Parwa Community Restaurant

Parwa Community Restaurant

August 21, 2020 Planeterra Partners

Parwa Community Restaurant

Sacred Valley, Perú

Impact

Parwa Community Restaurant opened in March 2014 and now has an average of 1,500 travellers each month. The restaurant directly benefits more than 40 individuals, with ripple effects throughout the community, as revenue from the restaurant has been used to execute clean water projects, and even install a computer lab for the community’s youth. The employees at the restaurant have monthly salaries, health insurance, pension funds, and other labour benefits. Over 25 micro entrepreneurs received technical assistance and funds to establish new businesses to supply the Parwa restaurant or sell their goods to travellers who visit the Huchuy Qosco community.

15
community members employed
90
community members benefitting

Critical Need

In Huchuy Qosqo, 50km from the city of Cuzco, the male population mostly worked as skilled and unskilled labour in public works for the local government. Women mostly engaged in household activities, as well as farming, with little access to economic opportunities nearby. Many young people are forced to leave the community to study and work in larger cities. For many years, Huchuy Qosco residents saw tourism growing and wished for a way to benefit from it. They had received funding for some projects like handicrafts and homestays but never saw results and still struggled to make ends meet.

Our Involvement

Parwa Restaurant is owned by the Huchuy Qosqo Association, a community-based tourism enterprise developed by Planeterra with co-financing from the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank Group. All income earned by the restaurant is used for investment in social projects for the community. The ingredients used in the restaurant are bought directly from the local farmers, providing a local market for direct sales. 

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Parque de la Papa

August 21, 2020 Planeterra Partners

Parque de la Papa

Pampallacta, Perú

Impact

Parque de la Papa is seeing an increase in tourist activity due to their ongoing partnership with Planeterra. This increase allows the park to invest in more opportunities. Planeterra has also funded a micro-enterprise (in 2014) owned by a group of 16 women who make medicinal teas by hand, from one of the six communities. The women sell their teas at one of our other projects, the Parwa Community Restaurant. Today the Peruvian government nominated Parque de la Papa as an Agrobiodiversity zone which recognizes and supports their conservation work. 

85
people directly impacted
510
community members benefitting
Parque de Papa Pampallacta, Peru

Critical Need

The Parque de la Papa is an organization of  five communities located in the highlands of the Sacred Valley in Cuzco, Perú.  More than 7,000 Indigenous community members currently work together to preserve the area with hundreds of varieties of native potato (around 1,300) as well as the knowledge and ancient teaching related to the cultivation and management of their agricultural landscape – a cornerstone of life in the area. Though resources are limited, their lands are considered a centre of potato origin and diversity.  Currently, the potato is one of the four most important crops on earth, produced and preserved throughout the centuries by them.

Economic opportunities that enable Indigenous people to remain living in the communities in which they have traditionally lived for generations are desperately needed. That’s why Parque de la Papa was created in 2006 with the support of many international organizations. They have launched agro-tourism programs and developed community micro-enterprises related to tourism services and activities with the purpose of creating economic opportunities. However, the community enterprises were in need of customers to reach their full potential and achieve financial success. The community enterprises had significant barriers accessing the international market, and when they did gain access, they risked losing their unique traditions and cultures.  Women continue to face barriers accessing the formal job market, and youth continue to have limited access to jobs and education, and so often migrate to the big cities. 

Our Involvement

Planeterra and our local partner “Asociación ANDES” supported Parque de la Papa (Potato Park) through training and customizing the organization’s experience for travellers. Travellers from Planeterra’s tourism partners visit the park to learn about life in a rural agricultural Andean community and their seed conservation program, which is conserving indigenous potatoes alongside the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. Visitors also learn about the traditional planting and harvesting process, as well as Indigenous weaving practices. Planeterra also provided funds to improve the facilities at the visitor center in Pampallaqta community which was a much-needed boost for their tourism economy. 

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Esencia Andina

August 21, 2020 Planeterra Partners

Esencia Andina

Cusco, Perú

Impact

Planeterra provided a $10,000 grant to launch a small women-owned business called Esencia Andina based in Cuzco, Peru. This women owned-business produces biodegradable soaps, detergents, and natural products for use by travellers, porters, and cooks on the Inca Trail. 

This initiative is empowering young Peruvian women to start their own businesses and also lessen negative impacts on the Inca Trail – helping to grow a green economy and preserve this treasured destination. All of their products must receive sanitary registration by the government of Peru in order to be sold to the tourism industry on a wide scale. All Inca Trail, Lares Trek, and Amazon trips with our travel company partner G Adventures use these biodegradable products.

