community tourism

One Trip, A Wider Impact: How One Traveller Is Helping Communities Thrive

At 50, Philip Jan Blase made himself a promise: “If I don’t do it now, I never will.”

So he packed his bags and started travelling. What began as a long-held dream has taken him across 48 countries and all seven continents. Along the way, Philip has discovered that the most memorable parts of a journey are often not the places themselves, but the people who invite you into their world and the stories that stay with you long after you return home.

That is what brought Philip closer to Planeterra.

Philip had heard about Planeterra during his travels, but it was on his G Adventures trip through Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize that he began to understand the impact of its work. In Guatemala, the journey carried him along the Rio Dulce, where the river winds through dense tropical greenery, towering trees, mangroves, and quiet waterways. As the group travelled deeper along the river, the landscape opened into a quieter side of Guatemala, far from the usual tourist trail.

Along the river lies Cayo Quemado, a small community where generations of families have made their lives. Here, surrounded by the tropical landscape of the Río Dulce, Philip and his fellow travellers stopped at Restaurante El Manglar.

A Meal With A Bigger Story

Restaurante El Manglar was founded by the Cayo Quemado Women’s Committee to create employment and training opportunities within the community. Fishing had long been a primary source of income, but when new government laws, including a fishing ban, were introduced in 2004, the community faced significant economic hardship. With fewer ways to make a living locally, people began leaving Cayo Quemado in search of work, which separated families.

The women of Cayo Quemado began looking for another way forward. Tourism offered one.

Today, El Manglar brings women from different generations together, creating a space where knowledge, skills, and traditions can be shared while building income within the community. The initiative directly impacts 15 women and indirectly supports around 100 people.

Philip experienced this work firsthand.

At El Manglar, the women showed them how the meal was prepared, introducing them to the fresh ingredients and spices that gave the food its flavour.

They were then taken around the facilities and shown the small hotel the women were developing, offering a glimpse of how the initiative was growing beyond the restaurant. For the women of El Manglar, welcoming travellers is a way to earn an income close to home, share their culture, and pass knowledge between generations.

Where a Donation Becomes Something Tangible

Philip’s experience at El Manglar helped him understand how Planeterra’s work connects travellers with the communities they visit. Donations allow Planeterra to provide grants, training, and ongoing support to Community Tourism Enterprises working to build sustainable livelihoods.

At El Manglar, that support helped the Cayo Quemado Women’s Committee equip its kitchen and restaurant, enlarge the bathrooms, and improve uniforms and signage. Planeterra has also provided training in experience development and business administration, helping the team strengthen its operations and work towards greater profitability.

Today, travellers can take part in a Caribbean Gastronomic Experience led by local women and youth. During the experience, they can learn to prepare Ceviche al Coco, a local dish marinated in coconut milk, while hearing about the work of the women behind El Manglar.

For a visitor, it might be a few hours of a holiday. For the community, it is part of something much larger: a business that creates income, a place where generations can learn from one another, and a reason for families to build their futures at home.

That is what Philip values about supporting Planeterra.

“I like the idea of the money staying in the community and not being siphoned off to some other conglomerate somewhere else,” he explained.

The importance of that support became even clearer when Hurricanes Eta and Iota devastated El Manglar. The women faced the enormous task of rebuilding the business they had worked so hard to create and with Planeterra’s support, they were able to recover and continue moving forward.

Discovering The Places You Would Never Find Alone

El Manglar was one of many moments that changed the way Philip thinks about travel.

In Oman, his journey led him to a wadi filled with local people, surrounded by the region’s dramatic landscapes. It was a place he says he would never have found on his own. For Philip, these encounters are what make travel meaningful. They take you beyond the sights and into the lives of the people who call these places home.

That connection can happen over a shared meal, through a traditional craft, or during a conversation with someone whose daily life looks completely different from your own. Community Tourism gives travellers a chance to experience destinations through local knowledge while allowing communities to benefit from the people who come to visit.

Philip encourages other travellers to make the most of those encounters on their G Adventures trips.

Choosing To Make A Difference

After nearly three decades of travelling, Philip has seen most of the world. His decision to support Planeterra stemmed from a desire to do something with that experience.

“We all want the world to be a better place to live in. This is your chance to do it,” he says.

For Philip, donating is a practical way to contribute to the kind of change he wants to see. He knows that his support becomes part of a wider effort to help communities develop businesses, strengthen livelihoods, and share their cultures with travellers.

Now, Planeterra is working towards supporting around 80 new community tourism ventures. For Philip, the scale of that ambition is worth thinking about.

“Think about that: 80 ventures that can change and improve the lives of others,” he says. “We all have an opportunity to prod that goal along. Let’s GO!”

His story began with a decision to travel at 50, proving that it is never too late to start exploring the world. Now, he is making another choice: to help make that world a little better for the people who call these destinations home.

You can be part of it too.

Donate to Planeterra and help more Community Tourism Enterprises access the support they need to create livelihoods, preserve culture, and build stronger futures. Because sometimes the greatest impact of a journey is what you leave behind.

What the Trees Taught Me: Reflections from Two Weeks in Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar

Written by Thomas Armitt, Senior Manager, Climate & Biodiversity at Planeterra

I’ve just returned from two weeks in the field, visiting Community Tree Growing partner sites across Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar. This trip was part of our ongoing tree growing activities implemented in partnership with G Adventures and Evaneos, and my objectives going in were straightforward:

Verify the impacts our projects have been reporting
Assess three years of tree growth
Refine Planeterra’s verification methodology so we can keep our promises to our Travel Partners and to the communities we work with.

What I came home with was something bigger than a verification report. I want to share it.

I thought I understood the impact. I didn’t.

I’ve spent years working at the intersection of Community Tourism and conservation, and I’ve always believed that growing the right trees, in the right places, with the right people, creates real change.

But nothing that I could have prepared in a verification template could have prepared me for standing in these landscapes and seeing, first-hand, how far the ripple effects of growing these trees travel.

A tree, it turns out, is never just a tree…

Three countries, three different stories.

It was my first time travelling in East Africa. My experience of Africa has always revolved around the North, West and Central regions of the continent, and so this journey was an eye opener from a socio-cultural and environmental perspective.

However, what really struck me was the diversity of impacts that can be experienced based on the type of tree growing project I visited. In three different countries, three different stories were shared that educated me on the importance of growing trees that directly benefit communities.

In Kenya, I met smallholder farmers whose trees, after three years, are now producing fruit.

