I just participated in an international conference in Kona, Hawaii, one of my favorite communities in the world. Lily Dudoit, a native Hawaiian and cultural specialist at the Keauhou Sheraton, performed a traditional welcome ceremony.

She gathered us in a circle to hold hands. She then took alaea salt around for each person to cleanse, purify and bless the event. She led us quietly down to the water of Keauhou Bay and handed me a small bundle wrapped in leaves to place at the foot of a small tree as a gift. Her words were about the meaning of aloha with each letter representing a different Hawaiian word about opening yourself to others, being humble, forgiving and ready to share. It was a powerful start for a conference about heritage interpretation with folks from all over the world. As she chanted and we looked over the bay, our hearts opened to the place, people and community.

One evening during the conference Ka Pa Hula Na Wai Iwi Ola Halau performed with a local band of guitar, bass fiddle, slack-key guitar and ukulele. The musicians were wonderful and sang many songs in Hawaiian. Kumu Keala Ching, a renowned hula master from Hilo, sat on the stage and introduced his halau (hula school) and shared the Hula Kahiko (traditional dance), along with his chants (oli) and songs (mele) of this island culture. Seven young ladies from the halau danced as he chanted and played rhythms on the ipu (musical gourd). It was mesmerizing and magical. The story telling through dance and chanting to rhythms is a powerful experience at any level of understanding. You want to know more.

Five women and Kumu Keala Ching performed additional songs in the Hula Auana tradition with the instrumentation and voices of the band behind them. The grace and beauty of each dancer was mesmerizing. The 140 people in the audience from a dozen countries around the world could connect personally with the culture and spirit of aloha.

There was a time not so long ago when the Hawaiian language and many cultural practices seemed to be disappearing under the weight of new statehood and modernity. Today there are hundreds of halaus (hula schools) all over the United States and in many other nations. The Hawaiian language grows in importance as young people learn it through hula, music and cultural practices in this island state and wherever Hawaiian people relocate as they take their culture with them.

A cultural tradition such as a welcome ceremony could be a cliché, a practiced routine with little meaning. In Lily Dudoit’s able hands our welcome to the conference was special and thought provoking. One participant first commented that the lei (flower necklaces) offered to each delegate seemed to be a waste of resources. After the ceremony he asked if he could have the lei and wore it throughout the conference.

Understanding any other culture is a journey that begins with an open mind and heart. Lily helped each of us to listen and feel the rhythms of the islands and the spirit of aloha that will now be a part of all of us. Mahalo, Lily.

- Tim Merriman

Many places you visit seem to advertise themselves into being a disappointment. You hear how great they are and get there to find something entirely different or not as good as advertised. The Regione Toscana of Italy is romantic in movies, a scenic backdrop in ads on TV and one of those places I thought might have trouble living up to its magical reputation. I was wrong.

We had driven northwest from Rome in a rental car and really enjoyed stopping in small towns to try the local food and wines. Pitigliano was especially charming so we ate in an outdoor café beneath a Roman aqueduct.

We went to San Quirico in 2007 to teach a guide trainers course for five days and then stayed for a week of vacation to form our own impressions of the area. The small medieval village of San Quirico is home to only 2,500 people. It is nestled in the World Heritage Val D’Orcia, famous for rolling hills, beautiful farms and picturesque villages. The hills were patchworks of green pastures and bright yellow canola.

As we walked the village streets in the evening we saw local folks chatting together in outdoor cafes and on doorsteps. We ate at a carriage house converted into a restaurant where the food was great and the wine even better. The local wines in Tuscany are legendary - Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino. Each meal had a special bruschetta as a starter and finished with the rich cheeses of the region. When we asked what was so special about food in Tuscany, people would just say, “fresca.” FRESH!

We drove up to Siena and spent several days, enjoying the beautiful central plaza where the famed “Paoli” horse race occurs twice a year. Another World Heritage City, Siena hosts hundreds of thousands of tourists annually. We stayed at a local hotel on the edge of the city. On our first evening, we walked to the plaza to eat and then set off to our hotel, enjoying the shops and people watching. We went exactly the wrong direction and only stopped to ask directions when the ancient city wall was evident. We learned our hotel was at the extreme other side of the city, a long walk. Taxis had quit taking fares at that hour. We were exhausted at the end of the walk but still had fond memories of Siena at night.

We just had a taste of Tuscany and missed some of the more famous attributes of the area. This is the home region of Michelangelo and Leonardo di Vinci. Museums, public art and gardens are common. The scenery out the car window was breathtaking most of the time. Tree-lined lanes led up to stately country homes and farmsteads. Olive groves and vineyards were common. We stopped often just to photograph the beautiful farms and buildings.

We missed doing one of the things we most wanted to do, stay at an agriturismo estate. There are 192 in the Siena Province alone and hundreds more in this part of Italy. Tourists can stay in holiday rooms among the vineyards and olive groves and share the rich cuisine and wines of the area. We will most definitely go back. Tuscany exceeds expectation and has lots of heart. You see no franchise food stores, no familiar coffee shops, just friendly people, lovely scenery, and rich history – an enchanting taste of Italy rivaled only by the unforgettable food and wine.

-Tim Merriman

           The coast of Queensland is an amazing area famous for the Great Barrier Reef, cassowaries (very large non-flying birds), beautiful rainforest, fruit bats, flocks of beautiful cockatoos, tea estates and aboriginal communities. We were visiting the area in April of 2010 to attend a conference and stayed extra days to explore and learn more about the area. The conference was in Townsville and it proved to be a very congenial host community.

            The Strand on the waterfront in Townsville has a beautiful trail along the ocean. Red-vented cockatoos were common flocks in the trees along the water. The historic downtown of Townsville was under renovation, but the unique character of the buildings is still there and apparently being protected. Sustainable Townsville is a very comprehensive effort to engage the community in strategies related to open space, energy, water, sewage treatment, gardening, recycling, solid waste management and much more. The Values Education Good Practice School Project uses a UNESCO sustainability model to engage young people in the community effort.

            We spent time in some of the Cassowary Coast towns looking for the large, elusive birds without luck. We also went out to Magnetic Island where koalas are found fairly easily in several locations. We had good luck in finding one feeding and moving, giving us opportunities to photograph the beautiful animal. We also visited the Nerada Tea Estate between Cairns and Townsville, which has a visitor center with a snack bar, tea sales room and some exhibits. The outdoor interpretive signage tells about wildlife in the area and they do tours at times, though not while we were visiting.

            The Mamu Rainforest Canopy Walk is an elevated steel trail through the treetops overlooking the North Johnstone River Gorge. It has interesting interpretive signage that provides background on the Mamu aboriginal people of the area. Life-size signs with pictures of local people and their stories make their history a part of the experience. The smaller signs share knowledge of how local people used the varied food and medicinal plants of the forest. Admission fees at this national park are $20 per adult and $10 per child.

            Most tourists from a great distance fly into Brisbane and travel north in Queensland or land by plane in Cairns to the north. We flew into Cairns and enjoyed their magnificent waterfront. The Cairns Esplanade along the ocean attracts people to fish, throw purse nets, picnic, bicycle, walk, jog and birdwatch. The playgrounds are thematic with ocean and reef artwork. The infinity pool next to the Esplanade is a safe place for children to swim and has beautiful metal fish banners scattered around. Signs on the oceanfront warn of crocodiles being in the area, but they are not evident and we saw many young people casting purse nets while wading in shallows.

            We visited the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park and enjoyed the mixture of aboriginal dance with didgeridoo music, stage performances and exhibits. But the best part of it was outdoors with young men of the tribe teaching us how to throw an atlatl and boomerang. They showed great skill with these simple but effective hunting weapons and we learned how challenging they are to use by trying them.

            No visit to this area is complete without a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. You can go out on a live-on-board boat or take a day trip from the coast. We left the wharf in Cairns and took the two-hour boat ride on slightly choppy water until we reached a very large multi-level platform over the reef. You get a nice lunch with the trip and can rent full body snorkeling suits to protect you from box jellyfish, which can be deadly. Fully covered and wearing a snorkel and mask, only our lips were exposed and yet some of us still had burning stings from the less dangerous jellyfish with that limited exposure of skin. The boat company guides show you the best areas to snorkel and the coral formations are magnificent. Eight-foot white-tipped reef sharks cruise by and can be a little startling though not dangerous. The many species of clownfish are easy to see in shallow water nestling in the tentacles of varied kinds of anemones, some three and four feet in diameter. Giant clams on the sea floor below are often three to four feet in diameter also and sit opened up with bright blue mantles showing. The boat even has an underwater viewing area for those who do not swim and submarines that will take non-swimmers around the reef for a look below the surface. This reef area in Australia is immense and even one day on it in a very localized area is magical and worth the cost.

            Queensland does an amazing job of accommodating tourists from all over the world. Options for food and lodging are diverse and varied in price. Efforts to interpret their natural and cultural resources are quite good. When you add the efforts of Townsville, a community with heart, and some others to be pioneers in sustainable practices, there is much to see and learn from in the area. It is a “bucket list” trip for most of us but worth waiting for. Do not miss it.

- Tim Merriman

Preparing a Community Experience Plan (CEP) requires skilled assistance from a planner who considers the tangible, physical components (hardware) of the PLACE and PEOPLE and the intangible components (software) that give the community a unique LIFESTYLE and BRAND. Here are five good reasons to invest up front in a Community Experience Plan.

1.     Too many cooks spoil a stew.  Imagine inviting ten great chefs to each put an ingredient into a gourmet dish of some sort without knowing what the others will contribute. What are the chances it will all taste great at the end? Community stakeholders usually include developers with varied interests, business entrepreneurs, nonprofit organizations, city departments, wealthy individuals, and other residents, all of whom make important contributions to the community – usually without talking to each other.  What if they collaborated to achieve objectives they all find worthwhile? A Community Experience Plan (CEP) combines the thematic message of the community with a logic model identifying measurable outcomes and impacts along with the strategies to achieve a common vision.

2.     Planning is always cheaper than investing in what you do not need. Most things we do in a community these days costs quite a lot. Playgrounds, new schools, recycling centers, community centers, arts facilities, public trails, nature centers, parks – none of them come without a significant price tag. A good plan is almost always cheaper than any single new facility you add to the community. And when you add one that does not truly improve your community, you have just wasted your funds.

3.     Your children deserve to know where they are growing up and why it is special. As we get more in touch with people and places through virtual reality, it is not at all unusual to grow up with little or no understanding of the real rich history and natural history in your own hometown. A CEP allows a community to identify what it wants to keep, enhance and share with its children and families. It helps in allocating resources appropriately to experiences that enrich your children’s lives and understanding of their community and its sense of place.

4.     Your authentic community identity only stays that way if you plan what to protect.  Sense of place in a community is not just the buildings, roads, rivers, open space and infrastructure. The tangible sense of place in your community is rounded out with those rich intangibles that make the lifestyle special – the history, the events, and the cultural components that come from the people. You can invest in the future of the community “brand” only if you know what it is, why it is unique and what elements affect it – and that takes a plan that considers more than the infrastructure.  

5.     People working together get more done than individuals working separately on their personal visions. A CEP identifies a common vision for the community. When you hook up all the horses to the wagon with such a plan, you pull it faster, further and with more style than any one working alone.

If you need help with a Community Experience Plan, give us a call.

- Tim Merriman

For at least a dozen years I have been mentioning the Battle of Hastings in 1066 in presentations I make about heritage interpretation. It has always been an example of a date I memorized in junior high without any real understanding of the deeper history behind it. Memorization was the way history was taught in my school years and it just seemed like punishment more than anything.