6
women employed
24
community members benefitting

Critical Need

Approximately 500 people (tourists and trekking staff) begin the Inca Trail Trek every day. This huge volume can leave behind more than footprints. Not only are plastics a problem but also non-biodegradable soaps and shampoos that can leave behind chemicals that pollute the land and the water in the area. Protecting the natural environment for future generations is a priority that cannot be ignored.

Our Involvement

With a $10,000 grant from Planeterra, Esencia Andina registered as an official business, and was able to scale the sale of their products, vastly improving their market access and making their business viable. Planeterra also connected Esencia Andina to one of our travel industry partners, G Adventures, who is their biggest client. This partnership provides this women-run business with a sustainable monthly income and credibility for them to increase their client portfolio.

After less than one year they had more than 15 hotel and travel company clients in Peru, growing each month. The success of Esencia Adina has inspired other tourism companies and government organizations in Cuzco to become more environmentally responsible.

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Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Co-op

August 21, 2020 Planeterra Partners

Ccaccaccollo Women's Weaving Co-op

Sacred Valley, Peru

Impact

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. Planeterra funded training programs to help bring back the weaving traditions that had been lost over the previous generations as there wasn’t a way to earn a significant income. 

Through our partnership and a connection to travellers, the Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Co-op has been able to contribute to their families’ income. The women who have been with the project since the beginning report that all of their children study in university. Those involved in the cooperative are the first generation to be completely literate in Spanish. Today, the community is using tourism as a tool to protect and preserve natural and cultural resources and express, share, develop, and pursue their traditions.

Due to the success of the Co-op, they have since opened a Community Homestay.

80
people employed
560
community members benefitting

Critical Need

The community of Ccaccaccollo is an Indigenous community located in the Andean area of Cuzco, Perú. It is inhabited primarily by 140 Quechua speaking families. Despite the close proximity to Cuzco and Machu Picchu, and the thousands of tourists that visit these sites each year, very few communities from the surrounding countryside benefit from tourism. The Ccaccaccollo community maintains a traditional way of life and many work in agriculture. Like many communities around the world, women are frequently excluded from educational and economic opportunities. 

Our Involvement

Since 2005, Planeterra developed a partnership with the Ccaccaccollo community to develop a women’s weaving cooperative, to create economic opportunities for the women of this community. Planeterra implemented capacity building programs, built facilities and purchased equipment for the co-op. Planeterra supported the women with new methods of production that would make items more desirable to travellers (smaller, less expensive items such as hats, socks and sweaters that can be used on the treks in the area), while also maintaining their traditional weaving methods made from llama and alpaca wool. 

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Cuzco Youth Drop-in Centre “Inti Runakunaq Wasin”

August 21, 2020 Planeterra Partners

Cuzco Youth Drop-in Centre "Inti Runakunaq Wasin"

Cusco, Peru

Impact

Thanks to a partnership with Planeterra, Inti Runakunaq Wasin has been able to grow as an organization and has expanded to five other locations throughout the country where children are more vulnerable: San Jeronimo, Ccatcca, Huayopata and Quillabamba. In these locations, they have implemented four other centres for well-being called “Centros para el Buen Vivir” (Centres for Good Living) impacting and benefiting more than 2,600 children, adolescents and young adults. Now, these children and young adults have recognized their own potential while also developing their creativity and social skills so that they can face the future with optimism and confidence in themselves.

2,600
people directly impacted

Critical Need

Despite Cuzco being one of the most touristic cities in Peru, social problems persist in the population. According to a study of National Comprehensive Programs for Family Welfare (INABIF), there are 26,000 children and adolescents who have been abandoned by their families or they have fled their homes in order to avoid forms of domestic violence in Peru. Frequently, these children are prone to begging, homelessness, crime, addictions, and victims of sexual exploitation. Their situation also prevents them from accessing education, protection and nutrition leading to poor health.

In Cuzco there is a lack of support and lack of programs for families, children, young adults and people with different abilities. This has resulted in many to turn to the street for support including children(economically and socially), especially since the boom of tourism in Cuzco began. This need was what prompted Planeterra founder, Bruce Poon Tip, to support a sustainable program for this community back in 2004.

Inti Runakunaq Wasin (IRW) is a non-profit organization with 19 years of institutional experience, whose mission is to contribute to the development of children, adolescents and young people who are victims of family violence.

Our Involvement

Planeterra partnered with Inti Runakunaq Wasin to support the development of children, adolescents, young people, 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 their main centre in 2009 so that they could have a permanent place for a voluntary drop-in centre, now known as  Inti Runakunaq Wasin “The House of Children of the Sun” where children and youth grow and flourish with different educational training, workshop, occupational and income generation programs.

