· Duration:
14
days.
·
Price
(land only): USD $3,499 (Approx EUR 2250).
·
Estimated Flight Costs: USD $1,600.
·
Accommodation:
hotels and guesthouses.
·
Meals:
60% of meals included.
·
Transport:
1 internal flight, 5 long road transfers.
·
Group
Size:
6 -14 people.
Visits: 5 fair trade producer visits, 2 development project
visits, 7 tourist visits, 1 National Park.
· Fair
Trade Products:
Handicrafts, Wine, Honey, Textiles.
·
Donations
to support & help the organisations are included
Tour
Dates:
16th November 2008
8th february 2009
Tour
Guide Profile: Our guides share a common love and deep
commitment with the nature, the culture and the people of Chile
and pride themselves on operating within our Responsible Tourism
policy. They’ll ensure you have a great experience in
Chile!
Tour Description: Our fair-trade tour starts
with an insight in the countries recent political history, visiting
significant places from the events that surrounded the Military
coup on 11th September 1973, and the 17 years that followed
under General Pinochet’s Military Regime. You will learn
about the 2 extreme political points of view as well as the
human rights issues, introducing you to a theme which still
divides Chilean society today, and allowing you to form your
own opinion.
After
a few days in Santiago our tour heads towards the south of Chile.
We visit different types of Fair Trade organizations who work
to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor within Chile.
Remarkably, there exist many case studies about sustainable
tourism, pro-poor tourism, fair trade tourism etc in the world,
but, not specifically about Chile.
The
intercultural exchanges encountered in this tour are interesting
for you the tourist as they give you the chance t meet the real
people of Chile, yet also extremely rewarding for the local
people we meet. By showing their lives to foreigners, and allowing
them to demonstrate their beautiful culture, they tell us that
these experiences make them feel really special and valued.
During
our tour we visit organizations such as Fundacion Solidaridad,
which was created originally to help political prisoners in
Pinochets time; “Los Robles”, a fair trade winery
that gives kids and adolescents the chance to study, to work,
and has created a sustainable growth plan for their vineyard,
and a home repair scheme.
On our route farther south we also head off the beaten track
to explore the country side. We meet the women of a committee
of Wild Fruit Collectors who are facing the problem of losing
their territory to the forestation companies who are not only
cutting down their forests, but using harmful pesticides which
also damage the natural environment and in turn their livelihood.
We visit an Agricultural Education Centre that teaches farmers
how to fertilize and cultivate the dry lands of the region in
a sustainable manner, as well as recycling techniques, and who
creates opportunities for Seed Collectors to protect and exchange
seeds that are becoming extinct, and sell their vegetables and
flowers which allows them to maintain their small plantations.
We
also meet with Fundacion Chol Chol in Temuco, that helps to
preserve the traditional way of dying and weaving wool by educating
indigenous women who lost touch with this tradition. This foundation
now offers their goods to the international fair trade market.