When we finished recent training activities at Omaha Beach in Normandy, we had a few days to enjoy traveling through rural France. The historic city of Bayeux was our first stop. We were traveling for the day with friends and they both wanted to visit The Tapestry in Bayeux. I will confess that a 230-foot long tapestry (actually embroidery) did not seem that interesting. But everyone we met suggested that it was the thing to see in the local area.

Bayeux itself was a pleasant surprise in every way. It is just a few miles from the English Channel and a British D-day site and cemetery. The city dates back to the first century B.C. We parked a few blocks from The Tapestry Museum because the streets were jammed with cars and it was easier to park and walk than drive. We immediately wandered into the Saturday morning outdoor market.

The market was charming with local foods for sale, farmer’s goods, live chickens and ducks, fresh fish, and some great looking street food such as Spanish paella. Fresh breads, pastries, Calvados (apple brandy), cider, apple jelly and tarts were just some of the tempting foods for sale. We continued through the market and followed the ancient street to the gigantic cathedral completed in 1077 by Odo of Conteville, half-brother of William the Conqueror. It is a spectacular cathedral and is built over the ruins of a much older Roman building.

We followed the excellent signage down to the Tapisserie and arrived just before opening time. It cost about $10 each to enter and receive an audio tour. I really do not like audio tours, but I always give them a try. This one turned out to be quite good. We walked through a darkened room listening to a soothing British voice explain the story of Guillaume le Conquérant (William the Conqueror) defeating Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, after successive battles culminating in Hastings in 1066. The tapestry tells the story in cartoon figures and the audio tour was well written and delivered with wry humor. I stayed with it to the end. The Tapestry and the accompanying audio tour and exhibits bring alive the story of William the Conqueror and had us looking him up on the Internet in the evenings at our hotels.

When we finished at the museum, it was time to get our friends to the train station so they could return to Paris, then we plunged off into the countryside, meandering the smallest backroads we could find. The Tapestry had sent us on a journey, but that’s another story for another day.

-Tim Merriman

We came to France to provide a training workshop for the American Battle Monuments Commission, which took us to Omaha Beach in Normandy. We added a few vacation days on to the trip to see some of the French countryside and visit several attractions. Quite by accident, we learned about Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, The Most Beautiful Villages of France.

Our journey began in Port en Bessen, a lovely seaport town very close to Omaha Beach, site of the D-Day landings by American soldiers. The protected harbor is surrounded by private homes on one side and the town center on the other with many brasseries (cafés), restaurants, patisseries (pastry shops), and other businesses. The waterfront beach is strewn with empty scallop shells, a favorite seafood in this area. We walked the waterfront several evenings and enjoyed the local food, friendly people and atmosphere.

Since April to October is the tourist season in much of France, we found many attractions and great places to stay closed during our March visit. By wandering back roads in search of unique experiences, we were charmed by the sudden appearance of a small town near Deauville by the name of Beuvron en Auge. The beautiful post and beam type buildings with stucco in between is common here. Some houses (even new construction) have traditional roofing of thatch or wooden shakes. We looked at the many places to eat and noticed several people already having lunch in the Creperie so we entered and found a seat. Inside, the restaurant was cozy and as picturesque as on the outside. A very nice lady took care of us, suffering through our use of very limited French with good humor. We ordered omelettes with herbs and mushrooms, green salad and a Bourdeaux wine. The dessert was an excellent crepe with Nutella and chantilly (whipped cream) followed by espresso coffee. We were enchanted. The food, place and people all welcomed us as visitors. As we lingered over our coffee, I noticed a poster on the wall indicating that Beuvron en Auge is one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. It was obviously a brand of some sort I had not seen before.

After lunch we wandered the streets awhile and looked around in a regional products shop. We sampled a delicious apple jelly and honey candies, both of which we will take home. The Calvados region in this part of France gives its name to a well-known apple brandy distilled at many farms and factory sites. Apple tarts, apple pie, apple juice, and Calvados apple brandy are commonly sold at local cafés.

As we drove out of the small town, we noticed new homes on the edge of the community that were beautifully built with the same construction style as the traditional historic downtown. Someone has taken great care to keep the architecture of the community consistent with their history while still encouraging development. We saw no housing that seemed inconsistent with the vernacular architecture of the community.

That evening our hotel in Deauville had a good Internet connection so I looked up the website for the Beaux Villages program and was pleasantly surprised to find hundreds of villages identified in this manner. The website allows filters to narrow the list to what interests you most – food, waterside, castles/ramparts, wine, panoramas or unusual attractions.

We had found so many “closed for the winter” attractions, that cruising from one “Belle Village” to another turned out to be great fun. Each held different kinds of appeal and only one or two disappointed. When the designation was used for a large city, it became more difficult to locate the “beautiful” part that created the designation. It might have been there, but nothing on the ground in terms of signing directed us to it easily.

I like this effort by France to share their most beautiful communities with visitors. In most cases the “beauty” designation is not just façade deep, described by some as Façadomy. The history, local people, food culture, sense of place and community efforts to hang on to what they value creates the beauty and keeps it consistent with local values. A program that encourages this alignment with a bigger program can give communities reasons to work harder at collaboration. It seems to be working in France.

For those of us who travel and enjoy finding special places to slow down and get acquainted, a directory of Les Plus Beaux Villages is very helpful. If you get to northern France, go to Beuvron en Auge and check out the Creperie. You won’t be disappointed. If you work in your own community to build pride in your local culture, how can you get more folks involved? It’s worth the effort.

- Tim Merriman

Cities promote themselves in media much like a product. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Las Vegas, Nevada, uses the catchy phrase “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” It is like saying, “This is an adult playground where you can do what you want and no one but you will know.” Many adults are looking for exactly that kind of experience. Certainly it is hard to identify the deeper cultural significance of Vegas other than as an adult playground when faced with that slogan. The Las Vegas strip is the very definition of “artificial” with everything from Venetian gondola rides, to pirate ships and a miniature Eiffel Tower. A more recent campaign designed to generate more family business in Vegas had a hard time overcoming the previous slogan because nothing else seemed to change but the promotion.

Korean communities are tying into their authentic brand identities through city branding that reflects the unique cultural traits found in various locations. In an interview with Arirang TV in Korea, Jung Suk-won, CEO of X4 Design Branding said, "Since 1995, when Korea adopted a decentralized administration system, Korean cities began to compete with other cities, just like companies, to attract more residents, tourists and investors. That's when Korean cities began using marketing strategies like city branding.”

The interviewer and reporter, Ji-won Park wrote that, “City branding is a comprehensive marketing concept that not only deals with city slogans or logos, but also includes regional cultural events or festivals.”

Yoon Day-young, Director of Design Industry Division of the Seoul Design Foundation commented in those interviews that,  "The essence of city branding is to capture each town's unique content and history. We hope Korean cities keep developing design strategies that will promote each town's cultural content to the rest of the country." Ji-won Park also wrote that, “In addition to these efforts in design and image communication, experts advise local governments to continuously explore new ways to promote their distinctive cultural identities.”

Cities and communities that bounce around with brand identity over decades dilute their “brand” in my view. Their cultural and natural heritage can help create a lasting identity, but contrived brands will eventually fade or may stick in spite of attempts to change public perceptions. Too often these branding efforts are top-down. Tourism officials or city leaders hire a public relations or marketing firm to “improve” the brand by simply creating a new slogan or logo. Treating communities with rich cultural and natural heritage like corn flakes or beer is demeaning. The voices of local citizens should be involved in these strategies to clarify the brand identity of their community.

The Official Guide to New York City on the Internet has a banner with “Need More Reasons to Love New York?” Then it lists plays, musicals, shops and other things to do. It is a benefits-based approach to promoting the city but lacks an identity specific to New York. The San Francisco site has a similar lack of identity, containing lists of hotels, restaurants and other features that are not unique to San Francisco. These great cities do have an identity, but it is not evident in current promotional efforts. Branding is simply not being done in many communities or is being done poorly. Santa Fe, New Mexico, proudly states that it is “The Oldest Capital in the United States” on their website. It’s a fact, but not necessarily a compelling message that reflects what really makes Santa Fe special. It think of Santa Fe as the old adobe village rich in Indian, Spanish and Mexican culture – the town square with Native Americans selling jewelry, the art shops and the rich food culture. I have no quick answer for what the “brand” should be, but “the Oldest Capital” is not it.

On the other hand, Austin, Texas, has “The Live Music Capital of the World” as a registered trademark, well-identified on their site. It’s the first thing you see when you step off a plane in the airport, publicized with every showing of Austin City Limits on public television. I still like “Keep Austin Weird” as another expression of local values and identity but both statements convey a cultural identity unique to the place. The live music capital can be experienced in myriad locations as you move around Austin.

City branding can be based on messages that reflect local heritage, but it takes planning and a deep understanding of the community’s culture to stay relevant. An ad or public relations firm, particularly one that comes from outside that culture, can miss the more important connections to local culture and history if all they go for is a clever saying or fancy logo design. Those types of brands may or may not have any staying power or they may stick too well, keeping a community mired in its past. With a thoughtful approach, the brand becomes meaningful to residents and visitors alike, and endures for a long time as a definitive statement about the city.

With thoughtful Community Experience Planning (CEP) the brand can be tied to the options available to experience the community. Cities and communities of any size can do more to identify their brand and link it to the real experiences on the ground. It just takes planning and collaboration with consultants who truly understand the power of branding through natural and cultural heritage. 

- Tim Merriman

My dad had a seventh grade education, a love for telling stories and a good head for business. He went to work on the railroad at 13 years of age, pulled from school to help support his family, a common practice in 1920. Throughout his eighty-seven years I heard his stories over and over again. Now I am boring my own family with those same stories over and over again, and to make matters worse, I’ve added my own to the mix.

Over time I went from rolling my eyes when dad regaled me with his intimate knowledge about my hometown of Vandalia, Illinois, to listening to him with some pride. He enjoyed talking to people. He exchanged stories about life with people every day, all day, while he sold golf carts from a home-based business. An entrepreneur at heart, he ran a cemetery, owned a feed store, and then spent much of his adult life selling lawn mowers wholesale to hardware and feed stores to resell to others.

Every community has stories to share and storytellers willing to share them. Some great methods have developed to preserve these bits of history that might otherwise be lost. The StoryCorps is a great nonprofit program that encourages interviews with local people from all walks of life to preserve the stories of communities and the people in them. The National Council on Public History (NCPH) is an organization that describes their field as being “where historians and their various publics collaborate in trying to make the past useful to the public.”

People are not the only storytellers in the community. The buildings, landscapes, community organizations, schools, businesses, libraries, and the general flow of life in and around the community are all part of the storytelling. They all blend together to create that unique sense of place if thoughtfully planned.

It is interesting and a bit unsettling these days that large shopping complexes often move into communities and build the same or a similar mix of businesses you will find in many other places. These clonal business neighborhoods usually have very little thematic or story-related connection to the community. Often they look like Tuscan architecture or some other contrived approach that has no ties to community stories and themes.

Community experience planning is a way to bring the diverse stories, places, culture, environment and public interests together in a process that identifies what change a community desires. What do we want for the future? What developments do we want and what might we discourage because it leads the community in directions we prefer not to go. What is the central theme of our community? What would any person growing up here or visiting here say they came to understand about our community? What core values and identity do we value? And how do we get the voice of local citizens really engaged in this process, not just in a hearing after decisions are made?

I just dug through a box of old photos and news articles my mother left to me. It was a nostalgic journey through many family stories. I found an article my dad wrote in the 1960s recalling life in Vandalia over the previous fifty years. His writing was enthusiastic for local history but he wrote in a stream of consciousness. In five pages he related more stories of such diverse natures than anyone might imagine would possibly come from one person about one small town. Collecting community stories is certainly a first step, and can give you hundreds of directions to go, but within that collection there will undoubtedly be stories that coalesce around an idea or theme that can represent an enduring identity for the community. A community experience plan can identify that theme and then give you a roadmap for linking future decisions about the community around that central idea. A thoughtful planning process brings diverse interests in the community together to plan and think about the future together. 

