Maybe our blog title surprises you, but don’t be fooled, as experts in sustainable travel under the RESPONSible philosophy, we have not simply revisited our favorite destinations in a big part of Peru, but we have prepared and carried with us information and work tools so that our suppliers fully align with us and to establish new forms of joint work for sustainability.
And it could not be otherwise, our 10 years of existence could not be celebrated in any other way and finally, although we have had a lot of fun, we have also worked a lot.
We have also reaped many satisfactions seeing the response of our hotel partners, transporters, guides, agencies, and our very dear local families and communities – which are simply said, our reason for being.
It all started in January when we became partners of Travelife, the certifier that facilitates the tools and defines the processes to turn an agency into a provider of sustainable travel.
But we did not get to Travelife on our own, but thanks to our main account in Europe, the Better Places group, –which increasingly sends us more and more responsible travelers and gives us the satisfaction of working with the type of client that we like, but also gives us all their support to meet the necessary goals to be increasingly sustainable.
Thus, the planning and ordering of ideas was put at full speed in August. Katty, who just joined the team, had the responsibility of collecting a lot of information under Guido’s direction from Barcelona; and also with Sandra they bought all the travel tickets for our trips around the country (always looking to minimize our footprint with many bus tickets).
In September the whole team would meet in Cusco to train personally and prepare all the material that we would distribute among our providers. There we realized the large group of people we have become and the good work we do together.

-Here the only one missing is Maxime, who was just starting sales from Trujillo.
Did you know that RESPONS has staff in Cusco, Lima, Huaraz, Trujillo, and Barcelona (Spain)?
In October everything was ready for the first test with the workshop that we held in Cusco for 12 participants from 11 companies and entreprenuers.

-Here, Guido is presenting at the Casona USIL
Then our first envoys to the Colca would leave, to share the teachings with our communities of Coporaque and Sibayo that added 12 attendees.

-Here, Victoria is listening to the presentation alongside the commoners at the Iudoteca of Coporaque
This same group repeated the workshop in Arequipa, with the participation of six companies and independent ones through 8 attendees.

-Here Saby is in front of the computer presenting at the Selina hotel
In Puno we were very surprised because of the great receptivity, with a record of 21 attendees representing 10 service providers.

-Here, from the whole team it is easier to locate Agnes on the left, at the Intiqa hotel
At the end of the Puno workshop, Agnes would meet with Guido to go to investigate new RESPONSible opportunities in Tarapoto. And what a surprise they found!
Meanwhile, the turn was for nine of our allies in the Sacred Valley, with the workshop taught in Ollantaytambo, where the attendance was 11 people.

-Here at the bottom and in the middle is Katty, and Maria is to the right, while our intern Elza is is in the middle behind them, at the garden of the hotel Iskay
Having concluded in the southern highlands, a new group left for Nazca and then Paracas to add another 28 people from ten companies to the count.

-Here workshop veterans, Annika and Pauline (with the most colorful clothes) and on the left Franzine, Melani and Daniel who joined them at the Don Agucho hotel in Nazca

-Here, below the wonderful sun in the pool area after the workshop at the Paracas Sunset hotel
And before giving us a break for our group integration days in Huaraz, we replicated our presentation in Lima to 15 attendees, representing ten companies.

-Here we see Sandra to the right for the group picture in Kubrick
In November we arrived in Huaraz, for our own activities that were based on excursions and for the great celebration, we went to the cradle of RESPONS, Vicos, where we carried out many group activities to get to know each other and a great Pachamanca Vicosina.

-Here Alex is greeting with open arms

-Here is the pachamanca with about 15 varieties of potatoes and the infallible aji
After two lovely nights in Vicos we continue where our friends Diana and Wayne, creators of the very inspiring Lazy Dog Inn, where we spent three nights and where every day we discover more of their admirable work to make their stay a place in harmony with nature, and especially, with people from neighboring communities.

-Here Diana explains the story of the Lazy Dog while Rosbert stares off into the distance
These days, although we also had a busy schedule, served to recharge our energies and come back strongly for the last two workshops that we would teach in Huaraz and Chiclayo, which took place more intimately in the Churup Hostel and in the offices of Chaskiventura respectively.

-Here, the small but very motivated group from Huaraz, and the man in the hat is our dear Pablo

-Here Elena is taking a selfie with the chaskis
So, after 10 workshops for 115 people and 64 companies and entrepreneurs, we returned home with the satisfaction of having done a great job, but with many more tasks to be done, product of commitments made with all our providers.
That is why we have created our RESPONSible Newsletter for tourism professionals (in Spanish), of which, to date, we have written two issues and where we give global, national and local sustainability news; we share good initiatives; we promote responsible practices and a lot of etc.
Now, this 10-year celebration is over, we just have to continue working hard so that each new year we celebrate more and more achievements, however not alone, but with the great alliances that we have strengthened through the workshops.
It is clear that we have taken advantage of this publication to present our team, some of which we will finish presenting now: Kerenda and Gabi (both with glasses) are the operations coordinators that are sitting to the left; while those from the administration team are Naomi (right behind Pablo’s hat), Juan Carlos (wearing blue from head to toe towards the right), and Kevin who is behind him. The only one missing is Patrick (in the first group picture next to the blue post) who did not go with us to Huaraz because his son Thiago was born.
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