Selene Orellana

Traveling off the beaten path with Sharing Seeds in Sarangkot Pandeli

August 1, 2023 Selene Orellana Global Community Tourism Network, Guest Post, News + Blog
Written by Eliane – Student Researcher from Sharing Seeds
Traveling sustainably and responsibly has been trending within the past few years. An awareness regarding cultural loss and increasing levels of pollution due to mainstream tourism has been raised and tour operators as well as travelers are longing for a change. But how can one travel sustainably?

One option to do so can be found in Sarangkot Pandeli the beautiful village near the tourism capital of Nepal, Pokhara City which is a gateway to the world-famous Annapurna conservation region.  

Sarangkot, a small village close to Pokhara, Nepal, is known for its beautiful sunsets and the view over Pokhara and Phewa Lake. However, if you look beyond the well-known sights and mainstream tourist spots, you can learn much more about the community, culture and the production of local products. 

Explore Evenmore Tour and Travels, in partnership with not-for-profit Sharing Seeds, aims to promote sustainable tourism in this area by focusing on guiding visitors off the mainstream routes and towards the local communities.

Knowing what is best for the community, Aabiskar Thapa, Founder and Managing Director of  Sharing Seeds, and his team run three projects that concentrate on the production of local products, like coffee and honey and work to help women gain independence in their communities. 

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More information on some of Sharing Seeds’ Projects:

Organic Arabica Coffee Farming Project: 

  • Goal: Sustainable, local production of coffee; creating job opportunities 
  • How: Providing training and support to local farmers in coffee production 
  • Progress: 600 coffee tree plantations have already been planted in cooperation with 95 farmers

 

Recyclable Handicraft Project: 

  • Goal To empower local women to achieve financial independence
  • How: Providing basic sewing training for women
  • Progress: 40 women have already been trained through the program 

 

Organic Bee Farming Project:

  • Goal: Sustainable honey production 
  • How: Explain the importance of the role of bees to farmers   
  • Progress: 70 bee hives have been installed in cooperation with 5 bee farmers

In collaboration, Explore Evenmore Tour and Travels and Sharing Seeds developed a tour that combines hiking with learning to create added value for the visitors as well as the community in Sarangkot. The popular tour Secrets of Sarangkot: Arabica Coffee experience and local life guides the visitors along the beautiful Phewa Lakeshore, through the community jungle and stops at every project.

While visiting the projects the visitors get in-depth insights into the local life and working processes of local products while enjoying the beautiful landscape all along Pokhara. Through observation and conversations with locals, the visitors are immersed in the Nepalese culture and understand the impact that local organizations have on these communities. Furthermore, there is added value for the community through the exchange of knowledge with the tourists which helps to contribute to sustainable development in Nepal.

To sum up, Explore Evenmore Tour and Travels, in collaboration with Sharing Seeds,  offers a unique experience to visitors while raising awareness about the local culture, food and products and the importance of maintaining them. 

There is also added value for the community through the exchange of knowledge with the tourists which helps contribute to sustainable development in Nepal.

Sharing Seeds - Bee station

About Sharing Seeds:

Sharing Seeds is a not-for-profit social enterprise whose mission is to empower local farmers by providing knowledge and resources to cultivate organic Arabica coffee and practice organic beekeeping.

Visit https://sharingseed.org/ to learn more about their inspiring work.

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Sustainable Travel Close to Home

July 30, 2023 Selene Orellana Guest Post, News + Blog
Written by Ainsley Lawrence
Sustainability is more than just a hot topic of conversation these days. According to a recent Nielsen study, 78% of U.S. consumers say a sustainable lifestyle is important to them. Reducing waste, using less energy, and recycling are all important. They are also easy habits that people can incorporate into their everyday lives.

Unfortunately, travel and sustainability don’t often go hand-in-hand. We tend to think of things like carbon emissions from cars and planes, the waste produced by traveling, and the people involved that are creating even more pollution simply by having to go to work each day. 

But sustainable travel is possible, especially when you choose to stay close to home. Whether you have a travel bug or you want to take a family vacation while doing something good for the planet, you can use a few effective sustainable techniques to keep things “green” while you hit the road. 

Let’s take a look at a few of those tips and tricks, so you can enjoy your next trip in this post-pandemic society. 

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Cutting Down on Emissions

While traveling via car already creates fewer emissions than traveling by plane, there are still things you can do to cut down on your carbon use while you hit the road. 

First, before you leave on your trip, make sure your vehicle is in top shape. Things like maintaining proper tire pressure, making sure the engine is tuned up, and fixing any other mechanical issues in your vehicle will help to ensure it produces as little pollution as possible. 

While you’re driving, you can also reduce pollution and travel more sustainably by: 

  • Minimizing travel items;
  • Developing a strategy so you can drive the most efficient route;
  • Carpooling;
  • Towing a trailer instead of overloading your car.

Drive slower and smarter while you’re on the road. If you’re not in a hurry, don’t keep your foot glued to the gas pedal. Frequent acceleration not only burns more fuel, but it creates more emissions. Instead, go at a leisurely pace. You’ll get more out of your gas tank and release less pollution into the air. 

You can also choose to live more sustainably on the road. Try to avoid using plastic products. Eat locally. Don’t leave any pollution behind if you stay overnight somewhere, and limit your water usage. These small actions can add up quickly, especially if you travel a lot, and they can really help to give back to the environment.

Getting Back to Nature

Traveling by car to tourist areas and famous sites can be fun, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t enjoy those special attractions with your family or friends. But, one of the best options for sustainable travel, especially close to home, is to get back to nature and go camping. 

Spending time in nature is also a great way to gain a greater appreciation for the outdoor world, and it can also do wonders for your mental health. In fact, doctors are writing prescriptions for nature, as outside time has been demonstrated to lower stress while increasing physical activity. 

No matter where you live, there’s likely a national park or campsite nearby. You won’t have to travel far to get there, and you can enjoy a more sustainable time away from home than you would if you went to a typical tourist trap. Plus, getting back to nature allows you to immerse yourself in local culture. Even if you only travel a few hours away from home, you’ll be able to experience new and exciting scenery, people, and ways of life. 

If you haven’t traveled much since the COVID-19 pandemic, spending time away from typical tourist sites can help you ease back into it. Camping can provide a lot of solitude and relaxation, and help you to appreciate the freedom you have to travel across the country while preserving its natural beauty. 

If you want to be an eco-friendly camper, buying organic food, ditching plastic water bottles, bringing reusable dishes, and only camping in designated areas can help. It’s a great way to feel more at home with nature, and a wonderful opportunity to teach your family about the importance of conservation and sustainability. While camping isn’t for everyone, it’s something you should try at least once! You might be surprised by how much you enjoy it, and how easy it is to give back to nature when you’re surrounded by its splendor. 