What struck me wasn’t just the yield, it was the pride. These are people who have watched something they nurtured become tangible, useful, alive. And it’s not only about the fruit: the same trees have measurably improved the health of their livestock, feeding into a cycle of resilience that touches almost every part of a household’s life.

The Malagasy landscape Planeterra is helping to restore

In Madagascar, the story that stayed with me was about what happens when the tourism economy suddenly stops. When a crisis hits and visitors disappear, the trees don’t.

Trees continue to provide an economic lifeline for the wider community, an alternative source of income and stability that doesn’t depend on who’s arriving at the airport that month.

In a sector as exposed to shocks as tourism, that kind of buffer matters enormously.

And in Tanzania, I was presented with the story that surprised me most. Trees planted along land boundaries are helping to reduce conflict over land ownership among Maasai communities, acting as permanent, living reference markers for where one Boma’s (the place where Massai set up their dwelling) land ends and another’s begins.

I hadn’t fully appreciated that a tree growing programme could double as a peacebuilding tool, but there it was.

Beyond these headline examples, I encountered a much larger web of interconnected impact:

Women’s empowerment
Food security
Soil erosion stabilisation
Flood prevention
Drought resilience
Simple protection from unforgiving heat.

These benefits don’t sit in isolation. They reinforce one another, and, in the right conditions, they last.

The numbers behind the story.

Verification trips like this exist because impact claims need to be tested against ground truth, not just reported and repeated. So here’s where things stand.

Over the last three and a half years, Planeterra has facilitated the growth of 6.3 million trees, and counting. These trees are estimated to be benefiting over 200,000 people, directly and indirectly, through employment, additional income opportunities, shade, improved crop yields, livestock health, flood and drought impact mitigation, food and water security, and the list goes on…

The focus of this programme is to enhance community resilience to the impacts of climate change and improve wellbeing through biodiversity regeneration.

The reality is that the people most impacted upon – and disproportionately so – by the impacts of climate change are the communities that Planeterra is in service to. This is why this work is important!

Of those 6.3 million trees, 2.6 million have now been growing for three years, and we estimate around 40% of these have reached maturity, meaning they’re beginning to sequester carbon from the atmosphere in earnest.

Applying a weighted calculation with integrity adjustments drawn from established carbon verification methodologies, we estimate that these mature trees alone are currently sequestering approximately 31,600 tCO2e per year, a figure that will only grow as more of the trees mature.

And, for transparency’s sake, I’ll also share the other side of the ledger: my trip itself emitted an estimated 4.3 tCO2e. It’s a reminder that field verification, while essential, isn’t free of footprint, and that we should hold ourselves to the same standard of honesty we ask of the projects we assess.

Members of Madagascar's firebreak team protecting community-grown trees.

What happens next

This trip wasn’t just about confirming what’s working. It was about learning what needs to change, and building that learning into how we operate. Three things are front of mind as we move forward:

Refine our Measurement, Reporting, and Verification methodology. The realities I saw on the ground need to be integrated into how we monitor, report and verify, both from a reporting perspective and in how our field teams operate day to day.
Recalibrate for ground-based realities. A programme built on projections is only as good as its ability to adapt when it meets the real world. We need to adjust our approach so it can scale without losing the nuance that makes it effective.
Keep backing the right partners. Ultimately, this is about continuing to support the organisations and communities growing trees that create meaningful impact, for people and for landscapes, and doing so with the rigour our Travel Partners and supporters deserve.

A closing thought

It’s easy, from a desk, to think of tree growing programmes in terms of hectares, survival rates and carbon removal.

Necessary metrics, all of them. But spending two weeks walking through the farms, boundaries and forests where these trees actually live reminded me why we do this work in the first place: not for the numbers, but for the people whose lives are quietly, steadily, being changed by something as simple as a tree taking root.

And in that vein, I wanted to invite you all to take a pause and ask yourselves a question: What positive impact can I have by allowing something – an idea, a project, an act of kindness – to take root?

Bringing Community Tourism to Life: How Planeterra And The DERTOUR Foundation Are Showing That Community Tourism Is Not Just For Niche Travellers

What happens when you move beyond creating individual community tourism experiences and start integrating them into the wider tourism system?

Since August 2025, Planeterra and the DERTOUR Foundation have been exploring this question in practice, working together to integrate community tourism enterprises across Greece, Spain, and Thailand into DERTOUR’s product offerings.

The partnership demonstrates that community tourism does not need to be limited to niche travellers or alternative tourism. When communities are supported and tourism companies are willing to adapt their approach, community tourism can become part of mainstream travel, including destinations traditionally associated with mass tourism.

The DERTOUR Foundation supported this work through funding, while also helping connect Planeterra with DERTOUR Group teams and Destination Management Companies (DMCs) to explore how community tourism experiences could be integrated into existing travel offerings.

The work has reinforced a key lesson: community tourism does not scale simply by creating more experiences. It grows when communities have the support, partnerships, business skills and access to tourism markets needed to participate meaningfully in travel over the long term.

Building community tourism is not just about developing a great experience. It requires aligning community priorities with tourism operations, strengthening business capacity, understanding market expectations, and creating the right conditions for sustainable growth.

Moving Community Tourism from Experiences to a Sustainable Tourism Model

For many community tourism enterprises, reaching travellers requires more than a compelling story or unique experience. Communities need access to the tools, training, operational knowledge, and market pathways that allow them to successfully engage with tourism.

Through this partnership, Planeterra and the DERTOUR Foundation worked together to create a structured approach that supports community tourism enterprises at different stages of readiness. This included:

Identifying and assessing potential community tourism enterprises
Supporting communities through training and capacity building
Strengthening experiences and operational systems
Aligning community tourism offerings with DERTOUR’s product development processes
Helping communities understand what is needed to work with tourism operators and welcome more travellers.

A key focus was ensuring community tourism was not treated as a separate alternative, but as a meaningful part of how travel is designed and delivered.

Bringing Community Tourism Experiences to Market Across Thailand, Greece, and Spain

The partnership supported five community tourism enterprises across three destinations. While each destination had different needs, the work revealed that market readiness is not a fixed point, it is a process.

In Thailand, the focus was on connecting existing Planeterra-supported community tourism enterprises with DERTOUR’s supply chain.

The two selected communities, Laem Sak Community Tourism in Krabi and Khao Thep Pitak Community Restaurant in Surat Thani, already had strong foundations. The work focused on aligning operational details, strengthening communication between stakeholders, and ensuring the experiences were ready for travellers.

