The Project for Recovery of Life and Culture (PRLC) is an NGO organised under the North-Net Foundation, a network of rural community development organisations based in the five upper provinces of northern Thailand. PRLC aims at improving environmental sustainability and quality of life of the people in Mae Hong Son by: helping to form and strengthen local community organisations and networks strengthening the c apability and increasing the participation of the local people in the management of forest resources and local ecology, and encouraging self-reliance. PRLC currently has projects in community based natural resource management, sustainable agriculture, alternative occupations, promoting civil society, and youth leadership development. Community Based Tourism is a way to address the conflict between the goals of conserving the country's natural and social environment and promoting tourism development. PRLC works in the Pai Watershed area, in the north of Mae Hong Son province. This watershed area is a critical resource for the province as it is the major source of water for residential and agricultural use. The way in which the forest resources of the watershed area are used will influence the quality and quantity of other natural resources, especially water. PRLC has been working in the Mae Hong Son area for 10 years, evolving from a small agricultural project to a more holistic one, carrying out activities in natural resource management and community development. PRLC works mainly with forest-dependent communities, the majority of them ethnic minorities: Karen, Lahu, Lisu, and Shan. These communities form part of the poorest segment of Thailand's population, lacking access to most public services, including education, health and electricity. Traditionally the government has blamed them for destruction of the forest and watersheds, even though the state itself promotes commercial agriculture and forest exploitation for industrial development. However, ethnic minorities, especially the Karen, have lived in harmony with the forest for hundreds of years. It is because of their lack of rights, or knowledge about their rights, that many of these communities are forced to use forest and water resources in an unsustainable manner. The aim of the community-based tourism program is to provide a means for forest-dependent communities in Mae Hong Son to pursue sustainable development on their own terms. The specific objectives of the program are: To support the communities' efforts in forest conservation, which are a major tourism resource in Mae Hong Son To strengthen community organisations by building their skills in tourism management and interpretation To increase economic self-sufficiency in rural communities by providing alternative employment and supplementary income-generation opportunities To assist communities to preserve their culture on their own terms To raise awareness of community based tourism in the Mae Hong Son area Local guides trained by The Project for Recovery of Life and Culture (PRLC) conduct EarthFoot's "Seven Community-based Tours in Ethnic Minority Villages" program