Training Bedouin trail guides on the Red Sea Mountain Trail in Egypt

ATCF CONTRIBUTION: $20,000

GRANT AWARDED: 2019

LOCATION: The Red Sea Mountain Trail, egypt

IMPACT: This project will organize training to build on the skills and capacity of the Bedouin community so they can manage tourism on the Red Sea Mountain Trail.

This project is managed by a Bedouin community that has shared a close physical, economic and spiritual relationship with the natural world for centuries. This Bedouin community is on the front lines of managing trail tourism and is better qualified and more committed than any other stakeholder to protecting the assets of their homeland that remain so central to their survival today, including both the natural environment and its resources, and the customs and traditions of its Bedouin communities.

The ATCF funding is being sought to train Bedouin tribesmen in essential guide skills, including Wilderness First Aid, group management and English language. The project was developed by the Khushmaan clan of the Maaza, one of Egypts biggest Bedouin tribes, in collaboration with the international team of trail developers who worked to create the Sinai Trail. It is 100% owned by the Maaza today.

A Bedouin Sheikh oversees the Red Sea Mountain Trail, ensuring its operation benefits the local community. Hiking tourism is new here. The Bedouin community of Hurghada has never worked in this field. The guides will carry this trail into the future. If they succeed, the trail will succeed and grow into a strong, sustainable project that supports the wider Bedouin community. Funds will be used to train older and younger Bedouin tribesmen in essential guide skills, including Wilderness First Aid, group management and the English language.

THE Impact

The training will cover 3 areas:

Wilderness First Aid (WFA): this will equip guides with the knowledge needed to handle everything from simple injuries and illnesses to critical medical emergencies. This training will help them do their jobs safely and with confidence. It will also inspire confidence in visitors. The course will be delivered in Arabic according to a SOLO accredited WFA syllabus.
Group management: successfully managing a group of hikers and providing a comfortable and rewarding experience requires attention to many things e.g. personal relationships, cooking hygiene, telling stories, judgment in handling groups on tricky terrain etc. Bedouin guides with decades of tourism experience from the Sinai Trail will lead a 10 day training hike with new Bedouin guides. This will follow a guide training syllabus developed for the Sinai Trail in 2016.
English language: Bedouin of the Red Sea Mountain Trail have not been formally educated and levels of English language and literacy – including Arabic literacy – are extremely low. We will administer an English language course for the Bedouin who will work on the Red Sea Mountain Trail in frontline guide roles. It will aim to build basic vocabulary and equip the Bedouin with the ability to hold the short, simple conversations needed to converse with hikers and guide them along the trail.

PROJECT UPDATES

Coming soon….

MORE ABOUT The Red Sea Mountain Trail

The Red Sea Mountain Trail is a community tourism project, managed by members of the Khushmaan. The Khushmaan are a clan of a Bedouin tribe called the Maaza, who occupy the northern half of Egypt's Red Sea Mountains and who trace their roots to the Hejaz of Arabia. A small, tribal organization headed by a Sheikh of the Khushmaan - Sheikh Merayi Abu Musallem - oversees the operation and ongoing development of the Red Sea Mountain Trail. This organization is known as the Red Sea Mountain Trail Association (RSMTA).

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