-Tim Merriman

In the early 1980s Pueblo, Colorado, plunged into a deep economic funk. Colorado Fuel & Iron, a steel company, downsized and thousands were let go. Pueblo Army Depot was one of the military bases closed at about that time, eliminating about 5,000 jobs. Unemployment approached 20% and it seemed like very dark days for one of the oldest communities in the state. Pueblo was a burgeoning western town in the mid-1800s before Denver existed.

     The Arkansas and Fountain Rivers flow through this city of 100,000 and converge on the southeast corner of the downtown. Both had become the dumping grounds for many people in the city and refrigerators, tires and debris were common on the banks of the rivers. Newly built bicycle trails were installed in parts of both river corridors but they didn’t connect. People were beginning to see their rivers as important assets, not just flood threats as in the past. In1981 the two-year old Pueblo Nature Center began holding annual river cleanups. In a matter of a few years the big stuff was gone from the river corridors and the annual event focused on smaller and smaller items to remove. Pride was growing slowly.  

     Necessity really does seem to be the mother of invention. A number of good things began to happen due to thoughtful leadership and collaboration on a variety of fronts. Pueblo Conservancy District was formed in the 1920s in response to a disastrous flood. They managed levies and property along the Arkansas River. They called other community planners and resource representatives together for a breakfast. The Greenway and Nature Center , Colorado State Parks, Colorado Division of Wildlife, City Planning, County Planning, City Parks, and Trout Unlimited sent representatives. The discussion was how do we improve the river corridors through grants with virtually no local resources available to do much. The Conservancy could invest some funds annually on maintenance roads along the river, but their mandate was not public recreation.

     The monthly breakfasts became a routine and the group began landing hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants and donations from Fishing is Fun (Dingle-Johnson monies), state trails grants (ISTEA), private foundations and individual donors. A Boettcher Foundation grant funded a needed bridge to cross the Arkansas River. An Army Corps of Engineers project built the bridge needed over the Fountain and the disjunct Greenway was suddenly a 26-mile network throughout the community and out to Lake Pueblo. The nature center organized volunteer trail rangers. The Conservancy continued to do maintenance projects in the river bottoms that provided matching funds to help land the recreational and river access grants.

     One meeting brought up the opportunity to look at what other river communities had done to make their rivers a more important economic development and community asset. Representatives from most of the breakfast planning coalition took a trip to San Antonio for a cook’s tour of the famed Riverwalk and then on to Wichita, Kansas, to see their very attractive Arkansas River trails and amenities. All were impressed by the look at these communities who had made their river heritage an important central story in community development. This provided ideas for everyone about what might be done in Pueblo.

     The Conservancy continued to provide leadership in planning. The idea developed to bring water back to the surface in downtown Pueblo, as a controlled amenity. The levies protect the area from serious flooding and they were imposing concrete walled structures that kept the downtown from seeing the beautiful Arkansas River. An old dedicated underground water culvert for a power plant was buried beneath the city streets. Funds to do this major water project, that might be likened to San Antonio’s Riverwalk, were the limiting factor. It would take millions to bring visible waterways into the historic downtown in Pueblo. A bond issue to raise the funds was presented to taxpayers and they voted to approve it. The Historic Arkansas River Project (HARP) became a reality in 1995. The project is about to enter phase 3 of development and has attracted a convention center, new hotels, restaurants  and many shops nearby while bringing more diverse commerce to the historic downtown. This historic district was once a blighted area and an eyesore for visitors to Pueblo. 

     Lots of factors went into this effort but the breakfast planning and collaboration meetings were key in the very early stages. No single entity could have done very much alone. They lacked the resources. Sharing the responsibilities for grants writing, heavy equipment, landscape plans, engineering and fundraising was key. As each year went by steady progress turned the river corridors into important amenities for special events, daily walks by local people and field outings by school children. The visit by the planning team to San Antonio and Wichita had been key in helping everyone have a larger vision for what could happen. The rich sense of place that the rivers provide are an important part of the identity of this unique western community. The developments have been tasteful and thematic in preserving the old West feeling of the historic downtown area. Pride in these accomplishments is evident among the many participants who made it all happen.

     The City Council and other local leaders led an economic development process throughout this period that was also successful. Pueblo now enjoys a healthier overall economy along with restoration and protection of a rich sense of place. 

-Tim Merriman

P.S. This is another of the 19 case studies in Put the HEART Back In Your Community: Unifying Diverse Interests Around a Central Theme. 

       You might visit San Juan, Puerto Rico, and not hear of Cantera community. It’s buried in the obscurity of being lower income housing, away from the beaten path among the beaches and European atmosphere of Condado. But Cantera is home to fishermen, working people and many unemployed. The community is on a peninsula of land mostly surrounded by Laguna San Jose, a very large brackish water lake between San Juan and Carolina, the most urban part of Puerto Rico. 

       We took a unique tour with a Cantera boat captain from their commercial fishing boat dock located on San Jose Lagoon. For almost four hours we traveled along the lagoon’s lush edges of black, white and red mangroves. Great egrets, snowy egrets, green herons, great blue herons and reddish egrets posed in the mangroves as we moved slowly down the Suaréz Canal that connects Laguna San Jose with Laguna Torrecillas. We saw dozens of large iguanas draped on the trees and several swimming along the edge of the canal. We learned that large tarpon of six feet length are common to the lagoons and a big attraction for fishermen. 

     As we went through a highway underpass we saw a fisherman’s camp and several men casting purse nets, while some fished from the bank with poles. In Torrecillas Lagoon, we passed the homes of the rich and famous people who can afford waterfront property and noted the disappearance of the mangrove forests where houses have been built. Along the way we saw the nests of common moorhens nestled on the end of fragile branches over the water where predators dare not go. Ospreys hunted overhead and one perched on a limb with a fish in its talons. Pelicans, frigate birds, tern and skimmers flew overhead or perched along the mangroves.

     Finally we reached a small village near the opening to the Atlantic Ocean and we stopped to drink fish soup and enjoy a Medalla Lite Beer. The cafe manager showed us the fresh red snapper and mahi mahi (dorado) filling their freezers. They buy local fish daily directly from fishermen and then resell to restauranteurs or individuals. After we got back on the boat, we took a quick sortie out into the Atlantic near Pinoñes State Forest and then turned back into the lagoon to cruise back to the Cantera community. It was a beautiful tour and intriguing look at the natural and cultural heritage of Puerto Rico we would never have found on our own. That evening we sat in an outdoor café at Piñones enjoying local food and watching people swim in the shallows of the Atlantic beaches just below us.

     Fernando Silva, Executive Director of INCICO (Institute for the Conservation of Puerto Rico) and Eliezer Nieves, a Certified Interpretive Trainer with National Association for Interpretation (NAI) and Santa Ana Nature Center Director showed us this evolving program in San Juan. They are helping community leaders in Cantera employ interpretive planning and guiding techniques in this unique community-based ecotourism program.

     Peninsula Expeditions is a project of the Cantera Community, a community corporation (Integral Development Corporation of Peninsula de Cantera) working to improve socio-economic conditions locally including development of ecotours and other enterprises that support ecotourism. Driving into the community and to the boat marina we noticed the lagoon or lake edge had many animal pens, stored recreational equipment, boats, gardens and picnic tables. People leave their apartment houses to enjoy some of the countryside amenities of having chickens or rabbits and a small garden. Many of them once lived in rural areas and came to the city for opportunities that didn’t happen as hoped.

     The experience that we enjoyed is now available to tourists, cruise boat visitors and local people. Local young people are being trained as interpretive guides and eventually as NAI Certified Interpretive Guides. Fernando and Eliezer told us about the past year and a half of meeting with community leaders to listen and discuss what they might do collaboratively. They are launching this new tourist initiative using a pontoon boat purchased to provide tours. Early conversations with local fishermen led to development of a resource map. Their knowledge of the area from fishing is so detailed that they can map the floor of the lake almost exactly from memory. The resulting map served as a resource for planning natural and cultural history tours.

     This kind of collaboration between INCICO, a nonprofit organization with conservation and interpretation expertise, and the Cantera community is becoming more common around the world. Ecotourism offers opportunities for people to make a living by providing transportation, food, housing and guide services as they share their communities with people who enjoy learning about other people and places. INCICO plays a key role as facilitator in Puerto Rico. Cantera Corporation is developing an exciting project for the local community and is creating a rich opportunity for tourists to San Juan to escape for the day into a rich ecosystem with fascinating cultural and natural history stories to share. Planning with community leaders takes time but can result in sustainable development that allows community citizens to work in ways they understand.

• Tim Merriman and Lisa Brochu

This is one of nineteen Case Studies featured in our book, Put the HEART Back in Your Community: Unifying Diverse Interests Around a Central Theme.

Update by Director Fernando Silva - 2-13-2012:

     Península de Cantera was the last frontier for the urban development of San Juan. Because the peninsula land (previously called Seboruco ) was mostly wetlands by 1918 its physical landscape and natural characteristics discouraged urban development. The first World War influences in Puerto Rico resulted in the establishment of the “Bartolomé de las Casas Military Camp in 1918. As a result of the Camp construction, the land of Península de Cantera was greatly transformed. Most wetlands were filled to allow the construction of roads and buildings. Soon after the closure of the Camp the land retuned to its original owner, a businessman that in less than a decade developed a Las Casas horse racing and started an extensive mining operation (limestone quarry) in a long chain of karst hills adjacent to the Martín Peña natural channel, the south limit of the peninsula. The rock material was used to fill mangrove areas of San Juan bay. The name for quarry in Spanish is cantera, therefore, after three decades of operation the peninsula acquired its current name from it. By the 1950s the time of the great inland migration in Puerto Rico, from the country side to the city of San Juan was in its pick. Thousands of people were already living in slums along the borders of the lagoon and the channel pushing to extended their occupation further inland the Península. These slums established in Peninsula de Cantera during early land occupations was follow by low-income housing projects develop by the government by 1960s. By the 1970s almost all land in the Peninsula was urbanized and the slums improved and turned in to“barriadas” with roads, running water, and electricity.

     Based on a new born vision in the community, residents are developing important efforts to restore the natural connections with the lagoons, channels and mangrove forests while restoring also the memories of the natural and human history of Península de Cantera.  Ecoturism is being the strategic means to develop a socioeconomic project, and interpretation has being the means to create and communicate “new” meanings as well as the strategy to tell the stories of its natural and human history to visitors. Interpretation is helping communicates great stories strongly influence by credibility, local pride and sense of place adding a great value and authenticity to the ecotourism experience of Expediciones Península.

InCiCo’s latest contributions to this process are:

• Produce the History and environmental Atlas of Península de Cantera and its Natural Region. The Atlas feature, using maps, photography, and texts the early landscapes of Peninsula de Cantera and its natural region, the transformation of its land cover based on data from the 1930, 50, 70, 90, and 2010, and also highlight the most significant natural attributes today.

• 8 ecotourism guides form Expediciones Peninsula got their Certified Interpretive Guide credential last year

• In March of this year, InCiCo will start teaching a 5 months course on ecotourism interpretive guiding to 12 residents of Peninsula de Cantera ending the course with a NAI certification training by Eliezer Nieves, one of the professors in this course and Interpretive leader of InCiCo.

• Develop the interpretive exhibitions program for a recently approved visitor center in Península de Cantera

• Provide the technical Support to comply with the process to designate the islets in Laguna San José the first natural reserve in Península de Cantera.

• Help create the first childrens bird watcher club with children residents of Península de Cantera.

