Brazil slow travel vacation, Beyond Rio

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

Man-powered activities: Kayaking, hiking (such as a 3-day hike among the impressive waterfalls of Chapada Diamantina) and snorkelling are included in the itinerary.

Flight-limited itinerary: We have reduced the number of internal flights to two, which would otherwise take days to complete, given the distances covered. We have replaced flights with a slower style of travel, traveling by road and boat, and incorporating the journey between places into the experience of the vacation.

Renewable energy: Water at Pousada Trijuncao, the accommodation in the Cerrado, as well as at Pousada Manati in Barra Grande, is heated by solar panels which the hotels have installed.

Vegetarian Food: There are vegetarian options available for each meal provided within this itinerary.

Locally-sourced and seasonal food:
-Pousada Trijuncao sources food grown from their own vegetable garden.
-HotelB in Brasilia sources a number of ingredients from its own organic garden.

ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE
How our Accommodation...

...reduces its environmental impact:

-Pousada Trijuncao uses wood reclaimed from demolition sites for its balconies.

-Hotel Fasano in Belo Horizonte supports the Arredondar Project by raising funds and transferring them to partner NGOs. These support hundreds of children in education via the NGO AFESU; providing seeds for growing vegetables via the NGO Instituto Melhores Dias, and providing healthy food parcels via the NGO CREN.

-Hotel Fasano uses no caged hen eggs, and redistributes food via the Invisible Food programme to avoid wastage. They replace plastics in rooms with more sustainable materials. They participate in a programme to transform disused urban spaces into organic gardens in collaboration with homeless people.

-Pousada Manati in Barra Grande has installed filtration tanks to treat waste water from the kitchen and baths for use in irrigation of their land.

...restores nature:
-Pousada Trijuncao owns a large area of land. It maintains more than 90% of its territory entirely preserved, including 12,000 hectares integrated into the national park, ensuring that animal species in a vulnerable situation or even at risk of extinction, such as the Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) and Jaguar (Panthera onca) live free and protected, and reproduce.


How our travelers can make a difference:

-In the Cerrado savannah, visits to the conservation breeding ground and the tortoise nursery are included for travelers to learn about the creatures of the region. This includes peccaries, emus and other wildlife.

- For meals not included in the itinerary, such as lunches out, we encourage travelers to patronise family-run restaurants which use local ingredients and showcase cuisine of the country. We have recommendations we share with our travelers.

- This itinerary showcases places and accommodation which are well off the beaten track. Most international travelers will not have heard of Lencois, Camocim, Barra Grande, Atins, Pati Valley, Jericoacoara or even the Cerrano. By traveling to these undiscovered wonders, you help reduce the pressure on heavily touristed areas, which in turn helps to distribute tourism revenue more evenly.


Expert Nature Guides:
Guides are local naturalists, for example the safari leaders on in the Cerrano savannah on the bird watching excursions, and expeditions to track the endangered maned wolf.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY

Local staff:

-Pousada Trijuncao is a family-run accommodation and is staffed and owned by Brazilians. Similarly, Pousada do Capao in Chapada Diamantina is independently owned and staffed by locals. Hotel de Lencois has only seven rooms and is independent and full of character. Baia das Caraubas similarly has only seven rooms - stilted bungalows - eschewing the generic and the taking our travelers to places far off the well trodden tourist trail. It is also run by local staff.

- 2 Homestays - During the 3-day hike in Chapada Diamantina, there are two dinner and overnight stays in the home of locals, at different stops en route. The local families provide a cosy, welcoming and immersive cultural experience.

-The partner operational company we work with for Brazil is staffed and owned by Brazilians.


Maximising local economic opportunities:

-Our activities and excursions are run by local companies, with local Brazilian guides, expedition leaders and drivers.

-The accommodation Pousada Trijuncao buy products from the Artesol cooperative, a non-profit organization that promotes Brazilian handicrafts and generates income for small artisans throughout the country.

-Pousada Trijuncao is decorated with work done by local artists.

-Hotel B in Brasilia features furniture and fittings designed by Brazilian artists and the architect and designer of the hotel is Brazilian.

- Where possible, we have selected small and independently owned accommodation, such as Pousada do Capao in Chapada Diamantina and Pousada Trijuncao in the Cerrano. An occasional stay in an airport hotel is necessary for logistics.


EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY & DIVERSITY

Minimum wage:
We believe strongly in paying a fair wage and ensure that our partners in turn pay their staff fairly, at least at the minimum wage and normally above.

Our workplace diversity strategy:
Staff are employed based on aptitude, irrespective of any characteristics of identity or appearance. Our small body of employed staff and valued contractors is a mix of male and female across ages, life stages and ethnicities.

Charitable initiatives we operate:
For every trip we operate, we contribute an amount to an annual fund. We then donate this to a chartable cause. We select a cause both in an emerging market with which we work, and a cause closer to home. Examples of beneficiaries include renovating a playground at a school in Sri Lanka, where we partnered with Rosyth Estate House, and purchasing kit for a children’s community football team local to our UK offices.