Among the picturesque but poor communities of Northern Albania, tourism has been broadly accepted as the best chance they have for a better future. The success stories of Thethi valley followed by Valbona valley more recently have ruled out any doubts. While this is true, in order to maximize the benefit to the local communities, it is important that the development is carefully steered in the right direction. Sustainability and impact on the environment are some of the main concerns that can be broken down further in issues such as:
?How much of the capital/income generated by the local tourism is invested in the same community and how much of it ?leaves? the area?
?How many families benefit from guest-house tourism and how many others are left out of this source of income?
This project aims at addressing the above mentioned concerns by promoting local farm products so that it diversifies the source of income by allowing some families to ?specialize? in the business of hosting while allowing others to focus on providing local agricultural products. By doing so the project also maximizes the amount of income generated by tourist that stays within the community. At the present, most of the farm products needed for the hosting activity are purchased in the nearby urban centers.
The project will provide help to participating local farmers in the form of seeds and agronomic