* Fernando Silva

We were just in Monterey, California, visiting friends and enjoying local natural and cultural scenery. It is one of our favorite places to visit and we saw it with friends who live there and know the area much better than we do.

I remember reading all of John Steinbeck’s novels in the early 1970s. Many of his stories were set in the Salinas Valley and around Monterey Bay. Cannery Row is one of the most memorable books and actually mixed fiction with the real stories of local people, like Ed “Doc” Ricketts. Cannery Row today is noted for the fish cannery buildings converted into businesses and attractions. Monterey Bay Aquarium, housed in the old Portola Sardine Cannery, is a premier attraction that is regarded by many as the best aquarium in the world.

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s legacy in the community is amazing. Their attraction power brings 1.8 million visitors into the area each year. Local restaurants support the Seafood Watch program by serving fish species from the GOOD category. Best of all, the experience in the aquarium is simply first-rate in any way you wish to evaluate it. The exhibits change on a regular cycle so returning is not a repetitious experience. The mission “to inspire conservation of the world’s oceans” is evident in the messaging throughout the aquarium. The engagement activities continually improve to keep audiences of all ages and backgrounds involved.

YELP, the review website on the Internet, gives Monterey Bay Aquarium 4.5 stars, a very high score with more than 1,200 reviewers. It is well deserved. The low scores that keep it from being a perfect 5.0 usually refer to the aquarium being too crowded on busy days. Some complaints are about the lack of free parking, another unavoidable situation in an old coastal community. When 15,000 or more visitors are in the building, it keeps the experience from being as great as it is on other days.

We walked a block west of the aquarium and watched an elephant seal snoozing on a tiny beach among dozens of harbor seals and a few California sea lions. People on the bike/hike trail passing by stopped to watch the animals.

The charm of Monterey is a combination of wonderful natural settings and unique cultural stories. We went down to Fisherman’s Wharf for dinner and encountered another fascinating story. A life-sized statue of Sabu Shake, Sr. stands in front of the Old Fisherman’s Grotto. Next to it you will likely see Chris Shake, his son, handing out free steel cups of their famous clam chowder. His father grew up in Karachi, Pakistan, attended school in England and married Isabella, an Italian girl. They had six sons, who operate four restaurants, Glass Bottom Boat Tours and Monterey Princess Whale Watching. Their father’s humanitarian legacy is well-told on his charitable foundation’s website. He was a true American success story. Chris still gives each woman who eats at the Grotto a rosebud before they leave, honoring a tradition his father started.

The restaurants of the Shake family participate in Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch and their tour boats employ some of the same guides who volunteer at the aquarium. If you go whale watching with the Monterey Princess, you get great views of whales and dolphins and conservation messages about the animals. You also learn of the ethical practices they value in showing people whales without threatening the animals. Blue whales in summer, California gray whales on migration and orcas are seen at different times of the year. We enjoyed the Sunday morning tour on the Monterey Princess while visiting and saw two dozen gray whales and a hundred or more Risso’s dolphins.

Back on land, we learned more about Ed Ricketts, a biologist-philosopher who grew up in Chicago, settled in Monterey and started Pacific Biological Laboratory. He became friends with John Steinbeck in 1930 and they collaborated in a variety of ways. This unique story is another part of the rich history of Monterey, Cannery Row and Fisherman’s Wharf.

You could visit Monterey and miss many of these stories. The community has many museums that share varied stories in a variety of ways. But on a casual visit it could all seem like an experience area to visit with a bit of a tourist trap feel. There are still opportunities to make the visitor experience more integrated and evident on the streets.

-Tim Merriman

Transportation can define a community’s culture to some degree. Fort Collins, Colorado, where we live, has a bicycle culture that is very rich and a notable part of the lifestyle. I do not bicycle because I like to run the river trails, but I enjoy the unique bicycle culture of this outdoor loving community.

We have a Bike Library in Old Town in Fort Collins.  You can register as a member and check out a bicycle whenever you wish. It is free to a resident or visitor to the community. They close in winter but stay busy the rest of the year. They have had more than 9,200 people sign up to check out bicycles since 2008.

New Belgium Brewery has a bicycle tradition in the business. They tell the story of Jeff Lebesch riding his “fat-tired” bicycle through European cities and the countryside in 1989 as he visited breweries to chat with brewmeisters. He returned to Fort Collins with great ideas for beer recipes that turned into “Fat Tire,” an amber ale and “Abbey” wheat beer. Kim Jordan, his wife, handled marketing, distribution and overall management of the business. Their success and unique cultural story is well documented on their website.

They made bicycles a part of their culture. They give one to each employee at the end of year one with the company and after you gain tenure of many years with them you get a company sponsored bicycle tour in Europe. Tour de Fat is a signature bike event started by New Belgium but they run many kinds of bike events in the states where their beers are sold. We go downtown on Tour de Fat day in Fort Collins to watch thousands of bicyclists in costumes, riding regular bikes, antique bikes, and experimental bikes. It is great fun. They measure success as a brewery with the triple bottom line of economic, environmental and social measures of success.

City government in Fort Collins is very much involved in the bicycle culture of the community. Bike trails along the rivers, streams and on the streets are common here as in many communities. The Fort Collins bicycling webpages offer much more. You can get a report on Bike to Work Day in the community, learn about Bike Boxes, and get the new Ride Guide with bicycle events, articles and much more.

The Fort Collins Cycling Festival provides diverse events for enthusiasts. They state their mission as “Fort Collins Cycling Festival strives to create educational, entertaining and environmentally-sustainable cycling events with as much community involvement as possible.”

Bike Fort Collins is a local advocacy group that wants to encourage safe experiences for people in the community. Many of these organizations collaborate and cross-promote their events and services.

The bike culture of Fort Collins is valued not only by bicyclists but by many of us who enjoy seeing the bicycle events or encouraging our guests to try the Bike Library.  As a daily runner on the bike trails, I appreciate the thoughtful behavior of cyclists who let you know they are approaching and passing. We share the trails and there is room for all of us.

What is going on in your community with bicycling, walking, aerobic exercise or sustainable transportation? Does it contribute to your unique community identity?

-Tim Merriman

About twelve years ago I was asked to speak at an ecotourism conference in Chihuahua, Mexico, so I flew down to Chihuahua City. My hosts from the Convention and Visitors Bureau and I enjoyed a very interesting conference with about 75 folks from surrounding communities wanting to learn more about how to create ecotourism opportunities.

After the conference they drove several of us who spoke at the event to Mata Ortiz, a small town of 2,000 people about 100 miles south of the U.S. border. This town was once an important stop on the railway line and had many railroad workers living in the village. When the railroad jobs were lost, many were left with no means of making a living.

Juan Quezada lives in Mata Ortiz. He has spent decades making pottery by hand in the style of the Paquimé natives of the Casas Grandes area, a famous ancient pueblo and heritage site. He has perfected their ancient art and taken it to new heights. We stopped at his modest home to meet him and hear his story. It is simply amazing. In 1976 anthropologist Spenser MacCallum discovered Juan and his work while in pursuit of his own interests in multiple family dwellings common to the pueblo people. Almost a decade later in 1984 Walter Parks visited Mata Ortiz and became acquainted with Juan and his work. The Miracle of Mata Ortiz, a book by Walter Parks (1994) spread the word.

Over time Juan perfected the technique for making a very beautiful and symmetrical style of pot totally by hand with no potter’s wheel. He wanted to do it in the same manner as the ancient natives of the area. He fires the pots in a cow dung fire in the courtyard of his house. We watched as he uncovered a pot from a recently smoldering dung-fired kiln made of potsherds piled around the pot. I was expecting an ashen colored pot but a beautiful white pot with finely painted lines emerged. He explained that his pots were selling then for thousands of dollars each in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and New York City. He was years behind on delivery at the time we met him. Orders for his work tend to stack up because he sticks to the traditional methods of production at his Mata Ortiz Pottery studio.

But the best part of Juan’s story is not what he has made, but what he has done. He taught his family members, neighbors and friends to be potters. More than three hundred potters now live in the community and most make their living from selling pots, both locally to tourists and at great distances to markets that have developed from the Juan Quezada story. Many websites promote and sell the work of Juan’s family members and other students.

An artist/craftsman like Juan Quezada often keeps his craft and techniques to himself. But Quezada trusted his own skills to produce great pots and taught others. The whole community has an identity built on his thoughtful study of the work of ancestral natives of the area. This once depressed community grew back from hard times in the early 1980s.

I left with several beautiful pots made by his students, available at a price I could afford, a few dollars. And I left Mata Ortiz inspired by one man who made a difference for his community through his generous spirit and talent for helping others.

-Tim Merriman

It is challenging to name an American city with a more clear identity or “sense of place” than New Orleans. The Big Easy where folks “laissez les les bon temps rouler” or let the good times roll has iconic architecture, truly American music and places that nurture unique experiences. And it is all wrapped up in the amazing natural and cultural history of the area. The food culture of the community is a magnet from the beignets of Café du Monde to the incredible Cajun dishes and French cuisine.

Street music includes jazz, swing, delta blues, bluegrass, the modern brass band and more. Many of the clubs in the French Quarter are live music venues but so are the street corners and sidewalks outside popular outdoor cafes. It may be a four or five-piece group or just one person on saxophone, guitar or trumpet.

Fat Tuesday, better known as Mardi Gras, is a celebration before Lent and Ash Wednesday as a religious tradition, but it has grown in New Orleans into months of preparation and days of dancing in the streets, culminating with balls, banquets, parades and great parties. Other cities around the world have their own versions of Mardi Gras but it is a signature event in New Orleans.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 killed more than 1800 people and might have put an end to a city with less personality. Celebrities have done tribute concerts to recognize the indomitable spirit of the people here. Tremé, the 2010 TV series, tells both the dark and bright stories behind the destruction and resurrection of this Creole neighborhood. Irrepressible barely describes the attitude of die-hard New Orleans residents and fans.

Even a funeral has a unique signature in New Orleans. The parade of friends of the deceased includes a brass band playing a dirge on the way followed by an upbeat song on the way out.

The New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park celebrates the history of music of New Orleans. Bruce Barnes and Matt Hampsey are National Park Service interpreters at the park who help people understand the culture through their music. Nearby, the Audubon Zoo and Aquarium acquaint you with natural history.

New Orleans lives and breathes its unique culture, the stories of people and the rich natural history of the bayous of Louisiana on the Mississippi River Delta. Other communities would gain little by copying New Orleans’ unique stories and themes, but any community would do better by being as open to sharing its own authentic stories as New Orleans does.

Take a close look at this community with a strong sense of place when you visit New Orleans. Stay at one of the old hotels in the French Quarter, stroll down to Café du Monde for beignets and a cup of Community (chicory) Coffee. Catch a hansom cab drawn by horses to tour the city and end the day with dinner at a great restaurant followed by wandering the streets of the French Quarter by night. This city, building back from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, stays true to itself and is.

-Tim Merriman

I must confess that snow is not my favorite flavor of water – the warm seas of the Pacific are what I prefer. We are in Kailua Town on the Big Island of Hawaii for a holiday vacation and found great fun in a Christmas celebration in downtown today after a beautiful drive to Hawi and Pololu Valley on the north end of the Kohala Coast.

The day started with seeing a Hawaiian canoe full of paddlers wearing Santa hats offshore near Keauhou Bay. They were jumping off the boat to snorkel and then back on to don their hats and paddle.

Kailua Town was host to Kokua Kailua all afternoon, a holiday special event. Kokua means “help” or “assistance” in Hawaiian. The main street had been turned into a pedestrian mall for the afternoon with booths full of interesting wares ranging from locally crafted soaps, jewelry, koa wooden items, clothing, paintings to Kona coffee and mac nut treats. Samples lured us into many food booths for a taste or a sip. Singers with ukuleles and guitars were strategically placed far enough apart down the three blocks that their beautiful songs did not spoil the work of another singer.

