Towards a Co-design Framework for Sustainable CBTEs in Homabay County

Abstract

Community participation is advocated as an integral part of sustainable community-based tourism enterprises (CBTEs), however, its uptake is slow, especially in developing countries, much to the disadvantage of local tourism. The purpose of this study is to propose a co-design framework for sustainable CBTEs, with particular interest to Homabay County. Two Community-based Organizations (CBOs) were selected for the study namely; Ndhiwa Kodumba Tse Tse group and RAMA cultural centre. Exploratory research design was used to achieve the objectives of this study. Secondary data was collected from books, journals and government documents while primary data was collected by use of oral interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs) and workshops. The findings show that co-design offers opportunities in product development and local community empowerment. The choice of co-design approach should be informed by the community dynamics, mainly a consideration of the demographics and what would be appropriate for each cohort in terms of tools, methods and techniques of engagement. Socio-cultural aspects of a community and mindsets of the community members are some of the factors that impact participation. The study recommends a co-design framework that comprises a planning phase, co-design phase and a post-design phase