Established during the 19th century by Czech settlers, as part of a network of Czech villages in the Banat Mountains, Eibenthal and its people were deeply affected by the closure of the nearby coal mine in 2006. However, in recent years, Eibenthal is going through a revival phase, with a number of projects currently developed by the local community in order to attract tourists, enhance a resilient economy and promote the local values and heritage.
Regional
Romania
Eibenthal (Tisové Údolí) and Baia Nouă (Nové Doly) - in Mehedinți County
Șumița (Šumice), Bigăr (Bigr), Ravensca (Rovensko), Gârnic (Gerník) and Sfânta Elena (Svatá Helena) - in Caraș-Severin County
Mainly rural
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-08-14
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Asociația Cehilor din Banat (Association of Czechs in Banat) Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Tiberiu Last name of representative: Pospisil Gender: Male Nationality: Romania If relevant, please select your other nationality: Czechia Function: President Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Eibenthal, 31 Town: Eibenthal, Dubova Municipality Postal code: 227172 Country: Romania Direct Tel:+40 724 733 142 E-mail:visitbanateibenthal@gmail.com Website:https://www.visitbanat.com/
From the representatives of the Politehnica University of Timișoara - with whom we have an on-going collaboration regarding the issue of valorising and promoting the local heritage.
The commitment of the local community in the village of Eibenthal to preserve the specific character of the settlement can be seen in all the new tourist developments that have appeared here in the last 15 years (such as the bar "U medvěda", the Eibenthal guesthouse, the Eibenthal restaurant or the Manufaktura production cooperative). Moreover, nowadays similar initiatives appear in the village, following the good example of the former.
The Eibenthal community thus manages a private structure that coordinates tourists, called U Medvěda, a multifunctional space informing tourists, offering local products and promoting accommodationin the village. It aims to involve the community in all types of activities carried out. In the village, one can find several accommodation options that reflect rural and local values. Adhering to the principle of using site-specific construction techniques and local materials, accommodation spaces such as the Eibenthal Pension, as well as other private dwellings open for tourism, promote the specifics of the area and thus provide authentic experiences to tourists, while preserving the character of the settlement itself.
Eibenthal Restaurant is another family business in the village of Eibenthal, which offers tourists authentic experiences inspired by traditional cuisine. As such, the menu comprises local dishes, which are still prepared according to traditional recipes and procedures. In addition, the Eibenthal community has also established a cooperative for the production of culinary goods, which continues the generational practices and produces enough to cover the daily needs of the restaurant.
Finally, in order to promote tourism in the village of Eibenthal, as well as in the neimăghboring area, local entrepreneurs work closely with communities in the Czech Republic and organize, mainly for them, an annual festival: the Banat Festival. the Festival creates the premises for local producers to promote their services.
Responsible Tourism
Heritage Valorisation
Community Involvement and Valorization of Local Traditions
Education
Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability
The Eibenthal Initiative seeks to reach sustainability at the following levels:
Economic Sustainability:
The local community is working towards obtaining financing at different levels, in order to improve the existing tourism infrastructure. As such, the village recently developed accesibility and safety projects and promotes financing opportunities to the locals in areas such as education, accessibility and tourism. At the same time, the ethnic-specific economic activities that have already succeeded here are the living proof of a business development conducive environment within the village of Eibenthal. Moreover, their success encourages others to follow the same pattern and thus contribute to a growth in tourism capacity of the settlement as a whole.
Social Sustainability:
Although there are no official policies that foster employment in the tourism sector within Eibenthal, the examples of good practice already implemented here represent informal models for growth. Usually developed as family endeavors, the local tourism businesses employ all the members of the family unit, thus ensuring a uniform distribution of efforts and resources alike. The village seeks to promote informal policies of integration and education, regardless of gender or age. Thus, the village of Eibenthal promotes formal education in the local school, but also non-formal and informal education - within families / in the work environment.
Environmental Sustainability:
Through the projects it implements, the Eibenthal community puts into practice the policy of using local resources. The education programs carried out at the village school focus on respect and protection for the environment, the subject of climate change being at the core of the activities. The Banat Festival is also centered around raising awareness regarding the quality of the natural environment. The tourist activities are therefore built around the motto „without plastic".
The Eibenthal Initiative seeks to promote aesthetics and quality of experience at the following levels:
Natural landscape:
The village of Eibenthal is part of the Iron Gates Natural Park, a protected area of significant natural beauty along the Danube. Thus, the settlement is surrounded by remarkable landscapes and biological diversity, that is capitalized in the conditions of preserving unaltered traditions, where the quality of life of communities is to be the result of economic activities of the inhabitants, carried out in harmony with nature.
Cultural landscape:
The village of Eibenthal is part of a cluster of villages established by Czech settlers during the 19th century near the Danube. Having similar characteristics (their geographic position - high up in the mountains, the structure and general aesthetics of their built tissue, the economic profile - exploiting local resources, the organization of their community or their gastronomy and customs), these settlements provide a strong cultural identity, positively exploited for the development of responsible tourism activities.
Valorizing the built and unbuilt heritage:
The local community supports the conservation and promotion of cultural resources through the utilization of site-specific construction methods, with local materials and techniques. This results in several accommodation options that reflect rural and local values. The local community also builds on authentic experiences, inspired by traditional cuisine and other customs. This results in several catering facilities (a restaurant, a beerhouse, a cooperative for the production of culinary goods) that reflect the local gastronomy. Finally, the local farmers and producers are included in the tourism activities. This results in specific crafts being promoted through the regular organization of fairs.