We strolled along the avenue, waiting for the music and dance performance behind the Hulihe’e Palace on the grassy lawn overlooking Kailua Bay. It started with beautiful harmonies by the Merry Monarch Men’s Glee Club. They sang in Hawaiian and English, both local traditional songs and holiday songs we knew.

The Daughters of Hawaii sponsored the musical and dance performances. Hulas with the halau (dance troupe) of Etua Lopes were wonderful. They included two men playing traditional ipu (gourds) on the steps of the palace as a dozen girls from age 5 to 10 performed with incredible passion, skill and intensity. The drummers offered traditional chants, answered in unison by the girls. The performance was spellbinding. About five hundred people gathered around the lawn to sit and watch, enjoying the beauty of the dance and charm of the young performers.

Following the girls’ performance, women in beautiful gowns interpreted the Merry Monarch group’s songs through traditional hula. It was simply beautiful. At the end of the performance the dancers came out into the audience to put leis around our necks and give a ritual hug and cheek to cheek touch, the sharing of “ha”. The little girls who had danced were having a great time with the lei greetings and we were all smiles.

The young man doing the announcing explained that donations are helping to repair the damage from the tsunami of March 2011 and support the performances of the local halaus (hula dance schools). They invited us to leave a donation in the calabashes at each exit. Most people reached for money to contribute. The ask was just right and helped us understand the benefits to the community.

Special events like this one are engaging for people of all ages and create a strong sense of place when the sales items match the theme of the community and the season. The local organizers in Kailua-Kona got it just right. The Hawaiian language once seemed threatened by modernity, but many Hawaiians now study their native language. Songs, dances and celebratory festivals keep it alive and vital for everyone, local people and those of us fortunate enough to join the festivities. The spirit of aloha touched our hearts today.

Happy Holidays to all of you. I hope you are with family and friends in a special place for the holidays.

-Tim Merriman

Photos of the festivities can be found at Communities with Heart on Facebook.com.

As I write this entry, I am sitting in Arlanda airport, awaiting the return flight home to Colorado after a week’s journey in Sweden. I went there on vacation time and personal money to speak at an international exhibits conference put on by the Swedish government. The conference was in Visby, the largest town in Gotland County, a large and historic island in the Baltic Sea. Lisa was also a speaker at the conference, and so we programmed two days to visit Stockholm before heading to Gotland.

I had read that the Christmas Market at Skansen was an annual event honoring the traditions of Swedish life at this important holiday. Skansen turned out to be a very large and old heritage theme park on the island of Djurgarden just southeast of the main part of the city. Sweden’s coast includes 24,000 islands in the Baltic and each of the neighborhoods of the city is essentially on a different island. Our hotel was in Ostermalm, near the Saluhall, an incredible indoor gourmet market with food shops and cafés. We had an amazing lunch there.

Stockholm has a 24•48•72 hour pass that provides access to all public transportation (buses, trams, subways, and at certain times of the year, the hop-on/hop-off boat system) and entry into 80 museums, all for one price. We bought the 48-hour pass at the airport and immediately put it into use. We easily found the 7 Tram to take us to Skansen. There we found long lines leading up to six or seven entry stations to buy tickets. We stood in line, prepared to pay the entry fee of $13 each, but found our Stockholm Pass paid the entry. Just inside women wearing traditional costumes from the 1800s distributed maps to this very large property. A group of carolers in beautiful 19^th century coats and fur hats welcomed visitors with Swedish Christmas songs.

One section of Skansen has native animals in habitats. Another has a complete historic village with a church, blacksmith shop, glass blowing shop, pottery shop and much more. Skilled artisans in each of the shops demonstrate and sell their craft items. All of the homestead farms, a church, a windmill and animal barns are full size and appear to be quite old and typical to varied regions of Sweden.

The Christmas Market in the midst of the heritage village included dozens of rustic stands, each specializing in typical Swedish items. We saw stands with cheeses, fruit jams, ginger cookies, saffron pastries, breads, wines, Christmas ornaments, stuffed toy sheep, and craft items of all kinds. Almost all food stands also sold glogg, a traditional Swedish beverage for cold weather. Usually it is heated wine with cinnamon and other spices in it, but a non-alcoholic version is sold to people of all ages.

A circular wooden stage with a Christmas tree in the center lies at the heart of the Christmas market, with a small band providing traditional folks music. Young ladies in period costumes assist people if they do not know the dances, but clearly most of the Swedish families knew the songs and dances and were teaching their young children these traditions. It was charming and reminded me of the “Chicken Dance” so common at German and Polish weddings in the U.S. My favorite food stand sold delicious reindeer sausage sandwiches with hot mustard and cones made of a thin crepe, filled with whipped potatoes, cheese, lingon berries, crème fraiche and shredded elk. We tried their local soft drink, Julmas, and it tasted like a fruity cola, somewhat like Dr. Pepper.

A shaggy Belgian draft horse pulled a farm wagon loaded with families around the grounds, but we chose to walk instead. I should point out that the temperature was in the mid-30s, cloudy with a stiff breeze blowing. We were dressed for it but still ended up chilled. The locals seemed undeterred by the cold weather. They seemed to enjoy it but said they would have preferred some snow. Winter in Sweden includes very short days with daylight for only about six hours at this time of year, so outdoor activities are scheduled midday to take advantage of the light. Snow provides additional reflection of the meager light so is welcomed as a way to brighten the short days and long nights. We did get some dustings of snow off and on through the week, but the wind and temperatures kept it from lasting long on the ground.

Later we would tell Swedish colleagues at the conference of our wonderful day at Skansen (actually just three hours – it was cold) and some who lived in Stockholm said, “I hear it is nice, but I’ve not been there.” I think this happens everywhere. We miss what is easiest to get to and often take it a bit for granted.

Holidays hold great traditions and thoughtfully themed events keep those traditions alive. Skansen is one of the oldest heritage theme parks in the world. We felt honored to catch this unique event and it reminded us of the opportunity that any community has to keep traditions alive for their children.

-Tim Merriman

Our photos of the Christmas Market can be found at the Communities with Heart page on Facebook.com.

Rebranding is becoming a catch phrase in some communities for message makeovers. Too often these are changes from one meaningless phrase that could be used for any community to another meaningless tagline. And sometimes the only change is the “brand” and not the product within. But some communities have demonstrated that you can rebrand around values that build a stronger community based upon your original community strengths.

            The Greening of Greensburg is a story that demonstrates this thoughtful rebranding. On May 4, 2007, in Greensburg, Kansas, an EF5 tornado leveled 95% of the town and infrastructure, leaving behind rubble where homes and businesses had stood. Catherine Hart and Daniel Wallach, wife and husband, took an idea to the community to build back “green.” They founded and operate GreenTown, a non-profit partner with the community. Their dream grew into reality over the past four years. Their unique story is told well on their website.

            Partnerships, community collaboration and community education were key in their work. The mission at GreenTown is:

To provide inspiration and leadership to Kiowa County in order to be a model of sustainable living for the world.

            Telling their story well has been a key element of the process in Greensburg. They built eco-lodging at Silo Eco-home so that visitors can stay overnight and take the tour of the town that shows their amazing progress. LEED-certified buildings, wind turbines and eco-homes designed as a living laboratory are featured. People visit from all over the world to learn from this innovative program.

            On October 27, 2011 they signed an agreement with Joplin, Missouri, to create GreenTown Joplin after a May EF5 multiple-vortex tornado ripped through that town killing 162 people and doing an estimated 3 billion dollars in damage. Natural disasters are unavoidable. No matter where we live, we cannot control the elements and the very natural changes they bring. Rebuilding sustainably just makes sense. Greensburg has been very attentive to rebuilding in ways that survive high winds, a common danger in that area. Joplin can benefit from the Greensburg experience as they build back.

            Building back smarter may be a no-brainer, but in some places it has not happened. Building back with education as a key component and sustainability strategies for the future is simply brilliant. But collaboration can be challenging. We tend to build stovepipe institutions and businesses that communicate up and down their specific organizations. To create a truly sustainable community, Greensburg has developed collaborative strategies among government, business and nonprofit segments throughout their town.

            GreenTown provides a great place for people to learn and work smarter. Rebranding their community as a “green” innovator and sustainable community made great sense, but took leadership and skill to do it. Others can visit Greensburg to learn how they did it, just like the key stakeholders in Joplin. And the folks in Greensburg are prepared to show those who are interested how to make the best of rebranding in ways that yield tangible results, not just idealistic advertising.

            Rebranding a community is more than peeling off the label and putting on a new one. A can of fish eggs labeled “bait,” does not become “caviar” just because you change the label. Community makeovers have to work with the basic resources and cultural stories in the community and build from that authentic core. And the makeover must substantively improve how the community thinks and works. Rebranding as a marketing strategy alone will not do that. It takes collaboration, planning and partnerships. Time to get started.

           - Tim Merriman

            Wikipedia defines a Farmers Market as a food market, often held in a public place outdoors at regular intervals, at which local farmers sell their produce directly to consumers.

            Farmers markets are putting us back on the streets or in market barns on a regular basis, just the way people once shopped for their daily food. Most of them that we visit these days are operated under very specific guidelines like the “Ten principles used by the Farmers Market Federation of New York.” I like it that they restrict vendors from simply buying wholesale farm goods to sell at an outdoor stand. I really want to buy from the farm that grows it and be assured that “organic” means that. Many examples of “greenwashing” exist where vendors use the words that many of us like – organic, sustainable, fair trade and the like – but without the careful efforts to deliver those standards.

            Pine and Gilmore wrote about the agricultural economy as a time when we still took all of our resources directly out of the ground or by trading with a neighbor who grew the products. They describe the experience economy as thematic, harmonizing with positive cues, eliminating negative cues, using memorabilia and engaging all five senses. Farmers markets have some elements of the traditional ag economy but actually land more in the “experience” category. They are often managed to benefit a sustainability program and usually limit vendors to local people who actually produce the products.

            We have wonderful farmers markets in Colorado. And when we go on vacation in Kona, Hawaii, we make a point of shopping at the farmers markets. They sell fresh caught fish, vegetables and fruits at prices that make our time there more affordable. Eating out at restaurants on vacation can be tiring and way too expensive. Renting a condo with a kitchen and buying at a local market is a great option.

            I do not ask the price when buying at our local farmers markets except to know what to pay. I am not shopping by price. Most experience market activities have that trait. People treat themselves to experiences they enjoy and do not fuss over the price as we might if we were buying commodities at a big discount store. There we want brand names at the best prices. When engaging in an experience, we want the best quality of experience and we are willing to pay for it. I really like the notion that the grower gets all the profit without two or three layers in between.

            About forty years ago I grew tomatoes commercially and shipped them from southern Illinois to the wholesale markets in Chicago. I was really aware that my tomatoes brought me about 15 cents a pound while the trucker, wholesaler and food stores took a good deal more than that. Worse yet, the tomatoes grown by truck farmers are varieties that look great, travel well and taste like watery nothing. I used to ask my neighbors with twenty acres of tomatoes what they would eat. The answer was almost always something along the lines of “I have six heirloom plants in my garden. I can’t stand those we grow to ship.”

            Most farmers markets give a taste of their product and that can also be part of the fun. Often, a two or three-piece band performs in background. The aroma of peppers roasted on site and fresh cooked kettle corn fills the air. All five senses are stimulated. We go each week and hit several markets some weekends just for the EXPERIENCE.

            Just for fun, use Google or another search engine and enter “farmers markets, (your state or county).” No matter where you are, you’re likely to find a variety of markets, some with specialties, others with an eclectic mix of locally grown or produced food, craft items, and entertainment. It’s great to see this unique mix of the agricultural economy and experience economy doing so well in so many places.

