The Project

This project is a study of healthy limitations. As humans, we have wrestled with limits from time immemorial, too often treating them as barriers to overcome. Yet far from being barriers to overcome, limits can save us from disaster, and even steer us towards prosperity.

Wilderness is the perfect masterpiece of balanced limitations. These limitations allow for the whole to thrive. My project seeks to document regions that use the model of wilderness—which is firmly grounded in the concept of limitations—to dignify and restore communities from despair into flourishing resilience. I seek to experience how stewardship of the land creates positive feedback loops rewarded by communal well being. In the wake of the great Kentucky flood, events local and international, and my life experiences, never has this issue been more relevant.

Limitations provide roadmaps to true flourishing. Dispersed tourism, regenerative agriculture, and ecological preservation all work together to restore local resilience by operating in the realm of limits that honor, rather than hinder, the integrity of people and place. The meat of this project, then, is to collect stories of practical hope in with which to return to my homeplace and catalyze change.

The Plan

The goal of the project is to experience firsthand models of rural community tourism which uplift and serve the people and place it markets. In short, my quest is to find truly sustainable communities and learn from the many factors of their success.

I want to find the right balance between visiting many examples of sustainable rural community tourism, while at the same time not merely being an international tourist. While by nature of traveling I will be a tourist, I want to spend enough time in locations to learn deeply and truly understand the places I stay.

What this means in practice, I have yet to say. This means that I have a plan for the year, but the plan is open to changes. I want, and have, the flexibility to stay longer in locations if they align perfectly with my field of study, or alternatively, to move on, in the event that they don't. I have done my research using the internet, and contacted numerous individuals, but there are, as we all know, limits to these methods of inquiry. My hunch is that the truly successful small tourism communities don't have to, or want to market themselves profusely. My challenge then, is to do the best I can to sort the wheat from the chaff. Part of the adventure, perhaps, is experiencing this in real time.

I plan to visit Costa Rica, New Zealand, Tajikistan, Slovenia, and Austria. The details of each stop will be recounted in our blog.