Project Overview
Chachapoyas, a growing tourism destination in Northern Peru, started its first and only sustainable tourism agency named ‘NUEVOS CAMINOS’. This is a start-up project with a clear alternative philosophy of promoting environmentally sound tourism, for example as well as minimizing any environmental damage while tourists are here in Peru they are exploring incorporating 'carbon offset' projects for tourists to support the offset of CO2 produced by their travels.
It promotes socially and environmentally responsible tourism, offering alternative experiences from the stock standard ´gringo trail´ tours. Nuevos Caminos offers the type of tours that allow tourists to experience the true spirit of Chachapoyas and its surrounds. It is designed for tourists interested in having more grassroots type contact with local communities, beyond the usual tourist highlights. It aims to inspire tourists to consider the impact of tourism on the local environment and community, supporting and giving something back to it wherever possible.
Café Fusiones is a lovely little new café in Chachapoyas, combined in the same physical location as Nuevos Caminos travel agency. Like Nuevos Caminos, the café works directly with local communities to support various sustainable development projects. 100% of customer tips go towards supporting Otra Cosa Network projects. Café Fusiones supports and promotes fair trade by working with local carpenters, potters and weavers, displaying and selling their handicrafts in the café.
Volunteer Roles/ Working Hour
The sustainable tourism agency has vacancies for the following tasks
- Develop more fact sheets for tourists to do their own sustainable tourism in and out of Chachapoyas
- Visit the places described in the existing fact sheets to improve and add to the information
- Translation of the fact sheets into your own language
- Develop popular sustainable tourism products
- Make agreements with organizations and providers
- Looking for and training of local guides to work with the agency
- Developing any new ideas of your own, compatible with the agency's sustainable tourism philosophy
- Looking for local and international partners to co-operate with
- In some cases, and depending on the volunteer and the group, work as a tour leader or support tour leader
The Fair Trade Café has vacancies for the following tasks
- Taking orders, preparing food and drinks, clearing tables and cleaning up, taking payments off customers etc. Coffee making experience is not necessary, however, would be an added bonus.
Working hour is generally expected that you work 20 hours per week at both tourism agency and the café. This means your work would be spread across the café opening hours of Mon-Sat 7.30-11.30am and 4-9pm. There will be some degree of flexibility with the hours you work, although obviously it would best be catered around customer demand. This will of course vary according to time of year and possibly certain times of the day or days of the week.
Volunteer Requirements
- Spanish Level to Start: Intermediate
- Time Commitment: Min. 2 month
- Minimum Age: 21
- Have professional/ academic background in Tourism (for tourism agency position)
- Interest in, and affection for sustainable tourism and fair trade
- Open minded, positive and flexible personality
- Good Inter-personal skills
