We learn how the Siecoya use the forest...They can stitch wounds with a particular type of ant. Holding it so that it pinches the wound shut, they break off the body, leaving the head and pinchers fixed in place...Mark Manning, a founder of Tourism Concern, is learning about the Ecuadorian rainforest from a Siecoya Indian on a jungle walk organised by his tribe themselves. "The overall feel is different", he writes. "The feeling of being not in a wilderness, but guest in someone"s home, with children and pets running around your feet, women cooking, neighbours visiting..."Beyond the "bland facade" of mainstream tourism is a growing movement of eco/community travel. Since the slave trade, Westerners have imposed themselves on the world: taking the profits, giving little back. Tourism is no exception. The World Bank estimates that 55 pence of every £1 spent in a developing country returns to the West. Tourism also forcibly displaces local people, corrupts traditional cultures/morals, destroys natural habitat and so on--trekkers dump rubbish at Everest Base Camp while a golf course can use as much water as 60,000 villagers.Many people believe that "staying away won"t stop anyone else from going so you might as well go any way". The Community Tourism Guide claims otherwise, providing a diverse global directory of tours/projects/agents who benefit local communities and don"t degrade the environment. They are small organisations, many run by indigenous people themselves. You could ride horses in Mongolia, bird-watch in Namibia, camp with Bedouins, learn a language or volunteer. Instead of fake, out-of-context "cultural shows" or 20-minute coach stops to buy tribal handicrafts, you get to experience "living" culture. The benefit to the traveller is not only a guilt-free conscience, but a richer experience. --Sarah Champion