The 2009 World Rural Tourism Fair takes place around the planet January 19-30. "This year's event expands on the annual Rural Tourism Fair held in Oaxaca," explained Ron Mader, who created the fair in 2001 as a way of launching an inexpensive grassroots event that could bring locals and visitors together.

The idea remains the same - highlight the options visitors have in exploring the rural countryside in a responsible manner.

"We have always depended on the local providers and artisans to fund the publicity and tamales in Oaxaca," Mader said. "The event has been created on a shoestring budget and in these times of financial belt-tightening, it's a great example of how friends can collaborate and organize events with a minimal budget."

The fair is documented using off-the-shelf Internet services including facebook, flickr and youtube. Colleagues wishing to create parallel events will be asked to announce and summarize their events online.

Topics will be
• Biking
• Climate Change
• Community Gardening
• Food, Health and Building Community
• Forests and Trees
• Indigenous Culture
• Mountain Culture
• Solar Cooking

Events in Mexico will inckude:
• Cheese and mezcal tasting
• Chocolate Treasure Hunt
• Community Garden Visit, Rojas de Cuauhtemoc
• Oaxaca City Markets
• Solar Cooking
• Walk with the Weavers, Teotitlán del Valle


Valere Tjolle