- Who are we ?
- Agencies coordinators
- The group Terra Explora

It is important for Terra Bolivia to propose a responsible tourism, otherwise called fair-trade in tourism, sustainable tourism, or ethical tourism. Two worlds meet every time a person moves from one country to another. But we are always guests, the countries that we visit are our hosts. The entire enjoyment of the trip can rest on this somewhat delicate relationship. There are numerous ways to travel, to understand other environments, but we inevitably leave marks as we travel. Warm, generous, discreet, dangerous and unalterable.

Our main objectives are:
• Our managers and teams are held by contract to respect the policy of responsible tourism.
•Development and financing of local community tourism projects. Promoting cultural exchanges and local heritage. Please find below the on-going projects.
• Respect towards the suppliers, clients, employees and the people met along the journey.
• Respect of the environment, particularly regarding the waste management during Andean treks and ascents. Priority for cleaner vehicles. For some excursions, restriction of the number of participants.
• Respect and maintenance of materials and equipment (tents, catering, vehicle parts, equipment for the mule drivers…).

• Qualifications (language courses, IT, cooking, first aid).
• Higher salaries than usually awarded locally when they are not judged as fair. Particularly in Bolivia, drivers, guides and office employees are paid about 30% more than generally given.
• All work utensils and equipment to be of high quality (catering tents, vehicles...).

• Bonuses (guides – drivers – managers – employees) are granted in accordance with financial results and the level of satisfaction of our clients.
• Participation in local development projects (see below).
• Setting up of a voluntary “ecological” contribution for some trips (4x4 expedition / or trips with domestic flights). Equal financial contribution from the Terra’s agencies. Re-investment of the money raised into local projects aiming at compensating environmental damages and activities linked to tourism (CO2 rejection, pollution…). See investments made hereafter.
• Touristic projects involve preferably local population.
• Transparency about wages and working conditions of the Terra Group staff (mule drivers, cookers, guides, office employees, drivers…).

• Micro credits: Terra Andina Peru and Terra Andina Bolivia have set up a micro credits system (with 0% interest rate) for their suppliers that do not have access to any bank credit system. 10000 US $ / year per agency. (For example, if a guide wants to buy a house or a car).

• Priority to the respect of the pre-defined rules: a guide can expel a person from a group if he/she does not respect those rules.
• The Terra agencies are receptive agencies (in charge of the operational execution) of many ATR members: “Agir pour un Tourisme Responsible” (ie. Acting for a Responsible Tourism) http://www.tourisme-responsable.org/. We all shall respect the ATR charter for our services.

Complete file on request...

Community Tourism in Tuni (remote village of the Royal Cordillera) / 2007-2009.
Elaboration and co-financing of the Tuni project in the Royal Cordillera to develop community tourism. Building of houses according to both the Andean Aymara housing traditions and the comfort demand of the western visitor. Development of workshops which activities are linked to the discovery of the Andean environment and the Aymara culture, in a joint effort with the community.
(Andean gastronomy, the importance of the llama, legends, medicinal plants, weaving…). The allocation of the profit is previously discussed, in accordance with a fair distribution and future development goals (health and educational improvements…).The idea is also to create interaction between the clients and the community, a genuine exchange and the discovery of a new culture. You can ask for the complete file of the TUNI project.

Salaries
• Salary of an English speaking guide: 50 $US/day
• Salary of an English speaking guide: 50 $US/day
• Salary of a cook on trek: 20 $US/day
• Salary of a graduated mountain guide: 70 $US/day
• Salary of a porter in the mountains: 10 $US/day
• Salary of a mule driver: 3 $US/day
• Location of one mule : 7 $US/day (the mule driver is the owner of the mule / a mule is worth about 40 $US/day in general a mule driver will have 5 mules at his disposal, the pay each day is in practice equivalent to the price of a mule).
• We have set a rotation of mules in place in collaboration with communities in the Royal Cordillera. During a crossing of the Andes every part of the itinerary is received by a different community which thus directly receives the benefits of the groups crossing their land.