The Eibenthal Initiative seeks to promote inclusion at the following levels:
Equal opportunities:
Eibenthal village seeks to promote informal policies of integration and education, regardless of gender or age. As family businesses, the economic activities developed by the inhabitants include all the members of a household (including women), while also having a significant impact on the children.
Care for vulnerable population, including:
Czech ethnics: the entire touristic development of the settlement is built around the Czech specific and the ethnic minority;
Children: they benefit from the activities tangent to tourism through the education programs and their inclusion in informal practices;
Elders: they benefit directly from the tourist development through the promotion of their main activities as the core of touristic events and experiences.
Public participation:
Eibenthal stands out through its informal processes of management in tourism, specific to small communities, in which the institutionalization and implementation of rigid policies could affect the existing relationships in the local community and the specifics of a place that is attractive precisely because of its naturalness. The mechanisms developed by the Eibenthal community can be recognized as exceptional precisely because of their bottom-up, informal character.
Citizen engagement:
The Eibenthal Initiative manages a private structure that coordinates tourists, named U Medvěda. This represents a multifunctional space that has the role of informing tourists, providing local products and distributing accommodation in various structures in the village. It also seeks to involve the community in these types of activities.
Co-design: The development of tourism in the village of Eibenthal is, in fact, the result of entrepreneurial initiatives developed around community involvement regarding the common interest, in which the support of local authorities is limited to infrastructure.
The community-based model for sustainable growth through responsible tourism, developed in Eibenthal, is centered around U Medvěda pub, a private structure that coordinates tourists, thus creating an interface between these and the local producers and service providers.
The local tourism businesses - conceived as family endeavors, which employ all the members of the family unit, are therefore promoted through this structure, forming a network of small initiatives that support each other.
At the same time, the representatives of the local community meet periodically, in an informal environment - and discuss the issues they are confronted with, as well as the best solutions for moving forward.
The Eibenthal Initiative is based on a bottom-up approach, all the major projects developed here being initiated by members of the local community (be it local businesses or NGOs).
The local authority (the Dubova Local Council) is often surprised by the good results obtained by the local community, supporting the village of Eibenthal in regard to some infrastructure development projects (such as the refurbishment of the access road and other public works).
The regional authority (the Mehedinți County Council) is more supportive of the Czech community, including the village of Eibenthal in some trans-national cooperation programmes and promoting the pedestrian routes that connect the Czech villages across the mountains.
But the most important help comes from the Czech Republic itself, which generally supports all Czech descendants across Europe, be it through dedicated financing or promotion.
The Eibenthal Initiative is clearly a multi-disciplinary process, which builds organically on previous experiences. Economic aspects, social aspects, environmental aspects - as well as aspects regarding the promotion and valorization of local heritage - are all taken into consideration. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the cooperation with the Czech authorities, with the regional authorities (Mehedinți County Council), the Politehnica University of Timișoara or with other Czech villages in the region. Each of these contacts influenced the evolution of the Eibenthal Initiative, but in a gradual and organic manner - focusing on upgrading the process to involve external advice and expertise, while also remaining deeply focused on the needs and priorities of the local community.
Considering the needs of the territory, of the community and of people, the project had a major impact in physical transformations, through the regeneration of territories, including that of small villages / rural areas (e.g. the reconversion, renovation and regeneration of the built fabric in order to combat segregation and isolation / to address specific needs of vulnerable groups of people). Also, non-physical transformations can be observed, showcasing the way in which community services and the new means of bringing people together can address specific needs (e.g. business models, cooperative models, etc.). A significant proof for the sustainability of the new model for growth is the increasing numbers of families that return to Eibenthal (having left for the Czech Republic following the 1989 Revolution). At the same time, one can witness a rise in community motivation: although in the beginning people were reluctant, now they contribute voluntarily to the activities in the village, especially those connected to tourism, ecology and the promotion of traditions (especially through church-organized events).
In order to promote tourism in the village of Eibenthal, as well as in the wider area, the local entrepreneurs work closely with communities from the Czech Republic and organize, mainly for them, an annual festival: Banat Festival. This event also provides dedicated transportation (from Prague to Orșova and, further on, to Eibenthal), that allows Czech tourists to take part in this festival. Of course, the event is open to everyone, but the connection with the country of origin helps to preserve the specificity of the place.
Furthermore, the Banat Festival creates the premises for the local producers to promote their services, while also receiving an informal confirmation regarding the quality of their products from foreign customers. Thus, the village of Eibenthal contributes to the promotion of local values and practices from the area, by selling (and producing) specific Czech food and drinks, home goods and other products.
The approach used by this initiative was that of creating a community-based model for sustainable growth through responsible tourism. This refers to a gradual process, which develops organically, building upon previous experiences in order to constantly improve the existing situation, as well as to adapt to new stimuli.
At the same time, the entire process is built around the community’s needs and rhythms; as such, the desirable end result is not that of achieving unconditional economic growth, but rather that of creating a safe and inclusive environment, in which people can live their lives freely.
This initiative could be (and it is already) replicated easily in similar environments, such as other Czech villages in the Banat region - both in Romania, as well as in Serbia. Sharing a common historical background, as well as facing similar challenges in the present-day context, these settlements could benefit from Eibenthal’s example; already, the groups of tourists that arrive to Eibenthal are being led to the neighboring Czech villages, through pedestrian and bike routes that connect these settlements, passing through the Natural Park and its spectacular scenario. However, the situation could be further improved, by the creation of similar touristic structures in all the Czech villages.
Sustainable development through responsible tourism, based on local heritage valorisation and community involvement - thus preventing inhabitants from leaving the area and fighting the global challenge of depopulation, generally encountered in peripheral regions
