Basic information
Experience
Do
Impact
Start collaboration:
2019
Directly impacted families:
2
Indirectly impacted families:
4
Project description
This Patagonian cultural experience in El Calafate on Lago Argentino and across from the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares is the result of the cooperation between local families with the goal of providing an alternative kind of travel experience in an area otherwise dominated by mass tourism. More than just a cultural center, Estancia Rio Mitre is a laboratory for social innovation and entrepreneurship with the aim of promoting community tourism projects in Patagonia. An association of currently just two families, Estancia Rio Mitre aims to expand its community project to another eight ranches, so that locals – at risk of being displaced from their homes by mass tourism services, and who otherwise would not benefit from tourism in Patagonia – can open their homes to travelers to the El Calafate region and give them firsthand experience of Patagonian food, culture and traditions.
Travelers can visit Estancia Rio Mitre during their stay in the Los Glaciares National Park. Here they will experience Patagonian culture, food and traditions, as well as learn traditional survival techniques and hear the history of Patagonia through song.
Involvement of V Social
Since August 2018, the VSocial Foundation has provided consultation, training and startup funding to get this community project off the ground. By supplying travelers to Estancia Rio Mitre, delivering eight tourism and business management workshops, and connecting the project with other supporting organizations, VSocial has helped Estancia Rio Mitre to design a tourism experience that promotes Patagonian culture and that can be expanded to include more families.
Start collaboration:
2019
Directly impacted families:
2
Indirectly impacted families:
4
Your impact
El Calafate
Country: Argentina
One of the first community-based tourism projects in Patagonia, Estancia Rio Mitre currently benefits two families, but with the potential to expand to include many more. However, and perhaps more importantly, by sharing Patagonian culture, food and traditions through this community experience, Estancia Rio Mitre is shifting the prevailing paradigm in Patagonia away from mass tourism and towards community projects promoting Patagonian culture and identity.
Their story