Offsetting at Home

Finally, when you’re not on vacation or taking a road trip, make sure you’re living sustainably at home. Many companies – including airlines – use a practice called offsetting. It’s a way to do something good for the planet to counteract some of the harmful or negative effects of traveling. 

For example, Delta Airlines has been investing in carbon offsets since 2012 and has a goal of carbon neutrality, so you can feel good about flying without harming the planet in the process. 

At home, you can carbon offset by donating to environmental protection organizations or sustainability groups. You can promote awareness of climate change and excess waste. Most importantly, you can implement daily habits that help to promote sustainability within your household, including: 

  • Using less water;
  • Installing energy-efficient appliances;
  • Recycling;
  • Composting;
  • Switching to LED lighting.

 

Traveling close to home is a great way to scratch that itch to go somewhere new without doing harm to the environment. Keep these sustainable practices in mind for your next road trip, and you’ll be able to make the most out of the time away from home. 

About the author:

Ainsley Lawrence is a freelance writer that lives in the Northwest region of the United States. She has a particular interest in covering topics related to travel, sustainability, tech, and accessibility. When not writing, her free time is spent reading and researching to learn more about her cultural and environmental surroundings.

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Announcing the Global Community Tourism Fund 2023 recipients

July 11, 2023 Selene Orellana Global Community Tourism Network, News + Blog
Planeterra is thrilled to announce the recipients of the Global Community Tourism Fund 2023!

The Global Community Tourism Fund (GCTF) is one of Planeterra’s cornerstone initiatives to foster entrepreneurship and innovation for community tourism enterprises worldwide.

Through this program, Planeterra provides small grants of up to $3,000 USD to community tourism enterprises, along with community-specific training and mentorship. The GCTF aims to assist local entrepreneurs and communities in scaling up and improving existing tourism experiences.

We received numerous applications and our team was happy to read through the great proposals from our community partners all around the world. 

Deciding on this year’s recipients was not easy, but after careful evaluation, Planeterra has selected 18 organizations. Keep reading to find out more about their inspiring work!

Thanks to the generosity of our donors and supporters, we were able to more than double the number of beneficiaries compared to the inaugural edition of the GCTF in 2022. Read more about the fund recipients from last year, here.

The Americas

Centro de Turismo Comunitario La Moya (Comuna La Moya, Chimborazo Province, Ecuador)

La Moya, an indigenous community of Puruhá heritage, is made up of 50 families who have found a way to increase their income by sharing their knowledge in medicine, gastronomy, customs, and traditions rooted in their culture and worldview. 

Located 3,255 meters above sea level, in the heart of the Ecuadorian Andes, they offer unique tourism experiences that revolve around the sacred relationship between humans and the majestic Chimborazo mountain. Visitors have the opportunity to stay in their accommodations and explore the rich craftsmanship of the local women, who specialize in weaving camelid wool.

Through their work, La Moya also aims to raise awareness about the importance of preserving the páramo ecosystem, showcasing the harmonious coexistence between nature and their community.

Learn more about their work, here.

Asociación de Artesanas de Chorrera (Chorrera, Juan de Acosta, Colombia)

Asociación de Artesanas de Chorrera is a woman-led association of 130 artisans who specialize in crochet knitting, storytelling, and immersive experiences that invite travelers to, for example, “be an artisan for a day.”

They focus their work on preserving ancestral knowledge through their rich artisanal culture and community tourism initiatives.

They see tourism as a way to keep their traditions alive and through the fund, they seek to improve their current marketing material, including content for their website and social networks.

Learn more about their work, here.

Cooperativa de Agroturismo Red de Turismo Campesino (San Carlos, Salta Province, Argentina)

The Rural Community Tourism Network Cooperative (Cooperativa Red de Turismo Campesino) was established in 2008. They sell handicrafts, agricultural products, and tourism services as a means to protect their cultural heritage.

This initiative is managed by 25 local families who are also small-scale producers from rural communities in the beautiful Calchaquí Valley.

Learn more about their work, here.

Asociación de Mujeres María del Mar Bocagrande (Tumaco, Nariño, Colombia)

Maria del Mar Bocagrande is a woman-led association that operates on a beach facing significant erosion challenges. Their main goal is to create economic alternatives for their community, especially for young single mothers.

They see tourism as a way to do so and therefore offer services such as river transportation, accommodation, meals, whale-watching tours and wellness activities.

Learn more about their work, here.

Sociedad de Turismo Comunitario Suni Uta Choquemarka (Suni Uta Choquemarca -Caripe Community, Sajama Province, Bolivia)

The Suni Uta Choquemarca – Caripe community is located in Bolivia’s first protected area, the Sajama National Park. One of the reasons they became a community organization was to generate economic opportunities and address the issue of youth migration.

Through their tourism initiatives, Suni Uta Choquemarca – Caripe has successfully provided permanent employment for five community members, contributing to the local economy and offering stability within the community. Their goals also include the conservation of natural resources.

Learn more about their work, here.

Jamao Eco Tours (Jamao Al Norte, Espaillat, Dominican Republic)

Jamao Eco Tours is a community project made up of twenty young community members from the Municipality of Jamao al Norte. They work to protect the local environment while creating sustainable opportunities through tourism so that other people can enjoy it as well.

This project is also supporting local community members to create economic independence.

Learn more about their work, here.

San Vicente Ecoturismo, Ambiomas org (San Joaquín Morelos, Tlalpujahua de Rayón, Michoacán, México)

San Vicente Ecotourism comprises a dedicated team of 15 individuals who are passionate about preserving the firefly ecosystem in the town of San Joaquín Morelos. Over the course of four years, they have been actively promoting nature tourism in the local forests. Their primary objective is to generate employment opportunities for the community and the surrounding regions.

Additionally, they collaborate with researchers to enhance their knowledge of the firefly species found in the area. Apart from captivating firefly-watching experiences, they also provide a range of activities including hiking, biking, and camping.

Learn more about their work, here.

Asociación Turismo Rural Comunitario Kusy Kausay (Pongobamba Community, Cusco, Peru)

The Kusy Kausay Association is located just an hour away from Cusco, on the shores of Lake Piuray. The organization is made up of eight women and three men who offer a range of tourism experiences that include handicraft, agriculture and culinary demonstrations.

Additionally, they provide accommodation, guided hikes to explore the local flora and fauna and kayaking on the nearby lake. As part of their services, they also organize traditional Andean wedding ceremonies.

Learn more about their work, here.

