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The following are case studies by companies that participated in the Travelers' Philanthropy conference.
We welcome new case studies including photos from other organizations.
Please send to Annie at [email protected]
Airline Ambassadors International
www.airlineamb.org
Airline Ambassadors offers opportunities every month to "travel and make a difference". Small groups of volunteers (from 3 - 30) hand deliver needed items (like hygiene items, wheelchairs, medical supplies, school, arts and sports supplies) to orphanages, clinics and remote communities in developing countries. Volunteers have a chance to personally interact with local people and have an experience of culture far beyond the ordinary "tour". These trips channel philanthropic dollars directly to the projects visited...and build long-term sustainability for local people. Besides providing substantive support to children and families, travelers have the chance to match their unique interests and skills to actual world need and express their fundamental generosity, selflessness and compassion.
Adopted projects include a housing project in El Salvador, a feeding program and medical clinic in Haiti, a wheelchair program in Guatemala, orphanages in Peru, Romania and the Philippines, programs for street children in Ecuador, a school program in Cambodia and India, an HIV and sustainable agriculture program in S. Africa, refugee programs in Jordan, and handicapped programs in Thailand and Argentina. Philanthropists who cannot travel themselves can support the overall efforts of Airline Ambassadors, or select a specific project in the country of their choice. With less than 5% overhead, and dynamic volunteers, many from the airline industry, they can be sure their donations do reach those they were intended for and that they have truly made a difference in the lives of children and their families.
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America Share, Micato Safaris
www.micato.com
America Share was founded by Micato Safaris as a way to give something of lasting value to the poorest children in East Africa. Micato’s guests have for years proven themselves as more than just tourists on holiday: they have turned America Share into an organization that currently assists over nine hundred children in orphanages East Africa. With their donations of clothing, new shoes, infant care items, medicine, blankets, school supplies, and toys, these committed travelers have given hope, joy and increased opportunity to generations of East African children.
Fully funded by Micato Safaris so that 100 percent of all donations go directly where they are needed, America Share has now designated five institutions for their support. America Share has recently expanded their operation to allow Micato’s guests an even more personal involvement, with a sponsorship program to underwrite the cost of school fees, school uniforms, room and board for the neediest children who have demonstrated a commitment to rise above the devastation into which they were born. The remarkable children are placed in reputable boarding schools in Nairobi and, for the first time in their lives, begin to thrive both academically and emotionally.
With the increasingly obvious difficulties for developing countries in today’s world, Micato and America Share feel more than ever the need to give something back, to make a positive difference for people living in the areas where we bring visitors.
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Friends of Africa Foundation
www.friendsofafricafoundation.org
“Ultimately conservation is about people.
If you don't have sustainable development around these (wildlife) parks,
then people will have no interest in them, and the parks will not survive.”
Nelson Mandela
Africa’s wilderness areas and the wildlife they sustain are precious, but endangered resources. Conservation programs and responsible ecotourism play a role in preserving them, a vital purpose in Africa’s future and the prosperity of its people.
But for conservation to succeed, the needs of rural communities must be met, so that conserving the wildlife that surrounds them becomes an invested interest whereby all community members are responsible and all play an imperative role.
Friends of Africa Foundation’s (FAF) goal is to improve the lives of rural communities bordering conservation areas in Southern and East Africa. FAF’s purpose is to bring together an international community of individuals interested in conserving Africa’s wildlife heritage through empowering its people. Formed in 1999, FAF is a tax exempt 501 (c) (3) organization, offering its donors this benefit.
FAF carries out its mission utilizing the capabilities of Africa Foundation who are based in South Africa and whose purpose is completely aligned.
Africa Foundation was founded by - and works closely with - partner Conservation Corporation Africa (CC Africa), in the communities surrounding the conservation areas where they manage over 35 eco-tourism camps and lodges, in Southern and East Africa’s wilderness areas.
CC Africa is committed to the principles: “Care of the Land, Care of the Wildlife, Care of the People”. Thus, for 14 years, Africa Foundation has been implementing many successful community empowerment projects in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya and Tanzania. Separate to the work of Africa Foundation, CC Africa has many independent staff focused betterment programs, some of which include: Positive Health (a program designed to prevent the increase in HIV/Aids infected staff members and to promote general well-being) and the employment and up-skilling of individuals from the communities alongside the reserves, whereby many of their families benefit from the ripple effect it causes.