- Tim Merriman

I love seeing murals depicting the cultural and natural history stories that define a community. Pictures, photos and great illustrations often convey universal concepts that appeal to everyone. They communicate in ways that transcend the written and spoken languages we use.

            I love where I live in Fort Collins, Colorado, but I am somewhat baffled by the public art here. It often seems disconnected from the community’s rich natural and cultural history. Some of it is quite pretty, but lacks a coherent story. It’s like finding a collection of eclectic art pieces in the attic of a gallery. Some are thematic representations of Fort Collins heritage and some are not but taken together they say, “I don’t know where we are.” Painting electrical boxes is one of the great ideas here, but I want these opportunities to tie to our local stories. They don’t all have to look the same or even use the same style, but it would be nice if they had something to do with Fort Collins instead of whatever abstraction happened to be in the artist’s mind that day.

            A small community like Hamilton, Texas, painted a photo album on the wall of one building. Not only can you immediately tell what town you are in by the painted name, but you can also see much of the history of the area. The mural may pique the interest of residents and visitors to learn more as they explore the area. Hamilton also maintains many of the old brick wall product ads for products that were so common fifty years ago or more and those create a sense of place and time for a historic community.

            I was in my hometown of Vandalia, Illinois, and I noticed this painting of a woman, boy and dog on the old metal stairs of a historic building. I liked the mood it created but was not sure what it ties to in the community story. Vandalia was the second capital of Illinois and Lincoln served in the legislature there. I do not see other paintings or murals around town that depict scenes from that rich 1819-1839 capital era. And yet I remember the Abe Lincoln Restaurant of the 1950s that had a beautiful mural on its wall of a map of Vandalia during the capital period, showing all the historic buildings downtown. It told a key story and for me, as a child, let me know I lived in a community with a rich history. Alas, the Evans Hotel that was home to the restaurant burned down many decades ago and the mural has not been restored in another location.

            Whitehall, Montana, was on the Lewis and Clark Trail, and it has painted murals on the walls of downtown buildings that slow you down and even turn you around to see more of what the Corps of Discovery was discovering. The large historic murals even include small text blocks about the pictures. Smaller murals of beaver and great blue herons add to the natural identity of the community of 1,044 people. I really liked how they did this, but I look at the many websites that tell about Whitehall and almost all of them lack these images or the historical story. I hope that community organizations will get together and collaborate on telling their story. Community experience planning can be used to accomplish this.

            Several years ago, Monterey, California, had murals painted on temporary walls masking construction in the waterfront area near Monterey Bay Aquarium. They were charming scenes that evoked the Steinbeck era of the community and reminded me of the novels where I first heard of this area. I am hoping these murals show up somewhere in the town on permanent walls.  

            Wyland, the famed ocean artist, has used his murals in communities all over the world to illustrate underwater scenes. These dramatic depictions of whales and other sea life help create a sense of place in ocean side communities and they have been linked with ocean conservation efforts.

            Communities often choose to put up signs with lots of text to tell rich community stories. Unfortunately, research tells us that those signs are often ignored. On the other hand, public art can deliver those same messages about the identity of the community and sense of place if well planned, while adding to the aesthetic value of the landscape at the same time. Thoughtful planning of how to tell your community’s stories can make the difference in how your community is perceived. Community experience planning to determine what those stories are and how they can best be represented begins with collaboration of key community stakeholders.

- Tim Merriman

P.S. See the photos of murals in the article at Communities with Heart at Facebook.com. 

We first visited a village of Nilotic people in Kenya in 2003 during an ecotour I was leading. The Samburu people of northern Kenya are pastoralists as are the Maasai. They herd goats as youngsters and the young men heard cattle from age 13 onward. They believe in a kind of divine right to cattle so they were master rustlers in past centuries, liberating cows into their own hands. These tribal people have moved down over the centuries from Sudan, where other Nilotic people live, like the Dinkas and Nuer.  

             The tour we were on in 2003 was advertised as all-inclusive, everything paid up front. When we asked to visit a Samburu village, the guides and I were concerned that the $20 additional charge per person for the visit by the tribe may be viewed as a violation of the “all-inclusive” agreement. We asked our group and they were willing to pay, even eager.

            Chief Steven (his Christian name) greeted us outside the village and took all the sting out of the extra charge. “Please understand we charge only because we need a school and cash funds from visitors and sale of craft items help us build a school for our children.” Any of us will shift from being “tight” with our money to “generous” based on the reasons for charges. He went on to explain he had received a good education at a local Catholic school but preferred to live traditionally. But he wanted the advantages of education for children in his tribal group. No one complained later of the costs. 

            That was our first exposure and it was charming. This past December we were again on an African ecotour, but to Tanzania and we asked to visit a Maasai village near Ngorogoro Crater. Gabriel, our guide, quickly arranged it. We drove westward from the crater past Maasai villages, where we could see the red, blue and purple robes of Maasai people in the distance with cattle.

            Soon we drove through a bare area to the edge of a village surrounded by upright logs in a circle (enkang), somewhat like a fort but clearly more to keep animals inside and predators out. Acacia branches are more usual as perimeters of Maasai villages, but there are bigger trees in this area so they use them. We could see the adults and children streaming out to meet us. We parked and climbed out to meet Lucas, our Masaai guide, who whispered to us about his group. Maasai people speak their native language of Maa as well as Swahili and often English.

            We listened and watched as the women bobbed and sang and the men formed lines of movement to us and past us and back around. It was charming and welcoming.

            Then Lucas led us into the village and they began doing the jumping dance (adumu). They pulled my 15-year old grandson, Tim, out to join them after a time and then Martin and Christine, friends from Czech Republic. It was fun to watch and we shot video of all of it. The Maasai men demonstrated how to start a fire with a hand drill by spinning it and they were fast. They had a fire in about 2 minutes.

            Lucas broke us into pairs for home visits. He introduced Lisa and me to Lomo who took us into his dung, mud and stick hut with one of his two wives. He explained that they are herders and eat only meat, milk, porridge and blood and do not eat vegetables. That is certainly the tradition but many Maasai eat mostly porridge and vegetables these days.

             Lomo is a handsome young man of about 30 and his wife seemed to be about 19 or so. They have two daughters, six and three, and he is glad of that due to the bride price they will bring of ten cows each. He has another wife we did not meet and who would have her own house nearby. He explained that they now have a primary school at their village that we will visit. The children go to school from ages 3 to 7 there and then have to go nine miles away to further their education. He went on to college and has a bachelor’s degree. He serves as a teacher in this community of 120. The chief of his community has 11 wives and 44 children. 

            We could see the sleeping benches in the 12 X 10 foot structure, the fire area, and Lomo explained that a separate house was built for each wife. He was very charming and we chatted for quite awhile. He explained that he hoped to work some as a tourist guide and had tried it for a while. He plans to get back to that as he can.           

   Then he took us out to look at items for sale. Clearly this is how they make money easily after this tour. We picked many items and put some back as we learned prices. Grandson Tim picked out a spear, machete, throwing club and bracelet and I negotiated a price of  $105USD. These folks are beginning to demand a more fair price for their labor and that is good, but still prices were inexpensive.  Lisa and I bought several necklaces, bracelets and implements to donate to charity auctions back in the U.S.

            Then we walked outside the complex to a lattice building of about 20 X 30 feet that serves as the school and two dozen kids were inside. One invited me to sit next to him so I did and they all giggled and touched me as we took photos. They sang a welcome song for us that was heart warming. A girl of eight or so led the class in a recitation of multiplication tables as she pointed at the chalkboard. It was delightful and we took many photos and thanked them before leaving. We walked back through the village with Lomo and he escorted us to the land cruisers. We left smiling and many dollars lighter, good for all of us I would say. There was no charge for the visit as at the Samburu Village but the sale of craft items more than made up for that. We all felt good by leaving money behind in exchange for rich memories.

            More than  1.2 million Maasai people live in Kenya and Tanzania and more than half still live in traditional villages. Ecotourism visits are an important source of cash for some communities. Lomo told us that his village had supported him through secondary education and college and he was grateful. He wants to do the same for his family and others in the community.

            If you have not been to eastern Africa, there are many great places to go. The photo safari trek from Arusha to Arusha National Park, Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park and finally to the Serengeti National Park is incredible. Most folks with whom we have traveled tell us they came to see the wildlife and that is an unbelievable experience. And yet these visits to local communities end up being some of the most memorable parts of the trip. Our visit on this same trip to the community of Mto wa Mbu (Mosquito River) was one of the best ecotourism experience in a community I have seen and we wrote about it as a case study in Put the HEART Back in Your Community.

P.S. HIV and AIDS are becoming more of a concern in the Maasai community and you can learn more about that at our other website: http://www.theleopardtree.com.

 - Tim Merriman

  Have you ever made soba noodles by hand while a friendly woman from the neighborhood coached or scolded you as necessary on your skills? We had the pleasure of visiting friends in Shibakawa (Fujinomiya), Japan, in 2010 and enjoyed making soba noodles at a local teaching kitchen.

           Masa Shintani is a skilled trainer of ecotour guides and he works with tourism communities all over the world. His family leaves in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Their living room picture window frames Mount Fuji in Japan with rice paddies in the foreground.

          Masa and his family live in a village that is rural, agricultural and walkable. Masa routinely strolls with his youngest daughter up the hill to the school and the two older girls walk on their own. They know their neighbors and people look out for each other. Their traditional style home was built by Masa and a carpenter who still works the old-fashioned way with hand planes and chisels. We slept on their tatami mat covered floor in a lovely room with sliding rice paper doors.

           Masa, Lisa and I visited a local community kitchen where local women teach young people and visitors how to cook traditionally. You get coached on how to knead the soba dough to make noodles and maybe get a little pop on the hands with a wooden spoon by your teacher if you persist in doing it wrong. It was more amusing than hurtful but very memorable. After making the noodles they cook them for you and serve a complete meal with cucumber salad, miso soup, soba and other tasty pickles and treats. We also saw a class of young boys learning to make tofu, laughing and smiling as they wore long white aprons as they worked. These local women are keeping the traditions of their community alive in a wonderful manner. We really enjoyed the meal more for having learned how to make the noodles.

           Another time we went up to the town center for the sticky rice festival. You are invited to take a turn at lifting a heavy wooden mallet to pound rice into a sticky mass in a large wooden bowl. The result is a tasty, slightly sweet treat that serves as a centerpiece for the town festival in this rice growing community. Tented stands sell tempura vegetables, pork kabobs and other tasty local foods. A hundred or more people wandered the small vendor stalls and watched a contest on stage.

          I chatted with an elderly gentleman who was selling bonsai trees and he invited us to his home. We went there the next morning and he taught me his “secret” techniques for creating thick trunked bonsai in a few years. He laughed and smiled as he explained his work and Masa translated. I love bonsai and thought the lesson was wonderful. In the back yard were his older trees gone into dormancy for the winter. They were beautiful and very old.

        Masa suggested we go to Kyoto so we rode the bullet train north to the ancient city, the capital of Japan for over 1,000 years. We were lucky to arrive during the Baika-sai, or Plum Blossom Festival and see lines of people in the Shinto shrine areas waiting to enjoy the Nodate, outdoor tea ceremony, performed by (apprentice) Maikos and Geishas. A hundred or more outdoor booths sold antiques, kimonos, local foods, bonsai, flowers and works of art. It was charming to walk slowly, trying the foods, and learning more about the antique items for sale. The plum trees were in bloom and many of the bonsai being sold were miniature plum trees with blossoms. It was all quite magical.

          We had lunch at an all tofu restaurant that served in a traditional manner and the food and ambiance were wonderful. We then walked further up into a nearby park to have the matcha green tea, famous to the area. It is finely ground into a powder and swirled in a cup to get the best flavor.