Laem Sak Community Tourism (Krabi, Thailand)

Laem Sak demonstrates how tourism can support the celebration of local cultural and environmental action. The coastal community offers village walks, local food experiences, and upcycling activities that connect visitors with the stories, traditions, and sustainability initiatives of the community.

Khao Thep Pitak Community Restaurant (Surat Thani, Thailand)

Khao Thep Pitak shows how tourism can transform a missed opportunity into shared prosperity. Once a scenic stop where visitors rarely engaged with local residents, the community has developed an ecotourism model that includes homestays, local meals, guided activities, and a community fund that reinvests tourism income locally.

The key lesson from Thailand was that even established experiences require careful integration. Contracting, logistics, pricing, guide coordination, and storytelling all need to align before an experience can successfully enter a tourism supply chain.

In Greece, the focus was on supporting community tourism enterprises that required further development before market integration.

In Crete, Planeterra worked with the Women’s Cooperative of Kritsa and the Carob Mill Arts and Cultural Centre (Epimenides) to strengthen experiences, operational capacity, and readiness.

Khao Thep Pitak Community Restaurant (Meal Prep)

Women’s Cooperative of Kritsa (Crete, Greece)

The Women’s Cooperative of Kritsa, founded in 2009 and led by women, preserves Crete’s culinary traditions through cooking classes, tastings, and shared meals. By transforming traditional food knowledge into visitor experiences, the cooperative creates income opportunities while strengthening women’s leadership and protecting cultural heritage.

Epimenides Cultural Society of Panormo (Crete, Greece)

The Epimenides Cultural Society of Panormos has revitalized the historic Carob Mill as a cultural space while promoting the importance of the carob tree as both a heritage resource and a symbol of sustainability. Through collaboration with local producers and researchers, the organization is helping preserve traditional knowledge while supporting environmental resilience.

The experience in Greece highlighted that community tourism development must be flexible and responsive to local realities. Progress depends on coordination between communities, destination partners, sustainability teams, and tourism operators, and these relationships take time to build.

ASOQUEGRAN – La Jaira de Ana (Gran Canarias, Spain)

In Spain, the partnership supported ASOQUEGRAN – La Jaira de Ana, a family-run farm experience connected to a network of artisanal cheesemakers preserving traditional cheese production.

The experience invites travellers into local agricultural traditions through activities such as cheese-making, goat milking, and food tastings. Beyond the visitor experience, the initiative supports rural livelihoods, protects native breeds, and promotes sustainable food systems.

The project also demonstrated the importance of adaptability. Community tourism development does not always follow a straight path, and flexibility is essential when timelines, partnerships, or local conditions change.

Learn more about our work in Spain here

Building Community Tourism Requires More Than Individual Experiences

The first year of implementation highlighted that making tourism more responsible requires collaboration across the entire travel supply chain: communities, tourism operators, destination partners and organizations supporting local development. Here are several lessons that apply across destinations:

1.Market readiness must be built, not assumed

A community tourism experience becomes market-ready through a combination of strong community foundations, operational support, training, and market alignment. This requires:

Understanding local realities
Identifying development needs early
Building confidence and capacity
Creating realistic pathways into tourism systems

2.Long-term partnerships make transformation possible

Integrating community tourism into mainstream travel requires collaboration between organizations with different roles, timelines, and expertise.

The DERTOUR Foundation partnership created the space for this collaboration by bringing together community development expertise, tourism operations, destination knowledge, and access to the wider tourism market.

This kind of partnership is essential because sustainable integration cannot happen through short-term interventions alone. It requires time, ongoing alignment, trust-building, and shared commitment.

3.Community tourism grows through ecosystems, not individual projects

While five experiences are moving toward integration into DERTOUR’s offerings, the partnership is also strengthening the broader community tourism ecosystem.

An additional 11 Community Tourism Enterprises in Spain and Greece have been onboarded into the Planeterra Community Tourism Network, gaining access to:

Training and learning opportunities
Technical support and coaching
Peer exchange with global community tourism organizations
Future funding opportunities through the Global Community Tourism Fund

This approach recognizes that communities are at different stages of development. Some are ready to welcome travellers today, while others are building the skills, confidence and connections needed for the future.

Looking Ahead

The work with the DERTOUR Foundation demonstrates that community tourism integration is not simply about adding new experiences to itineraries. It is about changing how tourism connects with communities and ensuring that more of the benefits of travel reach local people.

When community development, product design, commercial alignment, and long-term support come together, tourism can become a stronger tool for local economic opportunity, cultural preservation, and environmental stewardship.

What started as a partnership to bring community tourism experiences to market is becoming an example of how mainstream tourism can evolve to create more meaningful benefits for communities.

From Cheese to Heritage: How Community Tourism Helps Keep Rural Life Alive In Gran Canaria

Written by Lizeth Riaño, Community Tourism Development Specialist for Europe at Planeterra

In the rural heart of Agüimes, on the volcanic island of Gran Canaria, everyday life follows a different rhythm. Land, animals, food and family memory are not separate worlds here; they shape one another, sustaining a way of living that is still very much alive.

At La Jaira de Ana, a family-run farm, visitors are invited into that world not as spectators, but as participants. They knead, learn, taste and experience firsthand one of the island’s most rooted traditions: artisanal goat cheese. This is a working farm, a family legacy and a space where rural community culture continues to evolve without losing its essence.

A Community Legacy Rooted In The Land

La Jaira de Ana began as an initiative in 2002 and took shape as a structured enterprise in 2018. Its purpose was clear from the start: to keep the primary sector visible and valued within Canarian culture, while creating a space for learning, connection and exchange.

As the family describes it, the farm is “a place of learning where children and adults can connect with nature, in an environment where animals live freely, happy and free from exploitation.”

The project is led by Anabel Calderín Castro, a social worker, farmer, educator and daughter of a shepherding family from Agüimes. Her work brings together two worlds: inherited rural knowledge and a professional background in social intervention and community empowerment.

Beyond managing the farm, Anabel has over a decade of experience working with women, families and vulnerable groups, including programs focused on recovery from gender-based violence in natural environments. She also leads initiatives that connect rural development, education and emotional wellbeing. This social and agricultural lens shapes everything that happens at La Jaira de Ana.

Cheese As Living Heritage

At the heart of the farm is cheese, not only as a product, but as a practice. La Jaira de Ana is part of ASOQUEGRAN, a non-profit association of 26 artisanal cheesemakers working to preserve traditional raw-milk cheese production across the island.

