ejidos , 1 have for centuries shown an ecocentric and devotedrelationship with Nature, humanity, and the planet, and continue to applytheir values in the development of rural tourism that promotessustainability. This is an alternative archetype to the Western developmentparadigm (whose universalist, one-dimensional, and egocentric viewpoint hasalarming impacts to the planet and humanity). Our study addresses theexpressions of resistance and preservation of natural property and heritageunder the guise of rural tourism services within two indigenous communities in Mexico. Ourmethodology was based on “participative research-action,” where ejidatarios (members ofan ejido ) andelders reflected on their contribution to rural sustainability. Despite theonslaught of the Western model of global development, in the midst of the21 st  centurywe find the expression of a strong cultural and cosmological identity thatexpresses a particular form of relationship, both material and spiritual,with Nature—defending and re-creating an environmentally sustainable culturethrough multiple strategies (encompassing tourism, land, territory, andcultural identity) in the face of the worldwide onslaught and divestment ofindigenous peoples. The results of this study provide substantive andsymbolic values for similar areas of study.