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Peru through the lens of Chalay: Andean Culture and Connection to Food

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Peru 10 DAYS, 9 NIGHTS from $2,650 per person based on group size

Trip Overview

Global Family Travels is pleased to offer a truly regenerative educational adventure in Peru with a lens on Andean culture and the sacred nature of food, land, and the people who cultivate it. In partnership with the Potato Park, this journey through Peru’s Sacred Valley offers the opportunity to immerse and learn firsthand from farmers, artisans, and Indigenous peoples about ancient farming techniques and economic practices, traditions which have protected food sovereignty and biodiversity in the Andes, while adapting to the challenges of food security, climate change, water shortages, and biodiversity loss.    

 

Students on this trip will also learn about Chalay, the ancient Andean practice of bartering, or trading goods without the use of money. Through alternative economic systems, chalay strengthens relations between friends and families from diverse agricultural zones where seeds and food are thought to be members of the family.  

 

This journey of experiential learning is also aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including: #13 Climate Action and #15 Life on Land. Students will return with not only memories of adventure but also a profound understanding of how they can contribute to global conservation efforts.   

  

This outstanding opportunity for educational exploration is one that will leave students with a greater appreciation for and understanding of the greater world around them. Join us for an unforgettable exploration of life, legacy, and learning in the Peru. 

Learning themes and Learn, Serve & Immerse experiences 

Location : Cusco, Peru

LEARN

At Global Family Travels, we believe that the most powerful way to learn is through first-hand experience. We let the country and its people be your teachers. While taking in the charm and history of Sacred Valley cities and sites in Cusco, Ollantaytambo and other towns.  While on the trip, you will be immersed in the community, meeting community members,  and even working alongside them performing the various service project tasks. A highlight of the trip is the option to spend one night with a host family in Potato Park, living as they do, helping to prepare meals and participating in the daily routine of the house.

Unique educational experiences on this tour include: 

  • Immerse in Potato Park to learn about their incredibly diverse collection of potatoes and how Indigenous communities and farmers are helping to conserve them, while adapting to the challenges of food security, climate change, water shortages, and biodiversity loss. 
  • Engage with and learn from our non-profit partner, Awamaki, who is helping to empower rural women with skills-based education and vocational skills. 
  • Visit barter markets to witness an ancient economic system called CHALAY in action. Chalay is a tradition in which commodities are exchanged for non-monetary items like food, woven items, etc.
  • Learn how our non-profit community partner, ANDES/Potato Park, is preserving Andean cultural heritage, economic systems, and Indigenous traditions. 
  • Learn about astronomy and how it relates to agriculture.
  • Visit and learn about the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
  • Key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and how they are being addressed in Peru.

By visiting the various communities and our non-profit partners in this unique itinerary and engaging with humble potato farmers, weavers and supporting their excellent work, you are being of service! 

SERVE 

By visiting the various communities and our non-profit partners in this unique itinerary and engaging with humble potato farmers, weavers and supporting their excellent work, you are being of service! 

IMMERSE 

While on the trip, you will be immersed in the community, meeting community members,  and even working alongside them performing the various service project tasks. A highlight of the trip is the option to spend one night with a host family in Potato Park, living as they do, helping to prepare meals and participating in the daily routine of the house. 

More About our Community Partner

Potato Park is a biocultural territory dedicated to the conservation of biological and cultural diversity in the Andes mountains near Pisaq, Cusco, Peru. This 35 square mile (90 square km) park is administered by the five Indigenous communities of Amaru, Chawaytire, Pampallacta, Paru Paru and Sacaca, with the support of the Association for Nature and Sustainable Development (ANDES). ANDES and community members of the Potato Park are our hosts as we will learn about their work and participate in the daily routine of the Indigenous peoples.  

Learn more about Potato Park here: https://andes.org.pe/potatopark-pisac/  

About Awamaki

Awamaki is a Peruvian non-profit organization that works with rural women to empower them with skills-based education and connect them with access to the market so they can earn an income, support their families, and help transform their communities. Awamaki does this through women’s artisanal fair-trade crafts cooperatives and sustainable tourism. Awamaki works with nearly 140 women in 5 communities. Learn more about Awamaki here:

About Global Family Travels

Location : Seattle, WA, USA

About Global Family Travels 

 Much more than a traditional travel company, Bellevue-based Global Family Travels’ mission is to Learn, Serve and Immerse, using travel as a means to build cultural bridges and to foster global citizens. Using tourism to address community and environmental challenges, we organize sustainable travel opportunities in partnership with local and global non-profit organizations and support many communities.    