           It is very special to see these kinds of things with Masa for he knows and enjoys the traditions of his island nation. The respect for community traditions was rich in Shibakawa and Kyoto. We look forward to another visit to Japan and the rich traditions that tie into their agriculture, foodways and religious beliefs. I especially enjoyed the soba noodle kitchen because it grew from local women wanting to keep alive their special food traditions.

-Tim Merriman

Malaysia is a beautiful country and the people are very friendly and diverse. This is the second part of our visit with the Semai people of the Orang Asli tribe this past January. We were again traveling with our hosts from Malaysian Nature Society and headed into the highlands to the Gombak community, a Semai village just 30 minutes north of Kuala Lumpur. We parked on arrival and walked a short trail over a stream and uphill into a village that looked like other Semai communities, but more compact, less space between the homes on stilts. We climbed over a concrete porch wall, left our shoes in a dirt mudroom sort of box and entered a hybrid Semai home, modern on the right to some degree and traditional on the left for the most part.

             A girl of ten or so and boy of two were watching TV while lying on the floor. A young woman was cooking in the traditional room on a round stone with about six small logs all pointed to the center. The coals at the center kept a fire going and she would move each log inward to keep the fire going, like spokes of a wheel being shortened. She was baking tapioca root by leaning them against coals in the fire. She filled a green 3” diameter length of bamboo filled with water up in the coals till it boiled to make tea. She had us help her strip fern leaves from the rachis and stuff them in another bamboo stem to cook them. In yet another she put a group of 4” long fish that had been caught the day before and it was placed in the fire.

             Raman, our host, interprets Semai culture to tourists as a personal business. He also has worked at hotels as a musician. He appears to be about 40 to 45 and his teeth are darkened with signs of us of chewing betel leaves and tobacco, favored by many Orang Asli men. He is learning from his older cousin, Bahdua, who said he is between 65 and 68 years old but has no birth certificate and no certainty of his birthday. He was putting the finishing touches on a Semai guitar which is a 4” diameter tube of bamboo with two strings made of rattan.

             Raman’s passion for the lifestyle of his ancestors is obvious. He has learned how to make and play nose flutes, make and use blowguns, and split and weave rattan to make fish traps, bracelets, rings and storage containers. He and his cousin demonstrated all of these to us and invited us to try weaving rattan. We learned how challenging this is. They made it look easy.

             When the food was cooked, we each tried all of the components. The tapioca root was delicious and had a vaguely potato-like taste but was really better. The fish were tiny but delicious and the steamed ferns are very tasty. We drank the bamboo boiled tea and it was all good.

             Raman’s philosophy of life and passion for nature came out as he talked. He dreams of sharing his culture with other people through his own programs without having to work at hotels. Shan of the MNS told us that Raman has been used as an entertainer but not understood as a cultural interpreter, sharing his Semai beliefs and crafts as he would prefer.

             After the food and craft activities, he and his cousin played tunes for us and invited us to try to play. The nose flute is incredibly difficult to produce any sound of beauty or any sound at all. They made beautiful Semai music with the instruments. Bahdua then showed us how he makes the bamboo flutes and guitars, just using  bamboo, a small knife and a hot fire.

             We thanked the family for their kindness in inviting us into their home and we drove up the hill further to the Orang Asli Muzium. The museum was a very institutional treatment of a rich and dramatic story of the Orang Asli. They have a history of being forced out of areas by more war-like tribes and the Malaysian government. In 1940 this community had been relocated from the highlands to the north and their property reduced in size. A new mandate of the government just this past December further reduces Orang Asli landholdings. The museum makes it seem like the government has been benevolent when the truth is much darker. It was only the year 2000 when the government first admitted the Orang Asli (OA) were people. They had been declared lower animals in the past and treated as such. They continue to work politically for better treatment but it is not easy. There are about 190,000 OA people from 18 tribes still living throughout Malaysia with many groups being in Sabah and Sarawek, the two states of Borneo.

             Raman would look at the old photos of his people many decades ago and comment that he would prefer to live as they did, with and on the land. Taking the Orang Asli away from their former lands has led to unemployment, crime, drugs and other problems in the OA communities. Their villages are trashy and reflect the lessened respect for stewardship. They feel trapped and disenfranchised.

            We left the museum and dropped Raman off at his home. We bought many of their beautiful handcrafted items as souvenirs and gifts for family back home. I asked him if we could buy one of the beautiful containers he makes for his flutes and he handed us a beautiful one and said, “gift.” We were touched by his kindness and humility. He had said several times. I don’t care about the money. I want to share my art and find respect and understanding for our ways.

-Tim Merriman

P.S. Photos of the Gombak Community are at the very bottom of this page and also on the Communities with Heart page on Facebook. 

Indigenous communities around the world face many challenges. The Semai in Malaysia are the largest remaining tribal group with more than 34,000 individuals. There are a total of eighteen indigenous Orang Asli tribes. Like many native people the Semai have been enslaved, hunted by dominating tribes and pushed off traditional lands in recent centuries but they maintain their dignity and their lifestyle in the forests of Malaysia. We had a unique glimpse of their ecotourism programming earlier this year.

            We drove north out of the unique urban community of Kuala Lumpur toward the Cameron Highlands, steep forested hills with rainforest on the high ground and palm oil groves in the valleys. The Malaysian Nature Society was our host. We left the urban, suburban sprawl quickly and drove a beautiful divided highway through the palm groves and past limestone cliffs with karst caves. We turned off into a village and were quickly stopped by a Chinese funeral procession. A picture of the deceased elderly woman was carried at the front of the procession and about ninety family members and friends followed wearing white shirts. We waited respectfully and then turned into the narrow lanes that wound up through the hills.

            We stayed at Adeline’s Resort, quaint cottages on a beautiful hillside by a whitewater river. The flowering trees and shrubs on the grounds attracted varied beautiful tropical butterflies. Adeline is Chinese in origin but speaks English well along with several other languages and chats to make every guest feel very welcome. We checked in and then drove on to the Ulu Gerot community for lunch with our Semai hosts at the Community House. They greeted us by placing plaited leaf headbands on each of us and served a very tasty meal of steamed ferns, tapioca greens, pumpkin, white rice and steamed stream fish

            After lunch they taught us how to weave splits of leaves and then Ba Asmi, the headman, demonstrated a local craft using twisted sticks and string. He taught us to make a spirit puzzle and then explained it. They hang this game in trees to engage and divert spirits that might follow them into the forest.

            Then they took us outside and down to the stream to try our hand at purse netting for small fish. They also let us shoot six-foot long blowpipes that shoot balsa darts that would contain a poison on the tip if used for hunting. We then had a typical dinner in the home of our guide, Na, as his wife explained their typical foods. After dinner we took a night hike with Isman and Na into the rainforest. Walking stick insects 15 inches long, dragon-headed cicadas, lizards and bats were spotted easily by the guides. We wore leech guard socks inside our shoes and were grateful for those when we returned and counted the leeches on each foot.

            We returned to Adeline’s for a comfortable night in our air-conditioned cottages and had a delicious Chinese-Malay breakfast in the open courtyard with creamy sweetened tea. After breakfast we returned to Ulu Geroh for a hike to see the Rafflesia flower and bird-winged butterflies. The butterflies were abundant on the trail, drinking at a seep along a limestone bluff. An hour and a half of rigorous hiking upward on muddy trails with numerous rope bannisters led us to bright orange Rafflesia buds about 15 inches in diameter. None were fully flowering but it was amazing to see these huge flower buds. The flower will be a yard (one meter) in diameter.

            Shan, our host with MNS, explained that the Semai had once collected the butterflies and flowers to sell to wholesalers who sold them out of urban gift shops and museum stores. They were getting 25 to 50 cents each for flowers and butterflies. Now they earn $50 per guest per day to see the flowers, insects and village life. With training by our friend and colleague, Masa Shintani, from the Japanese International Cooperative Agency (JICA) and MNS they are becoming skilled guides. We were there to film a new ecotour guide training video to accompany a training manual and text we wrote for use by JICA throughout Asia and Latin America.

            Our second and last evening in Ulu Geroh ended with a traditional dance in an open area between the homes of local people. The dance began with an older woman leading five younger women out while she sang a beautiful song. That went on for ten minutes and then they sang another song and pulled all in our group except Masa and me (old men exemption) to be dancers with them. For the third song they taught Masa and I to play the bamboo drums while the young MSN staff ers did the dance. Last and most fun, they brought out all the village kids to dance. The girls approaching teens were trying to do it right, but the little ones were just having too much fun dancing and strutting. It was a perfect finale to an amazing experience.

            This was our first of two great experiences with the Semai people. We felt honored to share a few days with them. Their hospitality and unique programming is worth the visit if you get to Malaysia. It’s a great conservation story to see in action. (photos of Ulu Geroh at Communities with Heart on Facebook)

Tim Merriman

-     

-       P.S. Next blog will be our second visit with a Semai village and traditional program as well as the Semai Museum. 

Each year the Sustainable Living  Association (SLA) of Fort Collins, Colorado, puts on a Sustainable Living Fair. This Sept. 17 and 18, 2011, they held the event in grassy field in the river bottoms of the Cache la Poudre River. People walked in from distant parking in all directions in great spirits to be in the outdoors and learning more about options for green jobs, energy alternatives, clean air and water, and safe communities. The SLA tagline is a solid theme, “Educating people and communities to make healthy sustainable choices.”

            We walked over from our home an hour away, enjoying the sunshine, kids swinging on a rope and dropping into the river and fun of approaching a fair in the woods, not at some large arena or convention center. We went on Saturday first and it rained. It never rains in Fort Collins it seems, till you need good weather for a once a year event. Day two was just perfect.

            It is $8.00 a day per person to attend and then the workshops within the grounds are free and varied. Workshops for the event including such names as Wise Kitchen, Abundant Backyard, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Building, Healthy Home and Naturally Crafted. Vendors vary with lots of new technology options and some very traditional farming, husbandry and lifestyle approaches. I am experimenting at home with aquaponics – raising garden plants in ground coconut shell in flooded trays fed by small pumps in a large fish tank (horse water trough). Sure enough there were exhibitors who could help me start smarter. The bamboo bicycles look very appealing. And what is a fair without good craft beers from New Belgium and Odell Breweries, local favorites.

            We especially enjoyed the bee program by Corwin Bell behind backyardhive.com and the notion of beeguardians. We have traditional Langstroth hives at home with mail order bees on the inside. He teaches that wild bee swarms are better, smarter, more likely to adapt and live without adding chemicals to control mites or other bee ailments. He likes the Kenya hive that looks like a file drawer smashed in on the sides to be more narrow on its bottom.  His explanation made biological sense and I have hived a few swarms in my life. I am intrigued and will try this next year.

           We ran into the good people from Be Local who run the farmer’s markets around town. Native Americans were drumming and singing in one booth that also promoted grassfed bison from the Oglala Lakota Nation. Ilan Shamir of Your True Nature had a great display of his wares and programs . Ilan sells T-shirts, posters and bookmarks all over the world at nature centers, zoos, museums and the like and does drumming workshops and inspirational speaking. Advice from a tree is the message that launched his diverse line of goods.

            Speakers included 17-year old Alec Loorz who founded Kids Against Global Warming and the IMatter March, Tom Plant, former Director of the Governor’s Energy Office, Sheryl Lee on natural healing, Lori Ryker of the Artemis Institute talking about sustainable design, and Shannon Hayes, the radicalhomakers.com author. There was something for everyone. Folks sat on straw bails to listen to the inspirational messages, sipping their ale or green tea and many caught the musical interludes of folk and bluegrass music.