In Gran Canaria, cheese is not only food; it is memory. It carries the landscape, the climate and generations of knowledge. The native Canary Island goat, adapted over centuries to this volcanic terrain, is central to this ecosystem. Its milk is not just an ingredient, but a reflection of place, climate, and history.

Rural life is increasingly under pressure from urban expansion, economic instability, and cultural erosion. This network plays a vital role in keeping its knowledge alive.

The farm sits at the intersection of several urgent realities in rural Gran Canaria. Traditional farming knowledge risks disappearing if it is not actively transmitted. Small-scale farmers struggle to survive economically, local food systems are often replaced by imported industrial alternatives, and younger generations are increasingly disconnected from rural life.

This also matters on an island transformed over the past decades by mass tourism, where rural territories, local food systems and everyday cultural practices can easily be pushed to the margins. Against that backdrop, experiences like this offer a different kind of tourism: slower, more grounded and rooted in reciprocal learning.

The relevance of this approach has become increasingly visible in recent years, as public debate around the impacts of tourism has intensified across the Canary Islands. Questions about how tourism can generate greater benefits for local communities while reducing pressure on housing, natural resources and everyday life have become increasingly important. Community tourism initiatives such as La Jaira de Ana offer a practical example of how tourism can contribute directly to local livelihoods, cultural preservation and rural resilience, while creating more meaningful experiences for visitors.

What makes this tradition survive is not nostalgia, but work. As María del Carmen Pérez, community leader and director of ASOQUEGRAN, explains: “Tourism in experiences like this allows people to understand the full process: from milking to production to maturation. In the end, they discover the small story behind every piece of cheese they take home.”

Each cheese holds that story: the rhythm of milking, the transformation of milk, the patience of aging and the human decisions behind every step. There is no standardised flavour. Each artisan leaves a subtle signature shaped by experience, intuition and inherited knowledge.

Beyond preserving traditional cheesemaking, the project also demonstrates how community-based tourism can create tangible benefits for rural communities while keeping cultural heritage alive.

This combination of cultural preservation and community tourism is also what attracted the support of Planeterra and the DERTOUR Foundation. As Claire Ross, Sustainability Director at the DERTOUR Foundation, notes:

“At the DERTOUR Foundation, we’re proud to support initiatives like La Jaira de Ana that keep local traditions alive while creating real economic opportunities in rural communities. Together with Planeterra, we’ve worked to strengthen this experience so that it benefits the people who sustain it, while giving visitors a deeper, more authentic connection to the culture and landscape of Gran Canaria.”

A Hands-on Experience

The visit unfolds across different spaces of the farm, each revealing a layer of rural life. Guests are first welcomed outdoors and introduced to the story of the farm, the community and goat farming traditions in the region. From there, they move through the milking and production areas, observing how daily work is organized.

But the most important moment comes in the workshop. Visitors do not simply watch a demonstration; they become part of the process. Step by step, they curdle milk, cut curds, shape, press and form their own cheese. The experience is simple, tactile and unexpectedly intimate.

Food then becomes a continuation of the same story. After the workshop, guests gather around a tasting table with cheeses from La Jaira de Ana and other ASOQUEGRAN farms, alongside local wine and beer, gofio bread, jams, sea salt and products made by women’s cooperatives. Nothing is imported for display. Everything has a place, a producer and a purpose.

Anabel observes that the people who come to the farm are often “environmentally conscious, respectful of their surroundings and genuinely interested in learning about the culture and reality of the Canary Islands.” That attitude matters. It turns the tasting into more than a pleasant ending: it becomes a moment of exchange between visitors and the people who sustain the island’s food culture.

Each participant leaves with their own handmade cheese, but also with a clearer sense of where food comes from, how it is made and what it takes to keep local production alive in a globalized world.

A Sustainable Way Of Keeping Rural Life Alive

At La Jaira de Ana, sustainability is not treated as a label, but as a daily practice with environmental, social and economic dimensions. Environmentally, the farm keeps resource use intentional and low-impact: organic waste returns to animal feed or soil, materials are reused where possible, biodegradable cleaning products are prioritized and plastic is minimised.

Socially, the project protects living heritage by making rural knowledge visible, dignified and teachable. It also reflects Anabel’s professional commitment to education, emotional well-being, and community empowerment. The experience is designed so that visitors understand rural life through direct participation, while local producers, women-led initiatives and cheesemakers remain at the centre of the story.

Economically, the model creates value where it is most needed: in the hands of people building viable futures in rural areas. As Anabel explains, experiences like this “generate income for people who are genuinely building businesses in rural areas” and, for that reason, feel “much more authentic and meaningful.”

The collaboration with Planeterra and DERTOUR Foundation has helped strengthen this model. For Anabel, their support has been practical and strategic: we helped her adapt the experience to different types of visitors, improve sustainability choices and think more carefully about materials, preparation and the organisation of the team. One of the most important lessons, she says, has been consistency: being fully prepared before each visit so hosts and guests can enjoy the experience together.

La Jaira de Ana shows that rural life is not something to be observed from a distance. It can be entered, shared and understood through practice. In a world where rural communities are often overlooked, this farm offers another narrative: one of continuity, dignity and active relationship with the land. Not as a memory of the past, but as a living present.

How Collective Beekeeping Practices are Reviving Ecosystems and Rural Livelihoods in India

Written by Deeksha Sharma

Tenacious Bee Collective’s organic farm, Badsar Village, Himachal Pradesh, India

“Bees are nature’s best pollinators. Protecting them means protecting our biodiversity.”

~ Vandana Shiva, Indian Environmental Activist

In many rural landscapes, bees are treated as tools of production to increase honey output. But in fragile mountain ecosystems, that approach can do more harm than good. Industrial agriculture, chemical inputs, monocultures and rising temperatures have placed pollinators under strain. In response, some communities are rethinking what beekeeping should look like.

In Badsar village in Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh, India, the Tenacious Bee Collective (TBC) is working with farmers and women’s groups to rebuild beekeeping as a local, place-based practice. Their model is small in scale, grounded in ecological balance, community-led and worth learning about.

Why Beekeeping Needs to be Relearned

Over the past few decades, agriculture in many regions has shifted toward monocultures and high-yield systems. Large fields planted with a single crop reduce the diversity of flowering plants that bees depend on. Chemical pesticides further weaken bee populations and climate variability adds another layer of stress, disrupting flowering cycles and shortening foraging windows.

TBC approaches this issue differently. Instead of focusing on volume, it prioritizes ecological balance. The collective supports native bee species adapted to the Himalayan climate. It encourages low-intervention methods that allow bees to follow natural cycles.

