The Culture Xplorers Foundation
At Culture Xplorers, we insist on being not only responsible travelers, but on making a positive impact on the communities with which we come into contact. We work hand-in-hand with local leaders in the destination we visit to spend time as well as money in these communities, to ask questions and share views and to support the living traditions that make these destinations unique.
As a catalyst to these deep-rooted community partnerships, the non-profit Culture Xplorers Foundation was created in 2007 with the goal of fostering the sustainability of local culture in indigenous communities worldwide. Our positive impact partnerships focus on sustaining endangered traditions, strengthening education, fostering community-based travel and breaking the cycle of poverty through the support of comprehensive micro-loan and education programs.
SUSTAINING ENDANGERED TRADITIONS
In 2005 we created the Culture Xplorers (CX) Weavers Awards, an annual awards celebration honoring the indigenous textile artists of Peru. Now in their 5th year, these annual awards motivate hundreds of weavers from nine communities across the Sacred Valley to compete for pride and substantial cash prizes.. Each year, 30 winners are honored with medals, certificates of achievement and share a prize pool which has reached over $3,000 annually. These awards act as a positive catalyst, augmenting the heroic, decades-long efforts of our local NGO partner in rescuing this endangered 2,000 year old tradition.
STRENGTHENING SCHOOLS
Culture Xplorers works to strengthen education in communities such as Yanaoca, Peru where donations from a number of sources, including Culture Xplorers travelers, have facilitated the construction a school kitchen and other infrastructure projects. Thanks to this broad-based collaboration, 60+ students at Chosecani elementary school now receive nutritional, hot meals while attending class.
Near Lima, Peru we have formed a partnership with an elementary school in the Jose Galvez district. On each of our Service Xplorers journeys, travelers work for ½ day side-by-side with teachers and parents on a school improvement project then break bread together at a community-hosted lunch.
FOSTERING COMMUNITY-BASED TRAVEL
Culture Xplorers promotes sustainable, community-based travel on each of our journeys. In Peru, we take the concept a step further, sharing meals and lodging for a night with a welcoming host family on one of Lake Titicaca’s magical islands. In addition to shared meals, we hike to the pre-Inca ruins at the top of the island affording astounding views of the changing light on the lake. Here, travelers participate in a centuries old earth offering ceremony (pago a la tierra), a ritual which remains an integral part of daily life in the Andes.
BREAKING CYCLE OF POVERTY
In Guatemala, meet with families who are breaking the cycle of poverty with the help of a comprehensive micro-loan, plus education program administered through a local NGO. Culture Xplorers provides financial support for these micro-loans with each of our trips to Guatemala.