Julie Ting Ting Perng '06 Publishes Article on Ecotourism Research in China
Julie Perng's extended year as a Fulbright Scholar in the People's Republic of China will end in November, though she is in no hurry to leave there. Her research on rural development is currently featured in the monthly electronic newsletter, China Development Brief, an independent, nonprofit publication circulated to a readership of decision and opinion makers in international development agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), research academies, policy think tanks, and mass media.
Perng's 10-page article, "Ecotourism: Snapshots from Four Villages," outlines her findings in four rural Chinese communities -- Shaxi, Yuhu, Dimaluo, and Jisha -- all of which hope to encourage and benefit economically from tourism without being overwhelmed by it. She became interested in the ecotourism phenomenon while studying the effects of rural-to-urban migration on people who remain in native villages.
Perng's original assignment for the Fulbright grant was in Shaxi Township, Yunnan Province, with an NGO called the Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge. From there, she branched out, volunteering over 200 hours with a migrant center in Kunming. She also worked for a week at a leprosy village, and conducted field research with the Deqin Tibetan Medical Research Association. Her most recent stint has been as a teaching volunteer in a Tibetan village, where her pupils include second and third grader children as well as Buddhist monks.
"I'd say that my research was extremely broad," comments Perng, "and if I had to give it a title, it would be 'rural livelihood development and indigenous knowledge in northwest Yunnan.' "
Perng hopes to continue working in rural development for an international development organization or NGO, though her Chinese visa expires at the end of November.
"I'm looking for jobs in China," she reports, "though I'm interested in southeast Asia as well. If nothing pops up soon, I will come back to the States and continue my job search there. I may apply for the Peace Corps."
While in China, Perng contributed several newsletters with pictures from China and Tibet, as well as a short video, to the CMD news site, available at: "CMD's Julie Perng '06 Receives Fulbright Scholarship."
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