Acqua, terra e cultura. Per viaggiatori veri

[:en]
The project “Sustainable and inclusive tourism in North West Argentina” (SITnwa) fulfils the dream of many families: giving to their children a better life, a better house and a stable income. Moreover they have the opportunity to stay in their native area doing what they do.

Read their stories directly in the article published on December 2015 in AMU News >>>

Water, land and culture. For active travellers.

The project “Sustainable and inclusive tourism in North West Argentina” (SITnwa) involves 83 families of five indigenous communities, adapting their homes and providing the knowledge necessary to accommodate tourists.

Therefore it allows them to perceive an income additional to the typical activities of agriculture and livestock, but also much more, as our local coordinators told us.

The positive impact of this project, undertaken within the program of community tourism of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina, can certainly quantify in assets, knowledge, and renovation of homes, higher revenues and sustainability of small family businesses through widespread tourist reception activities. However there is another reality that goes beyond the math and that is perceived only by working in the field. It is a human development that we can “feel”, even in the most simple and ordinary situations. For example, in the safety of those people who before, feeling inferior, would lowered their head; or in the words of those who before would keep silent; in the self-esteem of the small business owners that are now more conscious of their dignity and ability; in the improvement achieved by different communities; in the civic education, in the family stability, in the search of the common good and in the attention to the “common-house feeling” that is perceived in the meeting places.

It should also be said that it is the first project of this type that is realized with the Church in Argentina. There are no precedents, so the Episcopal Commission sees it as a model that can be reproduced in other regions.

“It hasn’t been snowing for twenty years now, says Clara Lamas of the community of Hornaditas, and the water level is increasingly lower. Where can we fetch the water we need? Soon we will be able to take it from the hill, with a system of pipes and four tanks: There will be drinking water for households and water to irrigate the fields. The whole community is engaged as labour force, we have already divided the tasks and each has its part to do … it’s a dream come true. ”

And Flavia Tejerina of Quebrada del Toro: “At Quebrada we live off agriculture and goat breeding. We grow beans, peas and Andean potatoes. The area is arid and water is scarce. We harvest just one crop a year and, to a lesser extent, we sell cheese and meat. It is just enough to survive, so we hope that tourism improves our lives. Several families have already started to receive tourists, but we must first improve our homes … ”

Primitivo Yapura also lives in Quebrada: “Here we do not get electricity. We use oil or kerosene lamps. Recently the government has given us the chance to have solar panels, but only as much as necessary, while we need electricity for other reasons as well, such as keeping food in a freezer…”

The dream of these families is to give their children a better life, a better house and a stable and real income. And have the opportunity to stay in their native area doing what they do.

Today, five years after the birth of the SITnwa Programme, we rediscover tourism as a true source of life for the community. A source that helps to enhance our roots, our land and all its culture.

Andrea Miranda, communication manager of the SITnwa Programme

The project is supported by AMU and the businesses of the Economy of Communion (AIPEC members and other companies) with a contribution of € 55,846.90.[:it]

Il progetto “Turismo sostenibile e solidale nel Nord Ovest dell’Argentina” (TSNoa) realizza il sogno di molte famiglie: quello di dare ai loro figli una vita migliore, una casa migliore ed un reddito stabile. E avere la possibilità di rimanere nella propria terra facendo ciò che sanno fare.

Leggi direttamente le loro testimonianze nell’articolo pubblicato su AMU Notizie di dicembre 2015 >>>[:]