Africa, the Middle East, and Europe (AMEE)

Train & Travel with Women For Africa (Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire)

Train & Travel is a local non-profit organization in Côte d’Ivoire that provides women with the opportunity to engage in tourism through training courses.

Bénédicte, the founder of Train & Travel, has established a niche as a capacity developer, empowering communities to offer innovative solutions that generate income through tourism.

Since 2017, the non-profit has successfully trained more than 138 young women, enabling them to pursue careers or invest in community tourism.

Learn more about their work, here.

Tribal Textiles (Mfuwe, eastern Province, Zambia)

Tribal Textiles is a social enterprise dedicated to making a sustainable impact through creativity and craftsmanship. Located in the remote region of South Luangwa, Zambia, they work with local artisans to create ethically handcrafted home décor pieces inspired by Africa’s rich heritage.

From sourcing to production, each piece they create is thoughtfully designed and made by hand, striving to minimize their environmental impact by using sustainable locally sourced materials and repurposing waste.

Learn more about their work, here.

Muhabura Cultural Experience and Craft Centre (Koranya village, Muramba sub-county, Kisoro district – Uganda)

Muhabura Cultural Experience and Craft Centre is a community tourism initiative from Raising the Artisans Co. Ltd. Their mission is to actively engage the local communities surrounding the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and the northern region of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Muhabura Cultural Experience and Craft Centre work showcases the incredible talents and skills of local artisans who create exquisite woven baskets, mats, and other handicrafts, local farmers who produce products like coffee, and knowledgeable cultural and local guides who lead tourists on immersive journeys into the heart of their community.

Learn more about their work, here.

Red Rocks Rwanda (Nkotsi Sector, Musanze District, Northern Province-Rwanda)

Red Rocks Rwanda is not just an ecotourism company; it is a social enterprise dedicated to community empowerment and sustainable tourism through community and conservation programs. 

Through their work, they involve underprivileged communities, like women and youth, in the tourism supply chain, supporting their development and self-sufficiency.

Red Rocks Rwanda empowers these communities through various projects and initiatives, such as providing employment opportunities and training in creative artwork through youth artisan cooperatives.

Additionally, they assist these communities in selling their artwork in urban trading centers, marketing their products, and connecting them with microfinance opportunities.

Learn more about their work, here.

Asia-Pacific

Tenacious Bee Collective (Badsar Village, Himachal Pradesh, India)

Tenacious Bee is a movement dedicated to reviving, preserving, and promoting beekeeping as a sustainable source of income in rural areas.

Over the past five years, they have developed a model that fosters a circular economy, focusing on small-scale beekeeping in their adopted village in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.

Through this initiative, they have not only created new and exciting employment opportunities for women in the village but also showcased the ecological and economic benefits of transitioning to permaculture farming practices on their small plots of land.

In parallel, they have established a range of services that revolve around the maintenance of traditional beehives and the cultivation of private apiaries, specifically centered on native bee species. 

Learn more about their work, here.

Odisha Ecotourism Foundation (Desia Village, Koraput, Odisha, India)

The Odisha Ecotourism Foundation is dedicated to empowering and conserving nature through the promotion of ecotourism. They firmly believe that ecotourism can serve as a powerful tool for both empowering local communities and protecting the environment.

Their work encompasses various projects, including the management of two community-based eco-lodges in the remote tribal areas of the Koraput Valley, known as Title DESIA.

Learn more about their work, here.

North Andaman Network Foundation – Kao Thep Pitak (Kuraburi, Phnag Nga, Thailand)

The North Andaman Network Foundation (NAN) is a collaborative group comprising dedicated locals, activists, and development experts.

With more than a decade of grassroots experience in Thailand, their work spans various areas, including tsunami relief, conservation efforts, community-based tourism, education, and human rights advocacy.

Learn more about their work, here.

SPOONS Cafe Restaurant (Siem Reap, Cambodia)

SPOONS is a versatile training facility and community space with a mission to benefit students, the local community, and NGO partners in Cambodia.

Their restaurant not only offers delicious meals but also serves as a platform for training programs that support disadvantaged youth.

They allocate 50% of the restaurant’s profits exclusively to these training initiatives, while the remaining 50% is set aside in a reserved capital fund at SPOONS. Their primary goal is to preserve the unique dishes of Cambodia’s traditional cuisine.

Learn more about their work, here.

Sharing Seeds (Sarangkot, Pokhara Nepal)

Sharing Seeds is a not-for-profit social enterprise whose mission is to empower local farmers by providing knowledge and resources to cultivate organic Arabica coffee and practice organic beekeeping.

Additionally, they offer village women opportunities to create sustainable, recycled handicrafts using hemp fabrics, enabling them to achieve economic independence.

In many Nepali villages, numerous community members seek a better quality of life by migrating to other countries. Unfortunately, they often find themselves engaged in risky jobs for minimal income, with some even losing their lives due to harsh working conditions.

At Sharing Seeds, they are dedicated to reversing this trend by inspiring and motivating local youths and rural women to embrace sustainable cash crop farming and engage in income-generating activities within their own villages.

Learn more about their work, here.

Barauli Community Homestay (Kawaswoti Municipality, Godar)

Barauli Community Homestay is a traditional Tharu community homestay located in the village of Barauli near Chitwan, managed by local women.

They provide travelers with a unique opportunity to engage with the community and gain insight into their way of life.

They also offer wildlife-focused activities in the nearby community forest. The homestay compound includes tended gardens and farmyard animals, providing a peaceful retreat when not participating in activities.

Their culinary offerings showcase locally-sourced ingredients, providing a true taste of the region.

Learn more about their work, here.

As you can see, tourism plays a vital role in these organizations’ efforts to keep their culture alive, celebrate their traditions and safeguard the places they call home; and through the GCTF, Planeterra strides to amplify their impact for years to come. 

Help Planeterra empower more communities through the Global Community Tourism Fund, click here to make a donation.

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From Tradition to Tech: Women Driving Change in Community Tourism

June 22, 2023 Selene Orellana Guest Post, News + Blog
Written by Zoë Woods
Women are using technology to connect, communicate, and proudly embrace their diverse cultural heritage.

In today’s digital age, Internet platforms offer a vibrant space for women to share their inspiring narratives with the world and display their traditional arts and crafts.

In community tourism, technology acts as a catalyst for women’s empowerment, opening doors to economic and social success. Women are harnessing the power of technology to bridge divides, encourage inclusion, and honour their cultural heritage through the harmonious integration of tradition and innovation.