            It is exciting to see people celebrating our better instincts about learning with and living on the land. The Sustainable Living Fair is just a very nice example of a way a community can encourage the ideas that build a better future.

-Tim Merriman

P.S. Photos of the Sustainable Living Fair on Facebook at the Communities with Heart page.

I once lived in Austin, Texas, part of one year and loved it. Lisa Brochu, my wife and writing partner, lived there or near there for 20 years and still talks about it with great affection, though we live in Fort Collins, Colorado. Austin is one of those communities you do not forget and we enjoy visiting.  One tagline commonly used for Austin is “Live Music Capital of the World.” They do have a lot of live music, as does Nashville. I don’t think that’s what makes Austin unique and wonderful – or weird.

            “Live music capital” is a topic or category, not a theme. Lots of communities that have live music might argue the “capital” claim. What does it mean anyway. It mainly refers to the 250 live music venues and billion dollars of money it attracts annually. Is that Austin’s real identity? It may be a fact, but does that matter?

            KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD is the more enduring identity for Austin and it is a theme. It is a complete sentence. It has a point of view. It is an attitude. It suggests beliefs and core values. It probably means something different to every person who says it or writes it, but it seems to embody the idea of “live and let live.” Allow people to be who they are politically, racially, and preferentially. Locals enjoy Barton Springs, the Mexican free-tail bats under the Congress Avenue Bridge, County Line BBQ, the live music on Sixth Street, funky cafes, aerobic lifestyles on the bike trails, the hill country nearby and much more. These funky attributes characterize the lifestyles and sense of place of this unique urban area in the South.

            KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD encompasses the live music scene, but the live music scene does not explain KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD. Local folks seem to prefer the “WEIRD” identity and value how it explains their funky community.

            Convention and visitor bureaus, business promoters and city leaders often latch on to “branding” phrases that express absolutely nothing about their community and their local lifestyles. “Let’s Explore ______________, Make it a great day in ______________________, and Follow your heart to ______________” have all been used by nations or cities as branding phrases or taglines. They do not distinguish those communities from similar ones. They do not tie into local beliefs, customs or values. They are placebos. They create no identity whatever. They lack a point of view.

            Why themes? Dr. Sam Ham at University of Idaho is a cognitive psychologist who does research on how  people connect with ideas and places. He writes that, “people remember themes, they forget facts.” Themes are advance organizers. They tell people what to expect and they are more likely to pay attention.  Then information that relates to the theme is more memorable. Giving people facts about your community, organized or jumbled on a website or in an ad likely does not stick unless you have a theme that serves as an organizer for that information. When you feel connected to a place and an idea or “theme” about it, you integrate new information around that idea. Unrelated information likely does not stick. Our mind has an emotional indexing system and themes work with that.

            Communities who wish to be known for their unique sense of place, local values and lifestyles should learn more about thematic interpretation. Taglines will come and go, but a theme identity linked with local lifestyles linked with the natural and cultural heritage of the community will last. It helps all people, local and visiting, understand more and make memories in the community.

-Tim Merriman

City Heights is a community in San Diego, California, with some challenges and some incredible assets – young people. In this community of 80,000 people you will routinely hear thirty languages on the streets. Teen pregnancy, high school dropouts, street crime and drugs are some of the many challenges in the community, as in many other urban areas. And yet, many of these families moved to the U.S. from other nations because parents wanted to create opportunities for their children. Ocean Discovery Institute (ODI) chose this community to make a difference in nurturing young people to become Ocean Leaders.

            Fareed Zakaria, host of GPS on CNN on Sunday mornings, wrote a book entitled The Post-American World. He explains in it that America’s low scores in math and science among developed nations is a lack of accomplishment in diverse, urban communities. Bright young people in these emigrant communities often lack the financial resources, mentors and encouragement to go to college, or even finish high school.        

            ODI is making a difference one kid at a time. They engage thousands of youngsters and their families each year in ecological restoration projects in this San Diego community of hills and canyons. But ODI specifically focuses on finding students with the potential to be scientists. Oceans and ocean life are intriguing to people of all ages and backgrounds so ocean research and stewardship is a major focus of ODI’s work. These Ocean Leaders are taken to Mexico on six-week summer trips to work with turtle scientists and oceanographers on real research projects. They get tutoring and advice while in school and assistance in finding scholarships to attend college.

            Shara Fisler, ODI’s Founder and Executive Director, is leading this decade old organization into an exciting new project with the building of the Living Lab. This new facility to be built in City Heights will create a permanent presence of ODI staff and visiting scientists in the middle of a “schoolshed” that includes nine elementary and middle schools. It makes the mentoring and monitoring process with the Ocean Leaders easier and will give local people in City Heights a place to learn more about the career opportunities for their children in science and math.  

            I think the best part of the ODI story is the return of former students to be staff. They embody Gandhi’s quote, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” They return to City Heights and the community they already know to make a difference for another generation of talented young people. The future scientists of the United States could and should be from all communities and all social and economic backgrounds. ODI is making it happen in City Heights.

- Tim Merriman

As a kid, I grew up walking in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln in my hometown. But I did not know that. Vandalia, Illinois, was my hometown, and it was capital of Illinois from 1819 to 1839. He served there during the last five years of its tenure as state capital. I wonder about the deeper story every time I stop by to visit my sisters who still live there. Some interpretive signs at the old cemetery share a bit of the story and a small park across from the capitol building tells some more.

     Vandalia, like many other American communities, had its glory days in its early years. The National Road or Cumberland Road was started in 1811 and by 1835 it made it to Vandalia, where funding ran out. It would eventually become Highway 40, the main route west onward to Denver, Colorado, and the mountains. Traffic from the east went right through the downtown and Gallatin Street was a busy highway thoroughfare. 

     Interstate 70 came along in the late 60s and moved the traffic north of the town of 6,500. Walmart, McDonald’s, and the usual franchise stores built on the two Interstate exits and the prominence of Gallatin Street faded. It was no longer the big attraction with the Kaskaskia River and old capitol at the east end of town. The historic blocks from 3rd to 8th streets still have buildings dating back to the Lincoln era or a bit later, but business downtown seems slower than even thirty years ago.

      My family owned several of the businesses on Gallatin when I was young, but do not now. More and more businesses located north of town by the Interstate over the past decades. The dynamics changed. And yet there are many good people in Vandalia working to revive the Lincoln era history. A new Interpretive Center was opened a few years ago on Sixth Street near Gallatin and it shares the Lincoln and National Road stories.  The community continues to work on special events that recall those amazing times in the past when Vandalia was better known for its unique place in state history. Historic streetscaping is planned for Gallatin Street and Tax-increment funding (TIF) grants are available for improvements.

     As a place to grow up, it was great. You knew almost everyone in town it seemed by 16 years of age if you got out at all. It never occurred to us to lock the doors of our homes when we went to church or work. It felt safe and friendly. However, I recall little of those early years that shared our unique stories. History classes did not visit the local historic sites and special events in the 60s when I was in school were not focused on this rich heritage.

     As I grew up and went to college and then to work as a park interpreter in Illinois, I learned more about state history and began to understand the unique context of Vandalia. Kaskaskia was Illinois' first state capital for only one year from 1818 to 1819 and a massive earthquake on the New Madrid fault moved the Mississippi River and flooded the first capital. At the end of the National Road, Vandalia was a logical second choice for the capital. Lincoln and colleagues moved the capital in 1839 from Vandalia to Springfield.  

     Local government and committed individuals are working to restore historic buildings and tell the unique stories. It takes time and collaboration and careful planning to put the heart back in your community. I view natural and cultural heritage and authentic stories as an important part of the “heart” of a community. Research on heritage communities in Arizona has demonstrated that cultural tourists stay longer and spend more money locally than golf resort tourists, so the economic benefits are considerable. You can learn more about their revitalization efforts in Vandalia at http://www.vandaliaillinois.com.

      What local stories define your community? How are you sharing those? How will young people connect with the past and build toward the future?  

- Tim Merriman

I fly with United Airlines quite a lot and read their onboard magazine cover to cover because they make me turn off my IPad before takeoff and landing. They have an article in each issue based on "three perfect days in . . ." - you fill in the blanks. It may be Paris one issue and San Diego the next. For me it is especially aggravating as a series. The target market seems to be people with way too much money and a taste for rich, exotic foods.

     I love the concept. When someone asks you what they might do if they have three days in your community, what do you say? "Stay at the Waldorf Astoria, drink a 30-year old bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild and don't miss the Spoiled American Spa Package." Probably not. 

     We enjoy telling visitors to Fort Collins, Colorado, " You have to try the Southwestern food at Rio Grande, visit one of our many farmer's markets, walk on our great river trails and drive up Poudre Canyon, take in Wednesday night's bluegrass jam at Avogadro's Number,  and oh, don't miss the brewpubs down in Old Town, especially the New Belgium Tour." (Fort Collins, CO). 

     My point is simple. We should be able to interpret community life and landscapes anywhere for target audiences. It is simply too easy to have a coincidental trip to someplace new for a few days. It is wonderful to know how to best spend your time to learn about local lifestyles and landscapes.

     Communities usually do not think of themselves as  experience venues. They are unique collections of stores, homes, cultures and events. The city may plan the community from an infrastructure standpoint but experiences are not usually the focus. Some plan collaboratively at the community level but most do not.

     Diverse groups can come together to plan shared experiences that match their local culture and landscape. A Community Experience Plan (CEP) helps create a sense of place or recapture an existing one being diluted by change and development. But it requires cooperation. You have to get the natural and cultural history folks, the city planners and community organizers together to talk. And you must use an interpretive planning process that helps you achieve the objectives you have. The 5-M process in Lisa Brochu's Interpretive Planning book is a great starting place. National Association for Interpretation offers courses that will help as well. 

     Putting a CEP to work in a community takes collaborative effort. It involves multiple businesses, organization and destinations. The value is great. The experiences are created by a network of people and businesses. Most people travel through our communities with limited available time to explore. If we suggested how to have the "perfect three days" using our knowledge of the wonderful things to experience in our community, people might leave with rich memories of their time in our area.

     We can also plan a CEP for our children. We raise children in historic communities and forget to share those unique stories. I grew up walking in Abraham Lincoln's footsteps in my hometown with no appreciation or understanding of the rich history of that small Illinois community that served as capital of Illinois for 20 years. What would we do in our hometown that helps our children understand the unique values of their community? We can let it happen and hope it is special or we can plan it and make it more accessible.

      You can be the catalyst for more collaboration by suggesting the creation of a CEP. Your community may not end up being the "three perfect days" in the airline magazine, but . . . I hope you will. I'm tired of reading about rich food and spa treatments. My three perfect days are always inexpensive and a bit more down to earth.

-Tim Merriman

Most communities have an identity that is unique. The stories, places and people are not exactly the same as anywhere else. And yet we are seeing the unique identity of many communities change, often without the intent of community leaders and families who live there. Citizen involvement is important to protecting local values, preserving historical treasures and protecting environmental quality.

Put the HEART Back In Your Community is a new book published in August of 2011 that gathers the stories of communities all over the world that work in diverse ways to protect local lifestyles, values and places. It shares ideas about what has worked and what has not. It suggests a process used for many decades by interpreters of natural and cultural history to help people engage and connect with unique stories and people.  

We view the heart of the community as the sense of place, the traditions, the unique experiences, the natural setting, and the people. HEART in the book is an acronym that reminds people of key elements useful in community experience planning with key partners.

This is an introduction to the blog and the book. We would love to hear about communities that have made a positive difference in preserving and sharing their unique stories. Let us know if you have a story to share or a suggestion for one we should include in the blog or a future rewrite of the book.

Each week we will provide a new example or idea about how to expand on the HEART method of community experience planning.

Lisa Brochu and Tim Merriman