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Moshi Mamas

August 21, 2020 Planeterra Partners

Moshi Mamas

Moshi, Tanzania

Impact

Give a Heart to Africa (GHTA) welcomes approximately 30 women annually into their year-long school program. By connecting the graduates of the school with a primary consumer market from the tourism industry, the makers of the Moshi Mamas and Lala Salama Spa can create a full-time income for themselves and their families. Transport, a platform to speak about the work of Give a Heart to Africa, and a market link are provided through Planeterra’s partnership with G Adventures. Proceeds from the sales help support the women-owned-and-run businesses and school, allowing more women to access free education.

30
women employed
600
community members benefitting

Critical Need

Gender inequality is still very much felt in Tanzania. Things are changing, but when it comes to educational opportunities, girls are still often passed over first compared to their brothers or male cousins. Only 5% of girls finish secondary school. Education for adults is expensive and as many males in the family control the income of the household, many adult women have limited chances to invest in their own education and the well-being of their family.

Our Involvement

Planeterra partnered with a free, women-only, adult business school named Give a Heart to Africa (GHTA) in 2015. GHTA provides a year-long curriculum in Business Management, Accounting, and English. Top graduates (based on drive, need, and grades) are provided seed-funding to start their own businesses. Planeterra funded and supported businesses launched by graduates that serve the tourism industry, as the town of Moshi where the school is located is a  popular destination for travellers hiking Mount Kilimanjaro. Businesses supported include a handicraft maker’s studio and shop, called the Moshi Mamas Cooperative, as well as the Lala Salama Spa.

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Maasai Clean Cookstoves

August 21, 2020 Planeterra Partners

Maasai Clean Cookstoves

 Rift Valley, Tanzania

Impact

So far, the Maasai Stoves & Solar Project has trained over 120 women and installed more than 4,000 stoves in more than 60 Maasai villages across the Serengeti. Planeterra connected Maasai Stoves & Solar with travellers from G Adventures and Travelsphere, and their travellers have supported over 250 of the stoves installed, with each new stove removing 90% of indoor smoke in a family’s home. The engineering team has also created 11 widow support groups that provide social support for widowed women across a number of villages. 

15
women employed
1,250
community members benefitting

Critical Need

Household air pollution through traditional cooking practices over an open-fire stove or inefficient fuel burning stove is the fourth biggest health risk in the world. Four million people die worldwide each year from exposure to cookstove smoke that causes cancer, pneumonia, heart and lung disease, blindness and burns. Close to half of the pneumonia deaths among children under five can be linked back to the inhalation of particulate matter from indoor smoke. Every eight seconds, smoke from traditional indoor cooking fires claims a life.

The Maasai Stoves & Solar Project has developed a local solution to the problem of indoor air pollution, and have engineered clean cookstoves that can be easily installed into homesteads across East Africa. Affordable and made with local materials, they’re even installed alongside solar lights by an all-female team of engineers.

Our Involvement

Planterra helped the Maasai Stoves & Solar Project to develop an educational experience around the installation of their stoves, and it is their first revenue-generating program related to tourism. The visit is led by the organization’s all-female engineer team, which takes travellers to experience the air quality of a boma (homestead) with and without a clean cookstove. The tour pays for the cost of a new stove in the homes that do not have one. Along with the stoves, the entire boma also receives solar power, increasing security and safety in the homes.

Maasai Stoves & Solar works closely with Maasai women to incorporate their ideas into the stove construction. Through a training course, women become experts of stove and solar panel installation in their villages and neighboring villages. They have also begun training community members on more sustainable methods to create cow feed to avoid environmental destruction due to overgrazing.

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Nyamirambo Community Tour

August 21, 2020 Planeterra Partners

Nyamirambo Women's Center

Kigali, Rwanda

Impact

The Nyamirambo Women’s Center launched the product line “Umutima” – including housewares and children’s wear, employing women from the community, at a fair wage for their work. At the moment there are 50 women employed as seamstresses, and women from various other cooperatives contribute their weaving talents through contracts with Nyamirambo.

As part of NWC’s goals to promote women in tourism, the center has started to offer a community walking tour and lunch. The community-based tour runs in Nyamirambo community of Kigali, giving visitors an insight into the every-day life and challenges, social events and businesses. It also employs six local guides to facilitate and organize the tours. Travellers obtain an authentic experience and at the same time, the tour benefits the women at NWC and the community at large.

78
women employed
390
community members benefitting

Critical Need

Many Rwandan women face gender-based violence, inequality, and discrimination. The Nyamirambo Women’s Center (NWC) opened in 2007 to provide education and training to disadvantaged women so that they can gain better opportunities for employment. To fulfill its mandate, NWC offers the community different activities, such as free classes in literacy, English, basic computer skills, handicrafts and sewing, and training on gender-based violence and women’s empowerment.