Asociación de Mujeres Artesanas Zoológico Mágico San Martin de Tilcajete, Oaxaca, Mexico
Keeping Cultural Heritage Safe

Digital platforms have opened up new avenues for communities to showcase their rich cultural tapestry. From websites and social media to virtual reality experiences, these platforms attract tourists in search of authentic encounters. Women play a pivotal role in curating these digital offerings, serving as the custodians of cultural heritage and ensuring that their traditions are appropriately portrayed and preserved.

In addition, women are creating spaces that foster intercultural dialogue. Through online forums, storytelling platforms, and video conferencing, women from diverse cultures come together to interact, exchange ideas, and collaborate on community tourism initiatives. These virtual connections not only facilitate cross-cultural bonds but also promote mutual understanding and appreciation of different cultures.

Developing Women's Digital Literacy

Women who possess digital literacy skills are better equipped to navigate the modern landscape and drive meaningful change. Recognizing the importance of empowering women in rural areas and assisting them in utilizing technology for their economic and social growth, several organizations and projects have emerged to provide training and resources. provide training and resources. Through digital literacy programs, women gain essential skills such as internet marketing, e-commerce, and social media management, allowing them to showcase their community tourism projects to a wider audience.

Aside from teaching technical skills, these programs often equip women with the tools they need to excel in leadership, entrepreneurship, and financial management. Women take on leadership roles in their communities, taking charge of tourism initiatives, planning events, and encouraging community cooperation.

Technology, a Bridge to Economic Opportunities

Technology acts as a bridge, opening up new revenue streams and connecting women engaged in community tourism to a broader market. With the rise of internet platforms such as marketplaces and booking sites, women now have the ability to market and sell their local tourism services to customers worldwide. By cutting out intermediaries, this direct link enables women to maximize their earnings, contribute to their communities, and improve their quality of life

Moreover, women are using technology to diversify their sources of income. Through online marketplaces, they can showcase and promote genuine handicrafts, locally sourced products, and unique experiences. By doing so, they not only preserve traditional crafts but also generate income and establish sustainable livelihoods for themselves and fellow community members. Technology enables women to reach customers beyond their local markets and transform their community tourism enterprises into thriving ventures.

Overcoming Obstacles

Despite the tremendous benefits provided by technology, women working in community tourism still face various challenges. Limited access, inadequate infrastructure, and cultural constraints can hinder women who aspire to embrace technology. Recognizing these obstacles, several programs and organizations are diligently working to bridge the digital divide. They provide women with the necessary infrastructure, support systems, and training to thrive in the digital era.

Furthermore, cultural norms and gender stereotypes may restrict women’s participation in leadership positions and decision-making processes within community tourism. Technology-based solutions alone won’t solve these problems; societal and cultural changes are also imperative.

In order to challenge and eliminate gender barriers and create an inclusive atmosphere where women can contribute fully to the growth of community tourism, initiatives focused on women’s empowerment, lobbying campaigns, and regulatory reforms are essential.

Final thoughts

As we recognize the extraordinary achievements made by these women, it is crucial to support their ongoing efforts by giving them the tools and platforms needed to elevate their voices and build a more inclusive and successful future for community tourism globally. 

Planeterra_IUCN_Rio_Abiseo_paisaje

About the author:

Zoë Woods is enthusiastic about empowering women in the tech industry.

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Weaving a new Future: How Tourism has Empowered Indigenous Women in Peru

April 30, 2023 Selene Orellana Guest Post, News + Blog
Written by Serena Hejazi
Deep in the Andes Mountains of Peru lies the village of Ccaccaccollo, home to a group of Indigenous women who have found empowerment through tourism.

The women of Ccaccaccollo belong to a Quechua community, which has lived in the Andes for thousands of years. They are skilled weavers, creating beautiful textiles using the traditional techniques passed down through generations. Despite their rich cultural heritage, many of these women have struggled with poverty, lack of education, and discrimination.

Until recently, the market for their products was limited, and they struggled to earn a decent living. In the early 2000s, a group of local women with the help of Planeterra formed the Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Co-op to promote their work and improve their economic prospects. 

The cooperative called “Awamaki” which means “handmade” in Quechua, also provides training and support for other indigenous women to develop their skills, market their products, and manage their finances: it’s all about women supporting other women! 

Tourism has been a game-changer for the women of Ccaccaccollo. The village has become a popular destination for tourists seeking an authentic Andean experience. Visitors can learn about the Quechua culture, watch the women weave their textiles, and even participate in traditional ceremonies and of course you can also purchase their products.

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It’s safe to say that the women of Ccaccaccollo have been able to improve their economic situation and they now have a stable source of income and can provide for their families thanks to tourism. 

They have also gained a sense of pride in their cultural heritage, which they are now able to share with visitors from around the world.

But tourism has not only helped the women of Ccaccaccollo economically, it has also helped to preserve their traditional way of life. The women have been able to continue weaving using the traditional techniques and materials, which have been passed down through generations. 

They have also been able to maintain their language and culture, passing it on to their children and grandchildren.

The success of the Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Association is an inspiring example of how tourism can be a force for good in indigenous communities. By providing a market for traditional products and cultural experiences, tourism had a positive impact in the lives of dozens of people. 

If you are planning a trip to Peru, consider visiting Ccaccaccollo and supporting the women of Awamaki. You can purchase their beautiful textiles and learn about their rich cultural heritage. By doing so, you will not only have a unique travel experience but also make a positive impact on the lives of these remarkable women.

Serena Hejazi

About the author:

Serena Hejazi is a passionate traveler and the author of Sere Travels, a blog that focuses on sustainable tourism. Visit http://seretravels.com/ to learn more about Serena’s travels. 

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Unfolding Nepalese Women’s Entrepreneurial Journey

March 1, 2023 Selene Orellana Communities, Guest Post, News + Blog
Written by Aayusha Prasain, CEO, of Community Homestay Network
Despite various challenges women in Nepal face, travel and tourism provide them with more opportunities for empowerment and entrepreneurship than any other industry, giving the sector increased responsibility for the advancement of women.

When we hear the word entrepreneurship attached to women in Nepal, the first thing that comes to mind is all the barriers they might have to overcome while pursuing, scaling and sustaining it. These are not just ideas that come to us subconsciously; access to resources and opportunities for women due to the patriarchal structure of society plays a vital role in shaping these thoughts. 

Although women make up 51.04% of the population in Nepal (Census Nepal, 2021), they are not considered equal workers in the economy. Sadly, women tend to be marginalized and discriminated against for access to education, employment opportunities, and property ownership. In addition, the legal framework and policies also affect the control of productive resources like land, forest, credit, and technology. 