Many of these individuals are trained in hospitality management and many have gone on to become award-winning chefs and expert rangers.
Africa Foundation’s projects are identified through needs analysis studies and community-generated proposals. Africa Foundation provides project management, administration, donor relations, implementation expertise and monitoring and evaluation for Education, Health Care and Income-Generating Programs.
CC Africa, FAF and Africa Foundation share the belief that the wisest utilization of our wild places is through the development of sustainable ecotourism with reciprocal benefits – both for our guests and for the rural communities living in and alongside our rich wildlife heritage.
Africa Foundation is an independent registered non-profit organization in South Africa and has Public Benefit Organization (PBO) status. They are governed by an independent Board of Trustees, and have been audited annually by KPMG since our inception.
“On the one hand we were devastated to see the
deprivation that still exists in many rural communities ten years
into South Africa’s democracy, on the other, we were
delighted to see that something is being done about it,
through Africa Foundation."
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond, Patron of Africa Foundation
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GAP Adventures
www.planeterra.org and www.gapadventures.com
G.A.P Adventures is a Canadian adventure travel company that specializes in operating low-impact tours in Latin America, Antarctica and Europe. We are dedicated to leading environmentally, culturally, and socially responsible tours, and setting a precedent for sustainable tourism that we hope will be pursued industry wide. Our tours have minimal impact on the environment, respect local people and cultures, offer economic benefit to local operators and communities, and promote the protection of destinations for future generations. Through our commitment to responsible tourism we have developed the Planeterra Foundation, a nonprofit organization that has been developed as a way to give back to the people and places we visit on our tours. Through fundraising and donations from travelers, the Planeterra Foundation supports charities, non-profit organizations and local community projects worldwide. By identifying projects and organizations that specialize in different areas, donors are provided with a variety of worthwhile projects to choose from and support.
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Lapa Rios
www.laparios.com
Lapa Rios is a small ecolodge in SW Costa Rica conserving over 1,000 acres of rain forest. The certified sustainable lodge offers year-round employment to community members committed to on-going training and environmental education. A limited number of guests receive high quality service and accommodations and experience the area’s natural resources with local guides. Education and conservation are the philanthropic pillars that support the Lapa Rios land preservation, its community and consumers.
In 1991, following the land purchase, Lapa Rios developers and owners John and Karen Lewis learned about the community’s goal to build a school. This request laid the foundation for how the project could best serve its subsistence neighbors and helped define the ecolodge’s business strategy. Conservation is best served by education: as a vehicle to generate self-worth; as an opportunity for a community to preserve its natural resources; and, a means to attract respectful travelers curious to learn about the world’s wilderness areas and its people. La Asociación de Educación, a Lapa Rios foundation personally- and guest-financed, built the local Carbonera School. Guests bring supplies and share their time and talents with the area’s children. Lapa Rios promotes sound environmental practices for staff and guests and offers training opportunities to high school students interested in tourism as well as international hospitality management candidates.
The Lapa Rios Reserve, located in the bio-diverse Osa Peninsula, is accessible exclusively to registered guests and staff guides. Acting as a buffer to the famed Corcovado National Park, the private reserve practices minimal use and non-extract principles. Lapa Rios helps raise awareness and collects funds for the multi-national conservation effort, Osa Campaign, provides a salary for a Park guard and promotes the Women of the Osa. With the assistance of Costa Rican-based CEDARENA and The Nature Conservancy the Lapa Rios Reserve has a legal conservation easement in perpetuity.
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Lindblad Expeditions
www.expeditions.com
Galapagos Conservation Fund (GCF): Since its inception in 1997, the GCF campaign has raised over $2 million in donations from Polaris guests for priority conservation projects. The GCF has addressed a number of initiatives such as the eradication of feral pigs, the establishment of an environmental education center for local populations and maintenance of the National Park's only patrol boat to protect the marine environment from illegal fishing.
Teachers Aboard program in Galapagos: In conjunction with the Charles Darwin Research Station and Metropolitan Touring, Lindblad Expeditions initiated a program to bring all local teachers in Galapagos on board Polaris voyages. This enables the teachers to experience the various islands outside their local community and learn about the role tourism plays in education and conservation.
Alaska Whale Foundation (AWF): In 2000, Lindblad Expeditions launched a campaign to support Alaska Whale Foundation research on the humpback whale population in Southeast Alaska. The campaign has raised more than $125,000 in donations for AWF, and Lindblad gave in-kind support plus 10% of sales from Randy Puckett whale sculptures.
