Agrotourism Knowledge Sharing and Strategy Development in Rural Guyana

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By Thomas Pepler, F2F Volunteer in March 2023

About the Assignment: Thomas Pepler supported Mainstay Whyaka Village as an Agro/Eco-Tourism Administrative Expert. Mr. Pepler assisted the hosts in developing a management structure and administrative guidelines for their tourism businesses. Mr. Pepler is the co-owner of Dogwood Hills Guest Farm in Harriet, Arkansas and works in hospice care in their community.

During my volunteer assignment in Guyana, I had the privilege of meeting with many members of the Mainstay Whyaka Village as well as the village leadership.  I was there to share and provide expertise in the administrative aspects of starting, growing and operating an agro/eco-tourism business.  I must admit I was nervous to talk to the groups, as while I have been doing this kind of work for quite a while, I don't really feel like much of an expert.

I spoke about how we structure things, and we discussed the ways that changing the structure of what was proposed there could benefit the community and more specifically the business they were attempting to grow.  We shared many examples of successes that we have had on our farm as well as mistakes that I hoped they would learn from and not have to make themselves.  Seeing the passion for their growing business in the village participants was exciting.  Their enthusiasm was contagious and helped the group to all get behind the ideas being discussed.  

As a nurse, I was asked to provide some additional workshops for the community related to health and wellness.  I was able to meet with a group and we discussed some basic first aid, emergency preparedness and general health and hygiene.  It was good to be able to share more of the things I have been able to learn over the years with these folks.  Everything I presented while I was there seemed to be much appreciated.

The team I went with was able to also spend some time in the local area seeing the different areas of the village and surrounding communities, as well as having the honor to spend several evenings out with the locals just relaxing and enjoying some recreation.  I grew quickly to love the place and the people.  By the time we were done on assignment, it was hard to leave.  I had given a lot of things for them to do and think about, and I felt like I could have stayed so much longer.  It will be exciting to find out how they are progressing in their ventures and I hope to be able to visit them again.

The experience that I had out there in Guyana was excellent!  I had the privilege of being with some truly wonderful people that had a passion for their heritage and their village, with a drive to grow their businesses and bring in others to see some of what I saw.  The place was beautiful and the resources they had to share were amazing.  I hope that I can go on other assignments like this one in the future.

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