According to Nepal’s 2011 census, only 19.71 % of women have asset ownership. Women in Nepal are often associated with subsistence agriculture or work with a huge pay gap. My experiences of working with the communities and the different studies have shown women facing difficulties rising above from the subsistence or lower-paying jobs to high-productivity sectors. 

Women are also disadvantaged because they tend to have inadequate time managing both the demands of their business with domestic tasks – and have lower literacy levels, particularly in developing countries like ours. Along with these challenges, the attitude towards working women creates more obstacles, and as a result, there are few successful women entrepreneurs in developing countries. 

The question is, how do we change that?

According to the UN Global Report on Women and Tourism 2010 by World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and UN Women, tourism also promotes women’s leadership more than other sectors of the economy. 

Since its establishment, Community Homestay Network has been one of the social enterprises in Nepal that encourages local women to take the lead in managing their enterprises (community homestays) while offering authentic experiences to travellers. 

Testimonies from the women running community homestays have shared that one of the benefits of interacting with travellers has been learning about different cultures. While they also emphasize the importance of paid work and their contribution to their families well-being, many women entrepreneurs within our network often mention gaining confidence through interactions with travellers. 

Women hosting travellers Panauti Community Homestay, Nepal

They have stated that running homestays have made them more aware of the hygiene and cleanliness of their homes and the surroundings. The hosts of Panauti Community Homestay, the first women-run Community Homestay of Nepal and the flagship product of Community Homestay Network, often express that the economic gain has helped almost every women entrepreneur in their community to strengthen their social networking skills as well as amplified their voices towards community development as a whole. 

Networking plays a crucial role in entrepreneurship. Compared to men, women in traditional societies have less advantage in building networks resulting in limited information about markets and NGOs or government organizations’ support mechanisms. This is probably caused by restrictions on women’s freedom of movement in the public sphere. In such cases, women with strong family support participated actively in requesting additional assistance from the organization, as well as demonstrated leadership abilities.

Another challenge women in (the rural areas of) Nepal face is the lack of access to credit and financial services. This often limits them to start and expand their businesses and also, according to Bushell (2008), creates a dependency on their male counterparts. 

We have been working with hosts of community homestays (mostly women) within our network to have bank accounts in their name to overcome such challenges. Along with our impact partners like ICIMOD and Planeterra, we are actively trying to encourage women entrepreneurs to break the biases. 

In Barauli, we were proactively engaged to establish the bank accounts in women’s names, although this created friction at the beginning due to the conservative mindsets of a few locals. Proper communication and opportunities that could be created through financial independence paved the way for change. 

Walking through the villages in Barauli Barauli Community Homestay, Nepal

As empowerment means different to different women, we should not try to put women in the same basket while unfolding women’s entrepreneurship. 

For some, it might be interacting with the travellers, but for some having a separate bank account, though shy to interact with outsiders, might be the first step to building confidence. In this sense, tourism has also provided women in developing countries the chance to engage themselves where they would not be directly forced into moving out of their houses to start something new to prove the notion of empowerment and success. 

Running community homestays has also helped them use the skills and knowledge (household management) that they have been doing for years to manage the enterprise. This would build confidence in women and help them receive direct financial benefits. 

Despite advancements for women, the tourism industry cannot blindside the persisting inequality inside its sector. Women are paid less, engage in work that receives less money, and are underrepresented in certain tourism occupations and management levels. The issue of overtaking the enterprise once it is successful has also been one of the bottlenecks for women to foster in their entrepreneurial journeys. 

Although the legal registration of the enterprise is in the woman’s name, there is also a tendency to take over the enterprise when it starts to become more successful. Regarding this phenomenon, Brenda Bushell, in one of her studies, has cited women as surrogate entrepreneurs.  

For the economic development of any country, the government, private sector and other relevant stakeholders cannot just capitalize on half of its human potential. Various studies show that organizations that include women on their boards or as decision-makers have their staff performing better in terms of profitability, creativity, and sustainability. Hence, the prospect of a gender-equal society as a whole is promising. 

As a social enterprise, we are doing our bit to change the overall entrepreneurial environment for women. Still, meaningful partnerships among and between relevant stakeholders play a crucial role to develop and strengthen women’s entrepreneurship and leadership.

Aayusha Prasain, CEO- Community Homestay Network

About the author:

As the CEO of Community Homestay Network (CHN), Aayusha is working towards strengthening the organization while streamlining and scaling the impact of tourism across communities. Along with her team at CHN, she also works towards bringing local actors into the tourism value chain and promoting responsible and inclusive tourism. 

Visit www.communityhomestay.com to learn more about CHN’s work.

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Celebrating 20 Years of Impact

February 23, 2023 Selene Orellana News + Blog

Bruce Poon Tip had the vision to use tourism to raise money to do good things around the world. Twenty years later, this vision not only became a reality but is also changing the way in which the tourism industry traditionally works, embracing local communities rather than excluding them from tourism and making travel experiences more meaningful and impactful in the process.

2023 marks Planeterra’s 20th Anniversary. As with any major life milestone, we’re taking a moment to look back and reflect on where we started and how far we have travelled – from those early days raising funds to the collective work that has gone into our efforts to make the tourism industry more equitable and giving a voice to communities worldwide.

  Fun Fact: Planeterra is named after one of Bruce’s daughters – Terra – who was also born in 2003.

Planeterra’s major milestones over the years

Planeterra’s history is filled with pivotal moments and key achievements that have allowed us to use community tourism to change lives. We are proud to share some of the highlights with you:

Using tourism to do good things around the world

When Planeterra first started back in 2003, it acted more as a traditional philanthropic non-profit charity, focusing on a specific issue and fundraising through travellers to raise money for various causes including water towers in Central America, a maternity ward for a hospital in East Africa and eye camps in Tibet.

In 2004, Planeterra partnered with Inti Runakunaq Wasin in Peru to support children, adolescents, women, and people with special needs who are at risk, abandoned victims of domestic violence, or those looking to improve their quality of life by promoting positive participation in their communities and families. Planeterra funded the purchase of the Cuzco Youth Drop-in Center Inti Runakunaq Wasin “The House of Children of the Sun” in 2009, where children and youth participate in various educational training, workshops, occupational, and income generation programs.

In January 2010, Haiti was hit by a catastrophic earthquake and together with G Adventures, we raised over $10,000 for the Canadian Red Cross in just one week, and the Canadian government matched our donation. Additionally, Bruce Poon Tip personally volunteered to join an Air Canada relief flight to deliver more than 25,000 pounds of donated food and supplies to the most affected areas. 

The world was struck by another devastating earthquake in 2015, this time in Nepal. Once again we united forces with G Adventures, raising over $200,000 CAD for the victims of this devastating event. 