Oceanites: In an effort to bring active scientific research into the guest experience in Antarctica, Lindblad Expeditions established a working on-board relationship in 2000 with the non-profit foundation Oceanites (pronounced Ocean-eye-tees). Nearly $200,000 has been raised for Oceanites from our guests.
Opening Hearts Project: On Lindblad Expeditions voyages to Copper Canyon, the Opening Hearts project was initiated in 1997 to support a very remote village of the Tarahumara Indians. The project has successfully built a school dormitory so young Tarahumara students in the region can participate in a basic education program and also regularly delivers medicine and other supplies for survival to this isolated region.
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Michoacan Reforestation Fund, The Spirit of Butterflies Tour
www.spiritofbutterflies.com and www.michoacanmonarchs.org
The Spirit of Butterflies Tour is an eco-educational tour to the heart and soul of Michoacan, Mexico, and the winner of the 2002 Smithsonian Magazine/U.S. Tour Operators Conservation Award. Part of the proceeds of the tour benefits The Michoacan Reforestation Fund and La Cruz Habitat Protection Project, that have planted over one and a half million trees in a sustainable reforestation project in and around the monarch butterflies’ winter home. Four hundred thousand more trees will be planted in the summer of 2005.
With this unique tour, clients witness the dynamics of deforestation and reforestation with all of its ramifications, and also learn about the local history and culture, including butterfly myths and legends. The tour includes visits to two different natural hot springs and travel to two sacred mountains where millions of monarchs over winter. Renew yourself and help save the butterflies.
Maraleen Manos-Jones, author of The Spirit of Butterflies: Myth, Magic and Art, accompanies some of the tours and coordinates all of them. [email protected]
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Papoose Creek Lodge
www.papoosecreek.com
Papoose Creek Lodge is an intimate eco-lodge in southwest Montana in North America. Adjacent to the large 25,000-acre privately-owned Sun Ranch, the Lodge offers an eco-friendly alternative to the typical Western ranch vacation.
This award-winning sustainable Lodge and Ranch business offers year-round and seasonal employment to community members and students committed to on-going training and environmental education. A limited number of guests receive high-quality service, gourmet meals, and luxury accommodations while experiencing the area’s natural resources with highly-trained and experienced local guides. Conservation and education were the fundamental reasons this Lodge operation was created and why it continues as an integral resource to its community and consumers.
In 1998, the Langs purchased the Sun Ranch and began setting various conservation programs in place. Due to extreme overgrazing and land misuse in the preceding years of the property’s ownership, much needed to be accomplished. Working with local organizations, such as Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Trout Unlimited, and additional conservation groups, the progress made has been outstanding with thriving elk, deer, wolf, and bear populations, to name a few. Conservation easements have been put in place through the Nature Conservancy to guard against future development, and the water rights have been donated to Trout Unlimited to maintain and continue to improve trout habitat in this vital region.
The vast property of the Sun Ranch and Papoose Creek Lodge is accessible only to guests. Through the exposure to such natural beauty, educational opportunities are continually provided through activities, conversations, and classes held at the Lodge and Ranch about the importance of preserving our natural resources and raising awareness about the delicate balance of our ecosystem and what we can do to contribute to its longevity.
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Myths and Mountains
www.readnepal.org
In 1987, Dr. Antonia Neubauer founded Myths and Mountains, a cultural travel company with a sense of global responsibility. After a trek in Nepal, Toni asked her Sherpa guide what he would do for his village if given the opportunity. "Build a library," he responded. In 1991, a team of porters carried 900 books and a card catalogue over 11,800-foot Lamjura Pass and READ-Rural Education and Development-opened its first library. Since then, READ, a 501(c)(3) corporation, has built 35 libraries from one end of Nepal to the other, with five more in progress during 2005.
What started as a simple library with a support project has evolved into a network of self-sustained community centers with libraries at the hub that have become a nexus of village life. Through a proven, innovative approach to micro-funding and community development, these READ centers encourage independence rather than dependence on foreign aid, generate income that not only supports the library but funds other community activities, provide jobs for local people and revitalize local communities.
