Why communities are the heart of sustainable travel, 5 Media

When local people are in charge of creating and delivering travel experiences, amazing things happen. Which is why responsibly-minded travellers are learning that they’re not just tourists, they’re guests.

“To understand the value of nature, you can’t just see a tree, but need to feel and be the spirit of that tree,” explains Catalina Marti Punoz, as we admire delicate silver birch leaves dance like fireflies in the falling sun.

I’ve come to Curarrehue in Chile with Rutas Ancestrales Araucarias, a tour operator set up by people from the Mapuche indigenous group. Rather than abandon their homelands for work in the cities, these young people created a business inviting visitors on hikes and tours to learn more about the past and present of a group that makes up nine per cent of Chile’s population.

The scene is as bucolic as it gets: mountains, trees, a babbling stream, and small farm holdings with carefully ploughed fields and huts billowing woodsmoke. Catalina’s friend Simon, who lives on one of these Mapuche farms, says: “People these days see nature as a resource but not a place of energy and knowledge. We need to change that before it’s too late.”

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