Mentioned below are the values TBC sticks with every day:

Natural, unadulterated bespoke products: TBC produces pure, raw hive-based products with no added preservatives, preserving the authentic taste of the Himalayas.
Bee-centric: Every activity is guided by the health of bees, placing ethical care at the heart of reviving bee populations in rural Himachal.
Environment first, profit later: TBC prioritizes sustainable living and ethical production, placing the environment before profit.
Community-oriented: The collective brings together beekeepers, farmers and local makers, creating rural employment through training and workshops.
Inclusive: They believe in an inclusive community where everyone can participate in protecting bees and sustaining the land.

Apidome: An apitherapy wooden structure used for therapeutic sessions

In 2023, Tenacious Bee Collective was selected as a recipient of the Planeterra Community Tourism Fund. The support has been instrumental in strengthening their community-led beekeeping model, enabling them to expand ethical practices and continue their regenerative work in rural Himachal Pradesh.

They also received recognition for their ‘Apidome’, an apitherapy wooden structure (bee hive house) used for therapeutic, relaxing sessions that utilize hive air, vibration and warmth for health benefits.

“The Planeterra Community Tourism Fund from Planeterra has helped us carry forward our work with greater confidence and structure,” says Aditya Singh, Experience and Operations Manager at Tenacious Bee. “It has allowed us to continue building an ethical, community-driven model of beekeeping. For us, it’s not just financial support – it’s encouragement to keep strengthening regenerative practices on the ground.”

Farm tour with Aditya Singh, Experience and Operations Manager at Tenacious Bee

Aditya walking around the organic farm and sharing stories of beekeeping

At its core, TBC’s initiatives are bee-centric. Every activity, from hive management to product development, is assessed through the lens of bee health.

How Collective Beekeeping Works at Tenacious Bee

In Badsar, beekeeping is closely linked with small-scale farming. Over the past several years, Tenacious Bee has developed a circular model in Badsar village. Small-scale farmers are trained in proven scientific practices of ethical beekeeping while drawing from local knowledge systems. Traditional hive forms, including the “dhalooni” built into house walls, are being documented and revived in collaboration with local apiarists.

Instead of concentrating hundreds of hives in one location, apiaries remain small and dispersed. This reduces competition for forage and aligns hive numbers with the landscape’s capacity. Alongside hive maintenance, TBC cultivates local herbs and flowering plants that nourish bees across seasons. A leased plot in the village serves as a demonstration space where bee flora is grown, and knowledge exchange takes place.

Local community members, especially women, help develop value-added products such as beeswax candles and small-batch apothecary items. Through these activities, beekeeping forms a significant part of a broader ecosystem of production and creativity.

From Biodiversity to Livelihoods

Inspiring women working at Tenacious Bee Collective

Tenacious Bee is building a knowledge base around distinct Himalayan honey types in collaboration with herbal scientists and apiary institutions. Slow production is central to this model.

Honey is harvested in small batches, and beeswax is hand-processed. This approach avoids high capital investment and heavy mechanization, thereby reducing financial risk. It also preserves authenticity in a market often dominated by blended or highly processed honey.

The joy of doing meaningful work together at Tenacious Bee

Women in Badsar village have gained new employment pathways through these activities. Training workshops and participation in hive management and product development generate additional income streams. With so much love and light in them, these women fill anyone’s day with warmth and inspiration.

“I love coming here every day,” says Sheena, who works at TBC. “It doesn’t feel like work. I get to spend time with my closest friends, we share our stories, and we build something meaningful together. Tenacious Bee feels like a happy place to us.”

Sheena’s words are echoed by her other colleagues in the collective, who see their work not just as employment, but as a space of friendship and belonging.

A Model that Lets Communities Lead

Other products to buy at Tenacious Bee Collective, including lip balm and candles

For organizations involved in community tourism, the key question is how to engage with local communities responsibly. The beekeeping model in Badsar offers a great pathway. At TBC, visitors learn about ethical beekeeping, native species and the role of pollinators in mountain ecosystems. Here, engagement takes the form of educational sessions, attending workshops, product purchases or hive adoption linked to larger orders.

Tourism is not the primary driver of the initiative, but it adds a layer of support. Many travellers stop by, visit the workshop and tour around the organic farm. Decisions about scale and storytelling remain with local stakeholders. This reduces the risk of turning livelihood practices into commercial experiences.

Acacia honey produced with love at Tenacious Bee

Tenacious Bee’s mission is to create a self-sustaining blueprint for economic, social and environmental development around bees. Its work demonstrates that conservation does not need to be separated from livelihood creation. When communities are equipped with skills, supported by fair markets and trusted to guide their own processes, both ecosystems and incomes can stabilize.

In the Himalayas, where pollinators face mounting pressures, Tenacious Bee’s approach offers a practical way forward. It begins with bees, but it extends to soil health, food security, local enterprise and knowledge revival. Hence, if bees live well, we’ll live well.

About the author:

Deeksha Sharma is a travel enthusiast, a passionate writer and a storyteller who loves sharing local stories about conscious travel, communities and culture. She’s a senior storyteller and editorial co-lead at Postcard Travel Club, a global media company fostering a community of conscious travellers. She was also recently nominated for the Regenerative Travel Impact Awards – Storyteller of the Year 2024 by Regenerative Travel.

With her new book launched at the New Delhi World Book Fair in 2025 by the National Book Trust of India (Ministry of Education), Deeksha is helping shape the narrative around tourism’s role in cultural preservation and sustainable development. In her award-winning blog, Story Happens (earlier known as YouInVerse – youinverse.org) – she aims to bring underrepresented voices and traditions to mainstream audiences. In addition, she loves to practice mindfulness, read and write poems, go for long walks, especially in the evenings and enjoy sunsets.

Supporting Nature-Positive Tourism: The Planeterra Nature-Positive Community Tourism Assessment tool

Protecting biodiversity and addressing climate change are increasingly urgent priorities for the tourism sector. Yet many tourism businesses are unsure where to begin or how to translate these commitments into practical action.

As part of our collaboration with easyJet holidays, and in partnership with Animondial, the Planeterra Nature-Positive Community Tourism Assessment tool was developed to help tourism businesses better understand their environmental impact and identify meaningful ways to support nature and communities.

Rather than focusing on a single aspect of sustainability, the tool takes a holistic view of tourism operations, recognizing that environmental impacts can occur across the entire visitor experience, from how accommodations are designed to how food is sourced, how activities are managed, and how transportation is organized.

By providing a structured framework, the tool helps tourism enterprises identify opportunities to improve their environmental footprint while supporting biodiversity protection.

