From the Archive: That World of Opportunity Called the Waitukubuli National Trail (2011)

By Michael Eugene

Michael wrote this piece in December 2011, while the Waitukubuli National Trail was being developed. We’re sharing it as it was written. For what the trail is like today, read The Waitukubuli National Trail After Hurricane Maria.

My visit to the Pennine Way in August last year – part of a study tour in the development of the Waitukubuli National Trail – was a fantastic learning experience! At 268 miles long, this is the United Kingdom’s oldest long-distance walking trail, and it receives thousands of visitors annually.

This trip was indeed an eye-opener, and showcased small communities providing services and products to hikers along the route. We saw the magic of mini and micro-scale enterprise at work – feeding and sustaining the local livelihoods within these towns, while stimulating the local economies.

At 115 miles, there can be no difference between the Pennine Way experience and a hike along Dominica’s Waitukubuli National Trail. Apart from the location, the climate and the geography, the ideas for developing the trails have been the same – to open up the countryside and provide a gateway for visitors to enjoy and experience local community life. For deeply rural communities like Bourne and Penville that are already receiving groups of hikers and enjoying the benefits of local commerce, this is really exciting. These villagers are already enjoying the opportunity of servicing the needs of hikers along the route.

From a tourism perspective, the role of the WNT is well pronounced – more so as it will be the first and only long-distance walking trail in the entire Caribbean region – connecting 29 communities as it meanders through our Nature Isle. Rest assured that products and services will need to be provided to meet the demands of trail users and others visiting – home-stays in Lower Penville or Bellevue Chopin, transportation access to Segments 8 and 9 in the heights of Carholm and Melville Hall Estates, night hikes on Segment 4 to experience Tou Santi and the other wonders of the sleeping Morne Trois Pitons National Park World Heritage Site, pre-packaged meals for hikers going the secluded trails of Segments 7 to 11, laundering and babysitting services along the route, mountain huts in the heights of Segments 8 and 9, and the list goes on…

From a health and wellness perspective, the WNT will also open up new avenues for health tourism while creating easier access to our outdoors and hidden secrets – and all those things that are being sought by millions wishing to escape for a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. Our sulphur deposits and muds, herbs and spices, essential oils, fruits and mineral spring water – all raw materials in great abundance – can be transformed and processed so that we can derive greater value from them! With these come niche opportunities to offer personalized services.

The WNT is also an information-rich resource and an excellent teaching and research tool, and can be a hub around which research and other interpretative works and studies can be done. Indeed, considering the variety and richness of Dominica’s biodiversity, there is little doubt that this can become a 115-mile-long classroom bustling with learning activity and educational programmes in small enterprise sustainability and management, hospitality skills, art and craft, history, cuisine, botany and zoology, and other areas. This can be developed as a model for outdoor learning and education.

And there is also an opportunity for us to operate as stewards to preserve this great wonder – as individuals and communities we must police the trail and ensure that visitors adhere to National Parks and other legal regulations. We must ensure that there is no littering or vandalizing of trail infrastructure.

It is also our responsibility to ensure that hikers register with Trail Officials, that they do not go alone on the trail, and that they purchase eco-site passes – all this to avoid shortchanging the quality of the product and watering down the experience for the hiker.

Remember, the WNT is ours to build and cherish, and we should not miss the opportunity to use it to develop ourselves and our communities – one hiker at a time!