Interdisciplinary trails: Hiking Sayulita's methodology

Contemporary tourism faces the challenge of offering meaningful experiences while protecting the natural, cultural, and historical environments where it operates. Hiking Sayulita adopts a methodological approach based on ecoculture and the interdisciplinary nature of the humanities, particularly cultural history and cultural anthropology, to create in-depth, educational, and sustainable hiking and cultural activities.

Ecoculture: Definition and Methodology

Ecoculture is a theoretical and practical approach that examines the interaction between humans and ecosystems, recognizing that cultural sustainability depends on harmony with natural processes. Thayer (2021) explains that human practices must be evaluated in an ecological context to promote responsible and ethical behavior toward nature.

The ecocultural methodology is structured around three main axes:

1. Responsible interaction with ecosystems: Identify environmental limits and promote low-impact practices, such as staying on designated trails and respecting local flora and fauna (Thayer, 2021).

2. Integration of cultural and biological heritage: incorporating ancestral knowledge, local history, economic practices, and biodiversity as part of the educational experience (Descola, 2005).

3. Transformative education: Tourism activities become spaces for active learning, fostering environmental, ethical, and social awareness (Honey, 2008).

For example, observing an endemic plant (ecocultural approach) is complemented by a narrative about its traditional use by the local indigenous community (historical-anthropological approach), which generates a comprehensive understanding of the resource.

Cultural History and Cultural Anthropology

Cultural History studies how societies construct meanings, values, and practices in different historical contexts. Marc Bloch (1989) argues that understanding everyday life and local knowledge is essential to interpreting culture, while Peter Burke (1990) emphasizes that folk practices reflect the relationship between society and its environment.

Cultural Anthropology, following Franz Boas (1911) and Claude Lévi-Strauss (1962), analyzes cultural diversity, symbolic systems, and the relationships of communities with their environment. Philippe Descola (2005) developed a modern approach that integrates the relationship between nature and culture, recognizing the interdependence between humans and ecosystems.

Interdisciplinarity: Ecoculture and Humanities working together

The integration of ecoculture and the Humanities allows for a holistic approach: ecoculture provides criteria for environmental sustainability and experiential learning, while the Humanities provide critical, ethical, and symbolic understanding. This translates into:

• Simultaneous ecological and cultural interpretation: Visitors learn about biodiversity, pre-Hispanic history, indigenous traditions, local gastronomy, and the local economy in a single tour.

• Experiential education: Each walk becomes a living laboratory where nature, history, and culture interact.

• Ethical and social awareness: Visitors develop respect for nature, local culture, and Sayulita's historical memory. This interdisciplinary approach strengthens the tourist experience, offering added value that goes beyond recreation and promotes environmental and cultural responsibility.

Benefits of the Interdisciplinary Methodology

The combined approach generates multiple benefits:

• Environmental: ecosystem conservation, protection of endemic species, and sustainable practices.

• Cultural and historical: preservation of intangible heritage, ancestral knowledge, traditions, and historical memory.

• Social: strengthening community cohesion, local participation, and recognition of local knowledge.

• Individual, physical, and mental: improved health, reduced stress, increased creativity, and psychological well-being (Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 2023).

• Spiritual and ethical: a deep connection with nature and respect for local culture.

• Gastronomic and heritage: learning about gastronomy and local products as cultural and economic expressions.

Hiking Sayulita's methodological justification

Hiking Sayulita adopts these methodologies because they allow for holistic, ethical, and transformative tourism experiences. It's not just about hiking; the trails become spaces for learning, reflection, and connection with nature, history, and culture. This methodology strengthens the local tourism sector, generates social and cultural benefits, and promotes environmental conservation.

References

• Bloch, M. (1989). "Apology for History: or the Historian's Craft". Madrid: Alianza. Pp. 25-30

• Burke, P. (1990). "Popular Culture in Modern Europe". Madrid: Alianza. Pp. 45-52

• Boas, F. (1911). "The Mind of Primitive Man". New York: Macmillan. Pp. 60-65

• Descola, P. (2005). "Beyond Nature and Culture". Chicago: University of Chicago. Pp. 1-15

• Honey, M. (2008). "Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise?". Washington, DC: Island Press. Pp. 112-120

• Steward, J. H. (1995). "Theory of Culture Change: The Methodology of Multilinear Evolution". Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Pp. 30 - 40


• Thayer, R. L. (2021). "Ecoculture: The Ecological Context of Human Behavior". Springer. Pp. 5 - 12


• Lévi-Strauss, C. (1962). "The sauvage thought". Paris: Plon Pp. 20 - 35


• Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning. (2023). "Effects of outdoor adventure experiences on well-being and creativity of emerging adults". P.8