A framework for responsible tourism operations

The Planeterra Nature-Positive Community Tourism Assessment tool encourages tourism enterprises to evaluate their practices across several key areas.

Governance and environmental responsibility
Responsible tourism begins with strong governance. The tool encourages businesses to comply with environmental regulations, support transparent and ethical procurement practices, and invest in training that raises awareness among staff and travellers about protecting nature.

It also emphasizes the importance of inclusive and equitable decision-making, ensuring that Indigenous peoples and local communities are respected as knowledge holders and stewards of the lands and ecosystems where tourism takes place.

Accommodation and infrastructure
Tourism infrastructure can have significant impacts on local ecosystems. The tool encourages accommodation providers to adopt practices that minimise disturbance to wildlife, reduce pollution, conserve water and energy, and integrate landscaping that supports local biodiversity.

Food sourcing and waste reduction
Food systems are closely linked to environmental health. The framework encourages businesses to prioritize local and seasonal ingredients, reduce food waste, avoid harmful chemicals in agriculture, and maintain transparency in their supply chains. These practices can support sustainable agriculture and strengthen local food systems.

Transportation and emissions
Transportation is a significant contributor to tourism’s environmental footprint. The tool highlights ways tourism providers can reduce emissions, such as monitoring transport-related impacts, promoting fuel-efficient driving practices, and minimizing disturbance to wildlife during transportation activities.

Activities and visitor experiences
Tourism activities themselves can either support or harm ecosystems. The framework promotes responsible guiding, wildlife-friendly experiences, and practices such as Leave No Trace principles to help ensure that tourism experiences respect natural habitats.

Local crafts and natural resources
Many community tourism enterprises also produce handicrafts or use local natural materials. The tool encourages responsible sourcing of natural resources and awareness of how these materials are shared and managed within local communities.

Supporting community leadership

A key principle of the Planeterra Nature-Positive Community Tourism Assessment tool is recognizing the role of Indigenous peoples and local communities as stewards of biodiversity.

Many communities have long managed forests, landscapes, and natural resources through practices shaped by generations of knowledge. Supporting these approaches is essential for protecting ecosystems and sustaining cultural landscapes.

The framework therefore encourages tourism enterprises to respect traditional knowledge, acknowledge land and resource rights, and support community-led conservation initiatives.

From awareness to action

Ultimately, the Planeterra Nature-Positive Community Tourism Assessment Tool is a practical guide for Community Tourism Enterprises to take meaningful action. It helps companies identify concrete ways to protect ecosystems, reduce environmental impacts, and support community-led initiatives that protect, restore and celebrate nature.

By using this tool, tourism can contribute not only to economic development but also to the long-term regeneration of the natural environments that make travel possible.

Join the Global Community Tourism Network, a network of over 550 community tourism enterprises located in 86 countries.

Reach out if you are a travel company wanting to integrate community tourism-driven projects that protect and restore Nature, and uplift communities.

Champion community-centric approaches to addressing the climate and biodiversity crisis, using travel as a tool to achieve this.

Meet Romana Tomić from Association Deša Dubrovnik

Deša is a non-governmental organization that has been active since the beginning of the Homeland War in 1991. It was created as a space where women could support one another through the challenges they were facing, and over time, they began developing a small handicraft business together.

What started as a grassroots initiative has grown into a women’s centre where skills, knowledge, and cultural traditions continue to be shared and sustained.

When visiting Deša, travellers are invited to learn about the local history while experiencing weaving, embroidery, traditional delicacies, and patchwork.

But for Romana, these visits go far beyond demonstrations.

Romana has been part of Deša since the very beginning. She often says the women there helped raise and inspire her. When she speaks with visitors, she shares not only the history of the organization but her own journey, from its early days to what it represents today.

When she talks about their wartime and post-war experiences, many travellers are deeply moved. There are moments of silence, of tears, and also of connection.

“We share stories, emotions, and sometimes even hugs,” she says. “Those moments stay with me, and I believe they stay with the visitors too.”

Romana Tomić Association Deša Dubrovnik (Croatia)

Although it can be difficult to revisit these experiences, Romana is grateful that people are willing to listen. For her, these conversations are also a way of processing and healing, a reminder that sharing can create understanding.

Today, she takes particular pride in speaking about what Deša has built over the years, especially the ongoing work to strengthen support networks for women.

Through conversations with visitors, she is often reminded that many challenges and efforts toward dignity and safety are shared across different parts of the world.

And then there’s what she calls her “secret mission”: helping younger generations connect with and appreciate their cultural heritage.

In truth, she enjoys sharing every part of the work Deša continues to do.

Romana is proud of what Deša represents, a space shaped by the women who built it, and one that continues to evolve with them.

Stories like Romana’s show how community tourism can create space for connection, understanding, and shared experiences.

When Wild Horses Became an Opportunity: A Story of Coexistence in Italy

In the Aveto Valley in northern Italy, a small population of wild horses once sparked heated debate. For some residents and authorities, they were seen as a problem. Animals that did not belong in the landscape and posed risks to people and agriculture.

For Evelina Isola, the story looked different.

As a naturalist, she was curious about a simple question: what if the horses were not the problem?

Together with her colleague Paola Marinari, Evelina began exploring whether these animals could live in balance with the ecosystem that surrounded them, a protected natural park governed by the European Habitats Directive. What started as a question soon became a long journey that would reshape how people in the region understood wildlife, conservation, and the role tourism could play in supporting both.

Today, Evelina is the co-founder and scientific manager of ReWild Liguria, an organization dedicated to promoting coexistence between people and wildlife in the region. But the story began years earlier, at a time when the horses’ future was far from certain.

Evelina Isola
Co-founder and scientific manager, ReWild Liguria (Italy) — Evelina Isola Co-founder and scientific manager, ReWild Liguria (Italy)

From “problem” to possibility

The first turning point came in 2011. At the time, Paola was involved in a regional program aimed at removing the horses from the area. Authorities considered them dangerous, and capture operations had already begun. After a poaching incident and a series of problematic capture attempts, the Italian Ministry of Health intervened and halted the program.

Paola Marinari
Co-founder, ReWild Liguria (Italy) — Paola Marinari Co-founder, ReWild Liguria (Italy)

For Paola, the moment sparked a shift in perspective.

She began to question whether adoption programs and removals were really the solution. Instead, she wondered if the presence of the horses, widely seen as a problem, could actually become an opportunity for the territory.

