Bolivia salt lakes, lagunas & volcanoes vacation

Planet and people

The network of hotels we use in this part of Bolivia are newly built, of a high standard (3/4 star) and in keeping with the local environment. They are built of local materials, salt or stone, and are designed to be as ecologial as possible in this fragile environment. All rooms have a private bathroom with solar hot water and solar heating. Each hotel has a restaurant offering buffet style meals with as much local produce as possible.

This is one of the poorest parts of Bolivia where there is a problem of depopulation as local Aymara communities really struggle to survive. The hotels have been built in partnership with four local communities, which are actively involved in their construction and on going running, and benefit from the income from tourism. The hotels are on land rented from the communities and will be passed entirely into community hands in 15 years.

In the UK we use recyclable and recycled materials when possible. We recycle what we can and attempt to keep waste to an absolute minimum. We promote paper saving by using email as much as possible and by keeping unwanted mail to a minimum. We use low-energy light bulbs, fair-trade and biodegradable products where possible.

We are involved in on-going training of the staff we work with in the UK and in the Andes to ensure as high as possible standards of environmental care and responsible behaviour. When we introduce a new tour we always consider its environmental impact, and try to reduce this impact to a minimum.

On all our trips we aim to minimize waste by using products with minimum packaging, leaving no litter and keeping all water sources clean, leaving camp sites cleaner than we find them.

Also, since 2006 we have been able to support the Huchuy Yachaq community project in the marginalised neighbourhood of Hermanos Ayar, on the outskirts of Cusco, with the help of everybody who has travelled with us. We donate USD $3000 a year to this community project.

The project has been set up by volunteer social workers and teachers to provide much needed social and educational support to the children and families of this neighbourhood. Children are encouraged to attend study and games sessions held each afternoon and participate in vacation projects. Our contributions so far have paid for educational books and games, tables and chairs, improvements to the structure of the basic community owned building and the addition of functioning toilets, materials for the children to take to school, school books, vacation programmes.

And we are planting trees as part of a reforestation project in Peru.