Travel does make a difference - Kind Traveler

“This small act of kindness had us yearning for a more profound way for our travel dollars to make a lasting, meaningful impact in the local community,” Kind Traveler co-founder Jessica Blotter.

This is the principle that we operate on when we say we offer ethical travel that makes a difference. It also makes us different! Enjoy this article from Forbes contributing writer Rona Berg and learn more about the ways that Kind Traveler promotes a new way of seeing the world, and seeing the people you meet along the way.

Here in Oaxaca we introduce you to the idea of traveling kinder by keeping our focus hyper-local. The impact of travel isn’t always beneficial to a local economy, and Oaxaca has seen profound change since becoming a global destination for tourism. This is why we work with locally owned guest houses, introduce you to small business owners, and spend time learning and sharing a day with families in their home studios. We give you insight into the economies at work in the world of handcrafted products sold in city street markets and small shops, and talk about the current realities of Oaxaca’s mezcal production and export.

You see directly how families interact when generations share in the work and the joy of creating time-honored works of art. We take our time to have good talks, hear inspiring stories and learn from people who are sustaining their way of life through collective enterprise. Most importantly, we leave a lot of what we think we know behind us and open our hearts and minds to the experiences that can be truly transformative when we make lasting connections.

Master dyers and weavers, Juana Gutíerrez and her husband, Antonio Lazo with one of their granddaughters at home in Teotitlán del Valle