  

Global Family Travels family-friendly global trips and local day tours in the Greater Seattle area support many important United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), such as quality education, conservation, gender equality and access to clean water. Each trip features a unique mix of cultural and educational activities, as well as community engagement projects aimed at directly improving the lives of people in the destinations we visit.  Our travelers return with a renewed sense of themselves, and our global community, and are often inspired to take action to help achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.  Expect to expand your family circle when you embark on a Global Family Travels trip! Visit our website for more information: Global Family Travels.   

 

We at Global Family Travels are passionate about creating community-based, family-friendly trips that are truly meaningful, encouraging travelers of all ages to become both stewards of the environment and citizens of the world. With the tourism industry having such an obvious impact on the climate, Global Family Travels has taken significant steps to not only be conscious of our impacts, but to actively work towards minimizing our carbon footprint. As signatories of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, we have pledged to halve emissions by 2030 and become completely net zero no later than 2050. Another way of working towards that goal of minimizing our carbon footprint is by becoming a Tomorrow’s Air member. Global Family Travels offers travelers the opportunity to contribute $25 (or more) to Tomorrow’s Air on every trip. This small payment contributes to removing emissions from our atmosphere, thus maintaining our planet’s health for future generations to explore it themselves. Even if you are taking a self-planned trip, you can still contribute to Tomorrow’s Air

 

To learn more about Global Family Travels’ work in sustainability, click here

Climate Change Initiative: Tomorrow’s Air

Carbon Removal: According to the State of Global Carbon Dioxide Removal Report by University of Oxford, natural methods of removing carbon from the atmosphere are not enough by themselves due to the amount of pollution currently in the atmosphere. Innovations in removing and permanently storing carbon emissions are needed to conserve nature and reverse the course toward further climate change. 

Tomorrow’s Air: Global Family Travels is passionate about encouraging tourism that is not only sustainable but regenerative. To help with our mission, we seek to partner with like-minded brands such as Tomorrow’s Air, which operates within the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA).   

Tomorrow’s Air is a collective of carbon removal innovators that work to permanently remove and store carbon from the atmosphere. Travel is a large contributor to global emissions, and we feel it is important to educate and empower travelers to support efforts that combat climate change! Clients can opt-in for a $25 donation to Tomorrow’s Air through the payment page. 

About Sustainable Travel International

Global Family Travels has partnered with Sustainable Travel International (STI) to provide carbon-offsetting for all of our guests' flights between the USA and Peru, which is already included in the cost of your trip. Through this partnership, we support projects that reduce carbon pollution by protecting and restoring forest ecosystems, generating clean energy, or increasing energy efficiency. In addition to fighting climate change, Sustainable Travel International's offset projects also provide meaningful benefits for communities and biodiversity such as creating local jobs, protecting indigenous land rights, safeguarding the habitat of endangered species, and bringing clean drinking water to rural families. Learn more about STI and their impactful work here: https://sustainabletravel.org/our-work/. 

Safe and Flexible Travel Guaranteed

The health and safety of Global Family Travels’ travelers, community partners, colleagues and guides are of paramount importance to us. To mitigate and manage the risks associated with COVID-19, we have adopted COVID-19 Health and Safety guidelines, which were developed in collaboration with the Adventure Travel & Trade Association (ATTA) and Cleveland Clinic, as well as the Washington State’s public health policies.   You can find more detailed information on our website COVID-19 and Travel.

Global Family Travels’ customers will have peace of mind when they choose to travel with us and know that their health and safety are backed by flexible booking conditions. Please refer to the "Tasks" outlining specific details for the health and safety protocols for destination and itinerary.   Please also visit our Booking terms and Conditions for the specifics of your personal trip page.

These critical health and operational measures ensure that we can continue to offer tourism experiences with community partners and suppliers in a safe, responsible and sustainable way.  Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about these protocols or your trip and thank you for helping to keep yourself and fellow travelers,  host community and guides safe!   

Location
Peru
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