When Evelina joined the conversation, the two decided to approach the situation from a scientific perspective. They began collaborating with universities and researchers to study the horses and their relationship with the surrounding environment.

The results were striking. The animals had fully adapted to the landscape and were living in balance with other wildlife species without causing ecological damage. Rather than threatening the ecosystem, they had become part of it.

That discovery laid the foundation for a different approach to conservation, one rooted not in removal, but in coexistence.

Building a project from the ground up

The idea that the horses could be part of the landscape did not immediately win widespread support.

For years, Evelina and Paola worked almost entirely on their own. The project had no institutional backing and very limited resources. In rural areas, some residents still viewed the horses as a problem, and at times the two women even received threats.

Yet something else was happening at the same time.

Visitors, researchers, and students began arriving in the valley, curious about the horses and the research taking place around them. Universities from across Italy showed growing interest in studying the population.

In 2014, Evelina and Paola formally registered the brand “I Cavalli Selvaggi dell’Aveto – Wild Horsewatching®”, creating a recognizable framework for their work and laying the groundwork for a new kind of nature-based tourism experience.

What began as scientific research gradually evolved into a project that connected conservation, education, and tourism.

When visitors become part of the story

Over time, the initiative started attracting students from a wide range of disciplines.

Researchers studying the horses were not limited to ecology or biology. Some focused on ethology, anthropology, environmental law, and even territorial marketing, exploring the broader relationship between wildlife, communities, and landscapes.

For Evelina, one moment in particular stands out.

During one of the early excursions in the valley, she guided two Natural Sciences students from the University of Genoa. At the time, she had no idea how meaningful the experience would become.

One of those students, Sara, was on the verge of leaving university. She had nearly decided not to finish her degree. But through the project — and her encounters with the horses — she found a renewed sense of purpose.

Sara eventually completed her studies and became one of the most dedicated students working with the project.

For Evelina, experiences like this reveal something deeper about the initiative.

“It’s not only about wildlife conservation,” she says. “It’s also about inspiring people and helping them rediscover their place in nature.”

Learning that coexistence is a social process

Through years of research and dialogue, Evelina has come to understand that coexistence between people and wildlife does not happen automatically.

Scientific studies are important. Communication and awareness matter as well.

But they are not enough on their own.

Coexistence requires listening to communities, creating space for different perspectives, and building dialogue around shared landscapes. It is, at its core, a social process.

This realization has shaped the work of Rewild Liguria and the development of Wild Horsewatching, which allows visitors to observe the horses in a respectful way while learning about the delicate balance between wildlife, ecosystems, and local communities.

Visitors who join these excursions are often surprised by what they discover.

Many arrive expecting to simply observe wild animals. Instead, they leave with a different perspective on their own relationship with nature.

A growing network of people and ideas

Today, Rewild Liguria is still a relatively small organization, but it is no longer just two people.

Students who conducted thesis research with the project have continued supporting the initiative after graduating. Some now work in fields such as natural sciences, biology, anthropology, and equine science, contributing their expertise and helping expand the project’s reach.

These collaborations have created a growing network of people connected to the Aveto Valley and its wild horses.

Looking ahead, Evelina hopes to strengthen partnerships with universities, organizations, and institutions at both the national and international level. Greater collaboration could allow the project to exchange knowledge, build new research initiatives, and access resources needed to expand its impact.

Creating opportunities through nature

While conservation remains central to the project, Evelina also sees potential for something more.

Rural communities across Europe are facing economic and demographic challenges, and many traditional livelihoods are disappearing. Initiatives like Wild Horsewatching could offer a different kind of opportunity, one rooted in respect for nature and local landscapes.

“My hope is that this work can create real opportunities for people who live in this area,” Evelina explains.

Not simply tourism for its own sake, but meaningful work connected to the natural environment.

Today, much of the project still relies on voluntary effort and personal dedication. Evelina hopes that in the coming years it can evolve into a stable professional pathway for people interested in promoting coexistence with wildlife through nature-based experiences.

Beyond economic opportunities, she believes the project can also help shift how people see wildlife.

In many rural areas, the return of wild animals is often perceived as a threat. Projects like this one show that coexistence is possible, and that wildlife can also become a cultural, educational, and economic resource for communities.

A message for visitors

For Evelina, the deeper purpose of the project goes beyond conservation or tourism.

When visitors return home, she hopes they remember one simple idea.

“We do not go into nature as something separate from it,” she says. “We are nature.”

The horses of the Aveto Valley offer a reminder that humans are only one part of a much larger system. Observing wildlife can help people reconnect with that understanding in a very direct way.

The project also carries another message.

Fifteen years ago, the idea of rewilding tourism in the valley was almost unheard of. Two women began asking questions about the horses with no resources and little institutional support.

Yet their curiosity and determination created something that continues to grow.

Meaningful change, Evelina believes, often begins with small steps, and with the courage to imagine a different relationship between people, communities, and the natural world.

Anyone, anywhere, can start that conversation.

How Tunisian Artisans are bringing tradition into the future

For generations, artisans across Tunisia have passed down skills through careful hands, patient work, and deep cultural knowledge. But in today’s world of mass production and global markets, these traditions can struggle to find space.

That challenge is exactly what inspired Noura Bent Taieb Rouis to help create the Rachaek Patrimoine Association.

The association was founded with a clear goal: to preserve artisanal heritage while helping artisans adapt to a changing world.

“Our goal was to modernize artisanal products and keep up with the times,” Noura explains. “At the same time, we wanted to introduce our cultural heritage and encourage investment in the creative skills of artisans.”

Noura Bent Taieb Rouis Rachaek Patrimoine Association (Tunisia)

For many artisans in the region, the challenge was not a lack of talent, but limited opportunities to share their work.

“Artisans had a limited audience and restricted sales,” she says. “This created a desire to expand and reach a broader market.”

The solution was collaboration. Artisans came together to create an association that could strengthen their collective voice and create new opportunities.

Bringing heritage to new audiences

For Noura, joining the association was about more than simply selling products.

“What attracted me was the aspiration to reach a distinguished level and expand the reach of our products,” she says.

Traditionally, artisans relied on small exhibitions or occasional markets. But through the association, they began exploring new ways to connect with audiences and showcase their work.

Visitors now have the opportunity to learn not only about the products themselves but about the stories behind them.

Noura takes particular pride in sharing the origins of the materials and techniques used in the crafts.

“I like explaining the sources of our raw materials and the heritage behind each piece,” she says.

For many visitors, these conversations transform a simple object into something far more meaningful: a connection to a living cultural tradition.

