Walter Printzen Cruz arrived for the first time at the port of Sisal in 2015 to carry out his professional internship, since he had studied biology at the University of Guadalajara.
In Sisal he began his work studying the sea cucumber and thanks to the continuation of the project he had the opportunity to return and continue working, later he had more opportunities in other projects with different academic institutes.
Guided by a man from the community, Walter and his companions visited the jungle of the Sisal ejido, there they learned that the area was at risk of destruction due to real estate development, so they decided to do something about it, he said in an interview.
Then the environmental collective “Garra Balam” was created to raise awareness by disseminating the problems and importance of these sites and species, through scientific dissemination and social work.
Walter formed a cooperative partnership with two Sisal families, both of whom are certified federal guides, and began creating the experiences.
“What we do in Sisal is community nature tourism. The people of the community are the actors and it is an activity that is done within a protected natural area, you are accompanied by a guide who takes you through these ecosystems on an environmental interpretation tour,” he mentioned.
“There was no tourism in Sisal and there were not many places to stay, that’s why we opened the ‘Casa Balam’ hostel so that people could stay the night before and go on the tour the next day,” he added. Their work in Sisal is not over yet: Walter and the cooperative are seeking financing for projects such as a tourist inn, where Sisal families can provide traditional foods, and offer tours, in addition to the creation of mangrove nurseries and crops, plus crab and mojarra breeding, which are local species from the mangroves.
TYT Newsroom