The project is community generated and community owned. With technical assistance from READ's Nepali operations staff in Kathmandu, the villagers form a library management committee, raise at least 20 percent of the necessary funds, and select an income-generating project to sustain library operations. For about $30,000, READ designs, builds and furnishes a library; stocks it with 3,000-5,000 books (mostly in Nepali), builds a children's section, trains the librarian and funds the sustaining project. These projects include ambulance services, furniture factories, storefront rentals, computer training, and even a rickshaw service. Some projects are successful enough to support other community activities, such as pre-schools, dental clinics, adult literacy programs and scholarships for poor children. Funds for the libraries are raised primarily from individuals and private foundations with an interest in Nepal.
Because of READ, nearly 500,000 rural villagers now have access to Nepali magazines, newspapers, books and learning tools, and modern, comfortable facilities in which to enjoy them. READ has established the Nepal Community Library Association, so that librarians and villages can network among themselves and stay current with the world. The program is also increasing literacy rates among women, helping rural students pass school leaving examinations and building a market of readers for Nepali writers and publishers. The project is carefully monitored and has been evaluated and praised by the Nepali government.
READ Nepal is a beta site for those who would like to establish similar programs in other parts of the world. READ would be happy to consult with interested parties and share the "best practices" that it has tested and proven over its 14-year existence.
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Project Ix-canaan
www.yellowlight.org/ix-canaan/Project%20Ix-canaan.htm
Project Ix-canaan (a Mayan word meaning “guardians of the rainforest”) began in August 1995 as the result of collaboration between Ing. Eduardo Cofiño, Dr. Enrique Chapetón, Anne Lossing, and Gonzalo Galindo. The goal is to support the changes necessary to enable a people to become truly “Ix-canaan - Guardians of the Rainforest”. Project Ix-canaan is located in the village of El Remate, Petén, Guatemala – a small indigenous community close to the ancient Mayan city of Tikal, in northern Guatemala.
The first phase of the project – a Free Community Clinic, was initiated in a small building loaned by a local resident. In February 2000, a proper clinic facility, funded by La Asociación de Molineros de Arroz de Guatemala, was opened to the public. Donations of medical equipment and supplies enable volunteer doctors to continue to better the service to the people.
The second phase of Project Ix-canaan involves the development, construction, staffing, maintenance and growth of a Library/Computer Center, to bring information, communication and education to this remote community. In January of 2004, the Tidlund/Dickson group from Canada contributed the initial funding and expertise to build the library and develop the computer center.
A critical facet of the development of Project Ix-canaan, the acquiring of funds from the private sector, as well as the ecoturistic area (included in the project through Gringo Perdido and Finca Los Chultunes) is being handled by Ing. Eduardo Cofiño, who has already secured financial donations that have purchased land, building and monthly allowance, as well as donations of a vehicle, medical supplies and equipment, clothing, computers, shelving and more.
The Community Clinic is staffed on a permanent basis by Dr. Enrique Chapetón. Project Coordination is managed by Ing. Eduardo Cofiño, Anne Lossing and Dr. Enrique Chapetón.
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Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve
www.sierragordamexico.org
The Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda is a civil society organization working to protect the biodiversity of the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, the most ecosystem-diverse natural protected area in Mexico. As the only natural protected area under co-management between the federal government and a local civil society organization, the local socio-economic context is holistically integrated, and the reserve has widespread community approval.
Building a concrete sustainable alternative for a high biodiversity region must arise from the bottom up. More than 15 years ago, we started a civil movement to build awareness, capacity and conviction throughout the region, leading in 1997 to the federal declaration of 32 percent of the state of Queretaro as a Biosphere Reserve. In 2001, the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) designated the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve as a member of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
Today, our Project for the Conservation of the Biodiversity of the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve includes a wide variety of programs contributing to protection of biodiversity and promotion of sustainable development, including Environmental Education, Protection and Regeneration of Forest Resources, Community Improvement, and Productive programs, including programs of eco-tourism.
As eco-tourism begins to grow in this area, an opportunity exists to help communities develop social enterprises focused on eco-tourism. The Grupo Ecológico is currently collaborating in the creation of 7 eco-tourism enterprises in the Sierra Gorda region. The project enables the Grupo Ecológico to train and support newly formed community-run enterprises to respond effectively to their clients.
Sierra Gorda Rural Tourism and Products
Parallel to other activities, we are implementing a variety of productive diversification projects. The environmental problems faced by the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve are caused to a great extent by the socioeconomic conditions in the area. The principal economic activities are agriculture and livestock grazing and, at a lower scale, the extraction of wood. This extraction is done without technical guidelines and under marginal conditions, leaving small landowners with minimum gains and a degraded forest. Thus, it is urgent to offer alternative economic options to forest landowners to allow sustainable use of the natural resources and obtain higher economic gains.
