Cycling Tour in Chile’s Lake and Volcano District

Planet

As a company offering responsible tourism in the Lake & Volcano District, Atacama Desert and Patagonia of Chile since 2003, we decided to take a new challenge towards becoming a Zero Waste Company. As a result, we are implementing several new measures:

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE AND MUCH MORE.

We are measuring all our waste generated during our trips, improving the waste management each day and reaching a Zero Waste Operation by 2020/21.

REDUCE. In order to prevent the production of waste, we have partnered up with local & organic food suppliers. This allows us to buy in bulk. Thus, it avoids the use of disposable plastics but also fuel the local economy.

REUSE. We donate all of the remaining reusable water bottles after each operations’ season. In 2019, approximately 450 were donated to local sport clubs. Moreover, we highly encourage our clients to bring their own water bottles.

RECYCLE. At our main office we did install a recycling point where we separate Plastics, Cans, Glasses, Paper/Carton and of course all the organic waste generated at our office. During the trips our guides and drivers set up an dismountable recycling point where clients and staff can dispose the residues to be collected at the hotels visiting during the trip. In addition, we separate and collect the organic matter to be transformed into compost. This compost will be used for our vegetables garden located at Amity Headquarter.

We are encouraging our local partners to join the Zero Waste Challenge. Sustainable practices and waste management are important focuses by electing our accommodations and food suppliers during the trips.

By sharing our experiences and solution with partners and guests we contribute to a global Zero Waste Community.
In addition to the Zero Waste Challenge we started with a Carbon Reduction Plan. Together with scientists and a local Mapuche community we are working on a sustainable solution to offset our (non-avoidable) carbon emissions. Our goal is to reach carbon neutrality in all our operations by the end of 2021 and to contribute environmental education by sharing knowledge to the local community and our clients.

Our tap water is not only safe, it tastes great, so we do not buy bottled water. We use big water containers to carry the water and encourage all our clients to refill their bottles with tap water from the Lake and Volcano District.

We are fully committed to the people of Chile and the World in order to conserve the ecosystems that are present within the Chilean territory. This commitment goes much further than just respecting these ecosystems during our tourist operations. Our company leads and supports projects that are directly related to the industry’s sustainable development, as well as those associated with wilderness conservation by private and local communities’ Land Trusts throughout Chile.

People

One hundred percent of our guides and drivers are local, and live with their families in the area they work and guide in. They all have a legal contract with us and we pay them wages well above average in the local tourism industry. Also, we are proud to say that one of our best tour guides belongs to the Mapuche people, Chile’s largest indigenous group. His name is Ruben Paillalef and you will probably meet him if you take one of our biking or hiking tours

We work side by side with the indigenous communities of the Lake and Volcano District. This is reflected in our visits to Mapuche and Pewenche communities, where we pay fair prices (usually more than what they charge) and do not ask for “cultural” demonstrations. We let them decide when and what aspects of their culture they want to share with our clients. We encourage them to be genuine and include everyone in their families. We love having lunch or dinner cooked and presented by the indigenous women and usually share a “yerba mate” with the elders of the community. They have amazing stories to tell.

We take our guests to local markets, only when we know who the artists are and that their handcrafts are made in a sustainable way. Getting to know the people behind the product usually makes the tourist buy more and pay more.