In order to ensure they can support their community, the Nyamirambo Women’s Center started taking advantage of the tourism industry in Kigali by offering community tours, cooking classes and craft workshops.

Our Involvement

Planeterra partnered with Nyamirambo Women’s Center in order to increase the number of customers they were receiving to their newly-developed tourism program, which includes a walking tour of the businesses of the Nyamirambo area of Kigali, showing travellers what it’s like to live in this vibrant community. Their other tourism experiences include a local cooking class and lunch. Planeterra was able to connect Nyamirambo Women’s Center with the travellers from G Adventures’ group tours, who now visit the organization to learn about their work, purchase handicrafts, and enjoy the walking tour and lunch.

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Cafe Ubuntu

August 21, 2020 Planeterra Partners

Café Ubuntu

Nakuru, Kenya

Impact

“I am deeply passionate about enabling others who may not have hope, because my own life is a testimony that it is possible to rise from the ashes. After joining Ubuntu, my life was never the same again. I finally felt at home, after having been discriminated against in my native community because of my son’s condition. I have five children between the ages of 12 and 29. Mike, my 15-year-old, has special needs. Before joining Ubuntu, I worked menial jobs to earn some income. Then Ubuntu taught me to sew. I had no prior training in the trade, but over the course of one year, I learned. We created things from scratch. And I harnessed these new skills and it helped change my life exponentially. I became part of the growth and development of Ubuntu Made. I now have a great sense of purpose. I have a renewed hope for making a better future for my children.” – Alice Njeri, one of the Ubuntu Makers

400
people directly impacted
1,200
community members indirectly benefitting

Critical Need

Maai Mahiu town is located along the major tourist and trade route in East Africa.  This route is also known as the AIDS Highway due to the truck drivers who travel it propelled the spread of the disease. As adults become ill or die, they leave an ever-growing population of orphaned or abandoned children to fend for themselves on the garbage-strewn streets.  These hardships along with the communities roughly 80% unemployment rate makes it extremely difficult to build and empower themselves and those around them. The Ubuntu Team realized that lasting change begins with creating jobs, and building opportunities that empower the local community to take ownership of their own lives so that they can begin building a brighter future for their families and the wider community.

Our Involvement

Our ground partners, Ubuntu Team, empower communities and create jobs through social impact businesses in Kenya, including Ubuntu Made, Ubuntu Cafe, and Ubuntu School. Our corporate partners support Ubuntu Made and Ubuntu Cafe by incorporating a visit to the Cafe in their Kenya tours. Through intentional purchasing decisions, our corporate partners are helping provide a customer base for the Ubuntu Team, which, in turn, offers jobs for marginalized women in Kenya. Travellers enjoy a complimentary meal at Ubuntu Cafe and have the opportunity to shop for locally and internationally sold products as memorable and impactful souvenirs. These social businesses also support Ubuntu School, which addresses injustices affecting the community of children with special needs by providing therapy, education, and vocational training.

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Mto wa Mbu

August 21, 2020 Planeterra Partners

Mto wa Mbu Cultural Tourism

Monduli, Tanzania

Impact

Mama Yusuphu and her family, including Aziza, pictured below, are cooks who host a meal that is part of Mto wa Mbu’s tour of the area. Visitors eat a traditional meal cooked and served at one of the host families in the village, allowing many households to benefit from the tours. The benefits from Mto wa Mbu’s community tourism initiative are invested back into community development projects like sanitation projects for the local schools. They also run a training program, where youth pursuing a career in tourism can shadow tours while they are studying at university.

475
people employed
2,380
community members benefitting

Critical Need

Nestled in the Monduli district outside of the Tanzanian city of Arusha is the community of Mto wa Mbu, meaning “river of mosquitos.” In a country where the unemployment rate hovers just above 10%, Mto wa Mbu Cultural Tourism Enterprises is providing jobs to locals, including women, in an innovative and sustainable way that celebrates local culture and heritage. Boosting the economies of villages and towns near national parks also increases the protection of the environment, biodiversity and curbs urban migration and loss of culture and heritage. The Mto wa Mbu people are successfully celebrating their heritage and people while protecting the valuable natural resources and wildlife alongside which they coexist.  

Our Involvement

Planeterra works alongside Mto wa Mbu Cultural Tourism Enterprises to monitor the positive effects of tourism on the village, which runs multiple experiences for travellers such as bike tours, cultural experiences, and delicious meals.

Along with empowering community members through employment and economic opportunities through an influx of visitors willing to purchase goods such as handicrafts, Mto wa Mbu also has a Village Development Fund. This means a portion of the funds raised through tourism are invested back into the area for improvements to schools, sanitation and water.

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