Initially, we provided emergency aid and basic living supplies to families in the Kavrepalanchok district. However, after assessing the situation and the extent of the need, our plans shifted toward rebuilding houses. In total, we helped rebuild homes for 152 families! 

Note: Planeterra does not fundraise for disaster relief anymore as there are many organizations better equipped to mobilize quickly in times of tragedy. We know that recovery from such catastrophic events can take years, that is why we decided to shift our focus to helping communities regain independence in the aftermath of a disaster, by harnessing the economic power of tourism and encouraging travellers to once again visit these destinations when it is safe and reasonable to do so.

Investing in people and their potential for sustainable growth

Over the years, we came to realize that we could have a greater impact by working with, and through, the tourism sector itself to create opportunities for local communities to thrive.

The idea of working with tourism industry partners to support the development of community tourism enterprises that uplift communities was born and through it, Planeterra has been able to create a long-lasting sustainable impact.

Our first community enterprise, the Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Co-op, was established in 2005. Planeterra worked with the Ccaccaccollo community in the Sacred Valley of Peru to develop a women’s weaving cooperative to create economic opportunities for the women of this community. 

When Planeterra first developed a partnership with the women in the Ccaccaccollo community, the cooperative was run by only 3 women – today, the cooperative is owned by 46 women! We are proud to see how these women have not only maintained their traditional weaving methods but also used the income from tourism to empower themselves and their families.

In 2007, we worked with Salaam Baalak Trust to support City Walk, a youth-led walking tour that provides a different perspective to Delhi, India while giving youth the opportunity to gain new skills. Funds from the City Walk program are used to provide scholarships and job placements for youth, as well as resources for shelters for homeless children and youth.

In 2010, we worked with New Hope Outreach Centre to build a training restaurant to support young Khmers living just outside of Siem Reap, Cambodia. In addition to providing training, proceeds from the restaurant are used to provide health care and fresh water to the student’s families to reduce sickness.

A few years later, in 2012, Planeterra was granted a $1 million multi-year partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank Multilateral Investment Fund to develop a sustainable community-based tourism program in Central and South America. The project aimed to increase the competitiveness of micro and small enterprises by optimizing their market access and efficiency in the tourism value chain. Watch the video below to learn more about this project!

In 2016 we officially launched our “50 in 5” campaign, with a vision to develop and include 50 new social enterprises into G Adventures tours in 5 years and by 2019 (a year and a half early!) we successfully completed it. Building on this success, Planeterra introduced Project 100, a new mandate to launch 100 total social enterprise and community projects into G Adventures tours by the end of 2020. In 2019, we also launched partnerships with two well-established U.K. travel brands Travelsphere and Just You.

Everything was going great, we were on track with our plans when an unprecedented pandemic hit the world. We knew we needed a rapid response to be able to support our community partners, so our team rapidly deployed a needs assessment survey to have a better understanding of the situation. From this, we learned that a quarter of our partners were at risk of not being able to support their households and families with basic needs like nutritious food and healthcare. 

Planeterra immediately began fundraising to support emergency relief grants by launching the Turn Travel into Impact from Home campaign one week after the worldwide shutdown, making us one of the first in our industry to respond to the crisis. 

We also learned that our community partners really wanted ongoing support in business planning, marketing, and partnership development and saw the opportunity to take everything we had learned in the last 15 years of developing community tourism enterprises and create an online space to provide them with all the training resources they need to thrive in the tourism sector. We named it the Learning Hub.

Planeterra’s Turn Travel Into Impact from Home campaign was selected out of over 250 applicants for the World Travel Market Responsible Tourism Award, which recognized our work supporting our community partners during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on the sustainability and longevity of our Learning Hub. The Family Travel Association also recognized our work with communities not only in 2020 and during the pandemic, but every year.

In June of 2020, Planeterra was awarded a grant from the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) for a project focusing on increasing domestic demand for handicrafts made by local artisans from our partners at the Sthree Craft Shop & Café in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This project has equipped 110 women entrepreneurs and 23 employees from the Women’s Development Centre in Sri Lanka with increased knowledge of business management, improved handicraft skills, and a better understanding of domestic market channels and trends. 

Sthree Craft Shop and Café - Planeterra
Sthree Craft Shop and Café Kandy, Sri Lanka

2020 also marked the start of one of our main annual fundraising events, the Planeterra Trek Challenge. In this first edition, more than 550 participants set off to symbolically trek to Everest Base Camp, walking the 85,000 steps around their neighbourhoods in more than 30 countries, while raising over CAD 100,000 for Planeterra’s work.

In 2021, another major turning point for Planeterra occurred as we publicly launched the Global Community Tourism Network (GCTN) sharing what we have learned throughout these years about community tourism with a broader audience. This includes NGOs, social enterprises, community-owned enterprises or associations, cooperatives, and small micro-enterprises that have social and/or environmental goals.

Also in 2021, we launched a ground-breaking partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network. Through a project supported by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), we worked together to demonstrate how community tourism can uplift the livelihoods of communities living in and around protected areas and thereby leading to more effective biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. 

In 2022, we launched the Global Community Tourism Fund, a grant program that supports the growth and recovery of community tourism enterprises within the GCTN through small grants and mentorship. Read more about the fund and its recipients, here.

Learn more about Planeterra’s work in 2022.

To date, Planeterra has worked with over 450 communities in 78 countries, impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

Looking to the future, Planeterra’s ambitious vision is to achieve the following goals by 2030:

50 million travellers experiencing community tourism.

A cumulative $1 billion worth of income reaching communities.

  3.5 million lives improved.

We are excited to see what the next 20 years will bring! 

Want to join the celebration of our 20th Anniversary? If you have visited one of our partners, share your favourite #PlaneterraMoment with us by tagging @planeterracares on Instagram or send us a message with the link to your post.

community projects planeterra has supported

Discover the community tourism projects Planeterra has supported over the years.

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What does sustainable tourism in a post-COVID look like in Vietnam?

January 23, 2023 Selene Orellana IUCN, News + Blog

As 2022 came to an end, so did the ‘Sustainable Tourism and Protected Areas in a Post-COVID World’ project, funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, in which we collaborated with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

With this project, we aimed to uplift communities, living in and around protected areas, to use tourism enterprises as a way to recover from the impacts created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The project also aimed to develop a more crisis-resilient and sustainable landscape in and around protected and conserved areas. The focus was on improving the ecological and social aspects of tourism and rebuilding better for people, wildlife, and ecosystems.