Passing knowledge to the next generation

While visitors are important, some of Noura’s favourite moments come from working with children in the community.

One memory stands out especially.

“Our events with children are always spontaneous and full of energy,” she says. “Their playful spirit inspires us to work even more with the rising generation.”

For artisans, passing knowledge to younger generations is essential to keeping traditions alive.

Workshops and events give children the chance to experience craft not just as something to observe, but something to participate in.

Strengthening craft through collaboration

Partnerships and external support have also played an important role in helping the association grow.

Through trainings and collaborations supported by partners such as Planeterra and Iberostar, the association has been able to strengthen both skills and confidence.

“These relationships helped us improve our knowledge and continue raising the quality of our work,” Noura says.

They also helped artisans rethink the role of their craft.

Instead of focusing only on selling products, the association began emphasizing the artistry, mastery, and cultural value behind each piece.

Quality over quantity

In a world full of mass-produced goods, Noura believes the true value of artisanal work lies in its uniqueness.

“Our focus is always on quality, not quantity,” she says.

While markets are filled with industrial products, the work created by artisans tells a different story.

“We use high-quality raw materials and craft each piece carefully,” she explains. “Every creation is unique.”

For visitors, this dedication often leaves a lasting impression.

Noura hopes they leave with a deeper appreciation for the skill, patience, and creativity behind each piece of craftsmanship.

Looking to the future

For Noura, the future of the association is filled with possibility.

She hopes the organization will continue to grow, expanding opportunities for artisans while strengthening the presence of Tunisian craftsmanship locally and internationally.

“I hope the association will thrive and expand,” she says. “I wish to see branches in many areas, increased sales and income for artisans, and a strong presence both regionally and internationally.”

At its heart, the work remains rooted in a simple but powerful idea:

preserving heritage while creating new opportunities for the future.

About the Rachaek Patrimoine Association

Founded in 2021, the Rachaek Patrimoine Association brings together artisans and young professionals dedicated to preserving Tunisia’s rich craft traditions while creating new opportunities for local makers.

Members produce a wide range of handmade goods, including weaving, embroidery, textiles, and artisanal food products, using locally sourced materials such as camel wool, pure silk, and honey. Each piece reflects generations of knowledge, creativity, and cultural heritage.

Like many artisan groups, the association initially faced challenges. Competing with mass-produced products and operating without a permanent space made it difficult to reach wider audiences. At one point, members even considered closing the association.

Instead, they continued organizing exhibitions, refining their craft, and building connections to help their work reach more people.

Through Planeterra’s partnership with Iberostar, the Rachaek Patrimoine now has a dedicated space within Iberostar Kantaoui Bay where artisans can present and sell their work to visitors. This space has opened up new opportunities for income while allowing artisans to share the stories, materials, and traditions behind each creation.

For the members of the association, it is more than a place to sell products. It is a space where Tunisian craftsmanship can be celebrated, shared, and passed on to future generations.

Reclaiming the Story of Isla Maciel Through Community Tourism

When Carla Fodor was principal of the only secondary school in Isla Maciel, she noticed something that deeply concerned her.

Many students were reluctant to say where they lived.

“Many young people had a very diminished view of the place where they lived,” Carla explains. “There was little knowledge about the history, roots, and heritage of the territory, and in many cases, students even felt ashamed to say where they came from.”

Located just across the river from Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel has long carried a strong external stigma, often associated only with violence or crime. Those narratives shaped how young people saw themselves and their community.

That question became the beginning of a project that would eventually grow far beyond the classroom.

Carla Fodor Museo Comunitario Isla Maciel (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

A project born from education

The initiative first started as a pedagogical experience.

Students began exploring their own neighbourhood: interviewing residents, documenting stories, and learning about the history and culture of the place they called home.

“It was a way to look at the territory again,” Carla says, “to recover local stories, knowledge, and memories, and to create space for young people to recognize themselves as part of a place with value.”

Two years later, neighbours began to join the initiative. What started as a school project soon evolved into a community effort.

Eventually, the initiative became the Isla Maciel Community Museum, a civil association built and sustained by local residents.

Community Tourism as a new chapter

As the project grew, the community began exploring how visitors could learn about Isla Maciel directly from the people who know it best.

Through community tourism initiatives supported by partners like Planeterra and its travel partners such as G Adventures, travellers are now welcomed to experience the neighbourhood through guided visits and cultural exchanges.

But for Carla, the most meaningful impact goes beyond tourism itself.

“One of the things that makes me most proud is witnessing the transformation of the people involved in the project,” she says.

“Seeing their processes of growth, how they gain confidence, and how they move from participating shyly to becoming active and decisive members continues to teach me every day. The project does not only receive visitors; it also transforms those who sustain it.”

Stories that break stereotypes

Visitors often come to Isla Maciel with curiosity, but they leave with something more.

“Travellers often highlight the closeness, the ease of a hug, and the simplicity of our storytelling,” Carla says.

“They value meeting people who can always add a ‘bonus track’ to the narrative, because what is shared is not memorized, it is lived.”

One of her favourite memories comes from a cultural exchange with a group of secondary school students from Denmark.

Nearly eighty young people arrived with many preconceived ideas about the community and about Argentina.

But those perceptions quickly changed.

“They ended up sharing dulce de leche cake, laughing out loud in an improvised football match, even though they played quite badly,” Carla remembers with a smile.

“By the end, they left hugging us. For me, that says more than any explanation ever could.”

View of the main street of the neighborhood

Building something together

Over the years, partnerships, trainings, and collaborations have helped strengthen the organization.

But Carla emphasizes that the project has always been built collectively.

“Our organization was never built alone,” she says.

“When we were just ten people meeting in a cold, dark space, many organizations trusted us when there were no visible results yet. They believed in what we were proposing.”

That trust allowed the community to slowly transform the space, repairing the roof, creating workshops, building an auditorium, and establishing cultural programs.

“Without that network of support, trust, and shared work, we would not be who we are today.”

Looking ahead

For Carla, the future of the initiative is rooted in the same values that guided its creation more than a decade ago.

“I hope this work continues to generate stability and real opportunities, especially for young people,” she says. “I hope families can imagine their future here without feeling that leaving is the only option.”

For her personally, the connection to the community has become deeply meaningful.

“Being called ‘Carla de Maciel’ means more to me than any academic degree,” she says.

“It is a form of belonging that carries enormous meaning.”

And for those who visit Isla Maciel, Carla hopes they leave with one simple realization.

“I would like them to remember that they did not just visit a place, but shared a moment with real people.”