Phase 2 started: 10 businesses design menus according to biodiversity-friendly criteria

Serving Sustainable Food in Dominican Republic

At the end of last year, our joint project "Serving Sustainable Food in Dominican Republic" was launched with the TUI Care Foundation with the aim of supporting 10 restaurants in the pilot region of Las Galeras in preserving the cultural identity of the region through biodiversity-friendly menus and offering authentic culinary experiences for holidaymakers.

Training as part of Transforming Tourism

Our project is part of the overarching project "Transforming Tourism", which is organized by KATE Umwelt & Entwicklung e.V., eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, the Global Nature Fund in cooperation with TourCert gGmbH in three pilot destinations (Las Galeras in the Dominican Republic and Sarapiquí and Sarchí in Costa Rica) and is funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).

As part of the "Transforming Tourism" project, around 50 restaurants in the region were successfully trained in sustainable gastronomy by chef Carlos Estevez last year with the support of the TUI Care Foundation. In the seven modules, the participants were able to improve their knowledge of the importance and benefits of sustainable and local food, the reduction of food waste and the culinary traditions of the region. The certificates were presented to the participants at the beginning of the year.

Designing biodiversity-friendly menus

Ten of these trained restaurants have now been selected to take part in our joint cooperation project with the TUI Care Foundation. A prerequisite for participation is the TourCert qualification for sustainable restaurants, which all ten businesses have successfully completed.

Over the next few months, the businesses will design their biodiversity-friendly menus and menus based on the biodiversity criteria they have developed in the workshops. The businesses will also work with local food producers and manufacturers to build a network that will give visitors, holidaymakers, suppliers and staff an overview of biodiversity-friendly businesses in the region around Las Galeras.

Supporting local businesses

The project is not just about sustainable food and drink, but also about involving and promoting local (young) businesses. Our 10 restaurants are therefore supported by the local women's project "Eco Bolsos". Eco Bolsos makes aprons, bags, placemats and other accessories from fabrics that would normally end up in incinerators. The women from Eco Bolsos make aprons or other accessories for the participating restaurants by arrangement.

Great potential for biodiversity protection

Our project coordinator Dagmar visited the region around Las Galeras at the end of February, exchanged ideas with the local project team and also visited some of the participating restaurants and Eco Bolsos.

"It is amazing how much potential there is for biodiversity protection in our pilot region and how committed the participating businesses are to the task. This begins with the rediscovery of old plant varieties, continues with compost production and extends to the recycling of used textiles, including from hotels. It is to be hoped that the innovative pioneers will find many imitators for the transformation to a sustainable tourism destination," says Dagmar.