To achieve this, IUCN and Planeterra worked in the Cuc Phuong National Park and Van Long Nature Reserve (Vietnam) to provide training to, and build the capacity of, community members. Through this, both organizations were looking to uplift local community tourism enterprises and increase their benefits, build common visions through action planning, and provide recommendations to protected area staff and management, as well as global guidance and best practice solution sharing based on lessons learned from the project.

We used MEET Network’s experience and methodology to inform and provide guidance and content to the project, including its actions with project sites. Also, the IUCN Green List Standard was core to the success of the project.

Our work in Vietnam

Tourism was not the main source of income for the communities in the Cuc Phuong National Park. The Khanh village has been the only location open to visitors since 1993, making it one of the earliest examples of community-based tourism in Vietnam, as noted by the Cuc Phuong Management Board. However, the village currently has only four homestays and the services, pertaining to tourism, are limited.

We found out that people in Cuc Phuong were keen to gain knowledge about tourism and use it to diversify their income. We also discovered that staff from the Cuc Phuong Center of Education and Environmental Services, in charge of tourism and education activities, were not trained to deliver tourism products and services. Likewise, there was no monitoring and evaluation system in place to ensure an effective and smooth operation of community tourism-related products. 

We could see a similar case in the Van Long Nature Reserve, given that tourism was not the main source of income, but community members were eager to gain the skills and knowledge needed to run a tourism enterprise. It was also identified that the Management Board responsible for tourism management in the area, lacked expertise in the matter.

Check out the activities the project initially planned for the Cuc Phuong National Park, here.

To identify all of the situations mentioned above and adapt the initial project plan to better suit the communities needs, our team in the field started off by conducting a baseline survey.

Training sessions

A series of three workshops were conducted in five villages to improve the community participants’ knowledge and skills in:

  • Health & safety.
  • Ecotourism product and itinerary development.
  • Ecotourism marketing and promotion.

All the contents were tailored to fit the demographic features of selected communities (ethnicity, age, learning ability, etc.). 

Read more about the Health and Safety training in both protected areas in this blog post.

Product development and pilot trips

Four tour itineraries that highlighted the most prominent features of the local communities were designed and two out of them were put into practice. Since community members were mostly new to tourism, it was determined that hosting pilot trips, which would give an opportunity to community members to interact with tourists first-hand, would be more suitable activities to implement at this stage.

The project, in close collaboration with community members, then organized one ‘learning trip’ for tour guides and three ‘test trips’ (two to Khanh village in Cuc Phuong National Park and one to the Van Long Natural Reserve) involving expatriates living in Hanoi. These initiatives helped our team to get feedback from visitors as well as give local communities the chance to improve their skills before introducing them to the tourism market. 

Learn more about the pilot trips in Vietnam here.

Planeterra’s key learnings

After working on the ‘Sustainable Tourism and Protected Areas in a Post-COVID World’ project in Vietnam for over a year, we learned that:

  • Conducting baseline surveys before designing a community tourism project is key to understanding the current situation and real needs. 
  • If there are any issues related to the administration and local partnership, they must be sorted out before the project implementation. 
  • It would be ideal to have a designated team to continue supporting the project, or perform regular check-ins after its completion, to be able to guarantee the sustainability of the activities.

Community tourism enterprise development provides local communities with additional opportunities to recover from the negative impacts of COVID-19, whilst promoting resilience through the development of business skills and knowledge and by emphasizing the importance of linking community well-being and effective protected area management.

Looking back at all the project activities (i.e. cash-for-work), we can see how some of them have had a positive impact on motivating the communities to use tourism as an additional income source that draws value from healthy and protected areas. 

For Planeterra, working on this project has reaffirmed that tourism, when managed responsibly, can be crucial to promote a positive relationship between communities and the environment. 

Learn more about the ‘Sustainable Tourism and Protected Areas in a Post-COVID World’ project, here.

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What does sustainable tourism in a post-COVID look like in Peru?

January 23, 2023 Selene Orellana IUCN, News + Blog

As 2022 came to an end, so did the ‘Sustainable Tourism and Protected Areas in a Post-COVID World’ project, funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, in which we collaborated with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

With this project, we aimed to bridge the gap created by the pandemic on tourism and develop a more crisis-resilient and sustainable landscape in and around protected and conserved areas. The focus was also on improving the ecological and social aspects of tourism and rebuilding better for people, wildlife, and ecosystems.

To achieve this, IUCN and Planeterra worked in the Río Abiseo National Park and Amarakaeri Communal Reserve (Peru) to provide training and capacity building to community members. Through this, both organizations were looking to uplift local tourism businesses and increase their benefits, build common visions through action planning, and provide recommendations to protected area staff and management, as well as global guidance and best practice solution sharing based on lessons learned from the project.

We used MEET Network’s experience and methodology to inform and provide guidance and content to the project, including its actions with project sites. Also, the IUCN Green List Standard was core to the success of the project.

Our work in Peru

Because of COVID-19, the access roads to the Río Abiseo National Park were closed, the flow of visitors decreased, and economic activities based on agriculture, forestry work, and local commerce were limited. Even though the situation of tourism in the area seemed to be improving at the start of 2022, there were still some barriers for community members.

Some of these included having limited access to training and funding opportunities to develop unique and meaningful community tourism enterprises that go along with the flow of visitors around the local tourist attractions (e.g. the improvement of food and lodging services that already existed). Through this project, we worked with five rural communities (San Juan del Abiseo, Pizarro, Pucallpillo, Santa Rosa and Dos de Mayo) in this protected area.

Check out this blog post and meet some of the local entrepreneurs at Río Abiseo National Park who developed and improved their community tourism products and experiences by working on this project with IUCN and Planeterra.

In the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, the COVID-19 pandemic paralyzed the flow of tourists. Given that the community has been hosting travellers for over 10 years when tourism came to a halt it left severe economic losses. This meant that they had to go back to traditional fishing, hunting, agriculture and other extractive activities as a survival measure.

Talking about tourism, in this protected area we worked and supported the Indigenous communities of Queros, Shintuya, Puerto Azul Mberowe and Boca Ishiriwe. They were already involved in the tourism sector, and some of them had formal organizations and basic tourism facilities to host tourists. However, there was still the need to provide training and capacity building to improve the existing community experiences, effective market access, as well as access to tools for responsible tourism development, basic sanitation, and improving the quality of life of the local population.

To get a clear understanding of the current situation of tourism in both protected areas, the team in the field conducted a baseline survey. As a result, a starting point was established for all project activities.

Conducting a baseline survey is key to the success of a project and for our team in Peru, it also became a powerful tool to boost stakeholder participation in both protected areas. It is also worth mentioning that there was no previous analysis on these topics at the national or local level, making this information the first of its kind in Peru.