Among the options being developed are ecotourism projects that take advantage of the beauty and natural resources of the Sierra to attract visitors. These projects are operated in a sustainable manner that brings money into the communities while conserving the natural resources.
Some of our projects are:
San Juan
These cabins, located in the primary range of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains, are owned and managed by a cooperative comprised of the residents of the community of San Juan de los Durán. The purpose of the project is to diversify the residents´ economic development options, as they have been primarily dedicated to activities such as the extraction of wood and livestock grazing.
The community now has a group of cabins equipped to host up to 36 visitors. The cottages are complemented by bathroom and shower facilities, an eating lounge, tirolesa, a multipurpose room and beautiful natural surroundings. From these facilities, it is possible to take walks to nearby forests and mountains, do recreational horseback riding, go mountain biking, watch several species of endangered and endemic birds, and even visit the Sótano de las Golondrinas in the neighboring state of San Luis Potosí. The Sótano de las Golondrinas is an extraordinary geological formation (a sinkhole) hosting a colony of thousands of swifts and parrots. Its location and well-preserved surroundings allow visitors to experience the scenic beauty and biodiversity of these mountains.
Cuatro Palos
The spectacular views from this site allow you to appreciate the xerophyllous scrub of the Extoraz River basin as well as the highest summits of the Pinal de Amoles mountains. The overlook is located at a summit of 2,700 meters above sea level on the Cerro de la Media Luna, where the indigenous resistance was finally beaten by Spanish conquerors in the middle of the 18th Century. From the community of Cuatro Palos, this site is reached by a pathway shadowed by centennial oaks and pines with abundant moss. At the overlook, the local community offers food and beverage services to visitors.
Santa María de Cocos
The principal attraction of this site is the Sótano del Barro, an extraordinary sinkhole offering nesting and resting sites to the last colony of green macaws in central Mexico. This cavity, with a total depth of 455 meters, hosts the highest vertical shaft in the world with 410 meters of free fall and a gigantic mouth of 200 by 400 meters. The macaws leave the sótano daily to look for food in the surrounding forests. Their entry and exit present a unique spectacle as they fly in concentric circles issuing their loud calls. From the community of Santa María de Cocos, it is about a two-hour walk uphill to reach the sótano. The community offers cabin lodging, food, rental of horses, as well as the obligatory services of guides from the community.
Río Blanco
Located on the windward slope of the mountain range, these cabins are located in a privileged place of transition between semi-desert scrub and the temperate coniferous and oak forests of the Sierra de Pinal de Amoles. It offers magnificent night views for astronomy fans, paths for walks through the forests, mountain biking, bird watching, rupestrian paintings and even the opportunity to explore the tunnels of an old mine. In the community of Río Blanco, it is possible to enjoy fresh trout from a fish hatchery and restaurant that are part of a project operated by the local community.
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Toledo Institute for Development and Environment
www.tidebelize.org
The Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE) was founded in 1997 to meet the growing environmental and development needs of the Toledo District, the southernmost district of Belize. TIDE was conceived as a grassroots initiative in response to the negative environmental effects from activities such as manatee poaching, illegal fishing, illegal logging, destructive farming methods, and other types of unsustainable development. TIDE’s mission is to research and monitor Toledo’s natural resources, to assist in protected areas planning and management and to lead the development of responsible tourism and other environmentally sustainable economic alternatives by providing training and support to local residents.
One of our methods of promoting marine protection amongst our residents was to develop programs within the community, which encourage local fisherman to find other more sustainable industries requiring the protection of our resources. As a result, the communities themselves lobbied the government along with TIDE for the declaration of the Port Honduras Marine Reserve, an area rich in biodiversity.
We have been very successful in protecting some of our local forests and wildlife by training many of our hunters, loggers and swidden agriculturists to be general tour guides and kayaking guides.
TIDE has long been involved in other efforts to promote sustainable development in Toledo as a means of achieving conservation goals; innovative programs include a scholarship fund for children whose parents agree to stop using unsustainable fishing and farming methods and a net exchange program that allows fishermen to trade gillnets for more environmentally sensitive equipment.
TIDE has been recognized by the UNDP Equator Prize 2002 for the organization’s outstanding community efforts in the area of poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation.
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