Let’s review some of the most outstanding project initiatives!

Training sessions

The training sessions for this project focused on the following topics:

  • Health & safety.
  • Ecotourism product & itinerary development. 
  • Ecotourism marketing and promotion.

Thanks to the baseline surveys, our team in the field learned that the residents of Río Abiseo National Park had no previous knowledge about tourism businesses, so the sessions needed to start from zero. On the other hand, people from the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve had previous experience in tourism, so the training sessions were designed to enhance their existing tourism offer.

Read more about the ecotourism products training, here.

Community-Led Action Plans & Cash-for-Work

The community members in both protected areas had to envision how they would like tourism to be and then come up with a Collective Dream. Based on this, the participants agreed on an Action Plan that would guide their activities relating to community tourism development.

Part of the Community-Led Action Plan included Cash-for-Work activities, which enabled community members to use their skills to develop tourism infrastructure that would contribute to adding value to the products, services and itineraries that the communities developed. The Cash-for-Work mechanism ensures that these economic resources are directly benefiting each participant. 

Click here to read more about how the cash-for-work initiative empowered local communities in Peru.

Product development and FAM Trips

During the Ecotourism Product and Itinerary development training, the communities and facilitators co-designed twelve tour itineraries. To get a more practical understanding and showcase their products, the communities hosted FAM Trips with Peruvian tour operators.

The expectations from both sides were high. In the case of destination managers, joining these trips allowed them to see the reality of tourism in their territory, community performance, conservation commitment and future expectations from operators and hosts. The FAM Trips also helped to get feedback from tour operators about the protected areas and community tourism potential.

Learn more about the FAM Trips, here.

Planeterra’s key learnings

After working in the ‘Sustainable Tourism and Protected Areas in a Post-COVID World’ project in Peru for over a year, we learned that:

  • Coordination between all stakeholders is important. 
  • The organizations involved must work together to break down barriers instead of putting up new ones. There must be clear institutional roles and discussions over tourism management and tourist destinations governance frameworks to empower communities.
  • Having a professional team with vast knowledge and experience in each destination is crucial.
  • To succeed in tourism, there must be a clear market-driven strategy among tour operators and communities. 

Community tourism enterprise development provides local communities with additional opportunities to recover from the negative impacts of COVID-19, whilst promoting resilience through the development of business skills and knowledge and by emphasizing the importance of linking community well-being and effective protected area management.

Looking back at all the project activities (i.e. cash-for-work), we can see how some of them have had a positive impact on motivating the communities to use tourism as an additional income source that draws value from healthy and protected areas. 

For Planeterra, working on this project has reaffirmed that tourism, when managed responsibly, can be crucial to promote a positive relationship between communities and the environment. 

Learn more about the ‘Sustainable Tourism and Protected Areas in a Post-COVID World’ project, here.

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Planeterra’s work in 2022

January 15, 2023 Selene Orellana Communities, News + Blog

Planeterra continued to be at the forefront of community tourism in 2022. As travel restrictions were lifted, we were thrilled to receive images and videos from our partners as they welcomed back travellers after shutting down due to the pandemic. But the road to recovery has not been easy for everyone and a great part of our work in 2022 was focused on ensuring that communities are able to benefit from tourism once again.

We continued supporting community tourism enterprises through our Global Community Tourism Network (GCTN). In 2022, our team hosted several Community Hours and monthly Webinars, both in English and Spanish, and we continued providing ongoing support and mentorship for community tourism enterprises through our Learning Hub.

To date, 450 community members from 77 different countries are part of the GCTN🌎

Watch some of the webinars we hosted in 2022:

For more Planeterra videos, check out our YouTube channel.

One of the major highlights of last year was the launching of the Global Community Tourism Fund. This is a grant program that supports growth and recovery for community tourism enterprises within the GCTN through small grants and mentorship. Each of the recipients received a flexible grant to support initiatives such as infrastructure upgrades, equipment purchases, marketing, training and more.

Read more about the first projects supported by the fund, here.

Over the past year, our team collaborated for the first time with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in the ‘Sustainable Tourism and Protected Areas in a Post-COVID World’ project, funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The goal of this project was to bridge the gap created by the pandemic on tourism and develop a more crisis-resilient and sustainable landscape in and around protected and conserved areas. The focus was also on building back better for the people, wildlife and ecosystems, as well as improving the ecological and social aspects of tourism.

Planeterra and IUCN worked in the Río Abiseo National Park and Amarakaeri Communal Reserve in Peru and Cuc Phuong National Park and Van Long Nature Reserve in Vietnam. Our team in the field first worked with community members in each protected area to understand the current situation of tourism, provided training in topics such as ecotourism, health & safety, and marketing and deployed a series of initiatives, one of them being the cash for work activities, to benefit community members. 

Read more about some of the outcomes of the project in Peru and Vietnam.

Dos de Mayo Community, Río Abiseo National Park
Dos de Mayo Community, Río Abiseo National Park

Planeterra closed 2022 granting wishes with our annual holiday campaign, The Wish List. This year, the goal was to help our community partners fully recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and to support them in getting ready to welcome travellers once again and benefit from tourism. 

To create more impact, the Wish List focused on uplifting five critical areas:

We are thrilled to announce that the Wish List campaign was a success and it surpassed our goal of raising CAD 50,000! Thank you to everyone who donated and supported us throughout the campaign. Without you, none of this would have been possible.

To close off, we would like to celebrate the awards and recognitions Planeterra received in 2022. Our Global Community Tourism Fund, through which Planeterra provides small grants to help local entrepreneurs and communities worldwide benefit from tourism, was recognized in Condé Nast Traveler’s first-ever Bright Ideas in Travel list (read more about it, here). We were also humbled to receive the Meaningful Tourism Award 2022 in recognition of our commitment to creating a new approach to tourism (click here to learn more about it).

We would also like to give a shout-out to our partners who received recognition for their inspiring work:

And with this, we come to the end of some of Planeterra’s work in 2022. In the next couple of months, we will be releasing our 2022 Impact Report, so do not forget to subscribe to our newsletter to be the first one to read it. Also, follow us on Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to learn more about our work and all the exciting things we have in store to continue using community tourism to change lives in 2023 and beyond.

As we look forward to the new year, we are excited to be celebrating Planeterra’s 20th Anniversary! Twenty years of working to uplift communities and to show that tourism, when done right, can truly be a force for good.

Stay tuned for more exciting announcements about our anniversary. If you would like to be part of the celebration and have visited one of our partners over the years, share your favourite #PlaneterraMoment with us by tagging @planeterracares on Instagram or send us a message with the link to your post.

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