Sustainable travel

Traveling and a sustainable lifestyle, at first it sounds as if this doesn't really go together. Or maybe when you go on a bike tour and sleep in a tent... well, most people don't associate it with traveling to other continents at first.

It doesn't matter so much where you travel, but how you behave. If you leave rubbish everywhere on your bike tour, pollute water and waste resources, you are still not traveling sustainably. Here are a few tips on how you can have a sustainable lifestyle on a trip to South America:

Avoid trash!
Many of our projects are in remote areas. This means that the mail rarely comes and even less often, if at all, the garbage truck. Therefore, the best way to tackle the garbage problem is not to produce or bring garbage in the first place. In concrete terms, as you pack your bags, think about what might turn into rubbish during the trip and leave it at home. For example, shampoo bottles, deodorant sprays, toothpaste tubes, etc. No one needs them, and certainly none of our nature conservation projects. So pack shampoo bars, conditioner bars, deodorant bars, toothpaste tablets and soap bars. Incidentally, that was standard until the 1980s, only then did liquid soap become widespread, just ask your parents or grandparents. The advantage: The blocks are simply used up and leave no waste except for a small piece of wrapping paper. It is even best to make sure that your soap bar is wrapped in paper and not plastic.

Also pay attention to what you buy locally and what is left of it: Does it have to be the chocolate bar in the plastic packaging, or would a banana do? Does it have to be the shrink-wrapped peanuts or corn snacks from the supermarket, or can the loose ones from the corner shop, packed in paper bags, also work? Or, does it have to be the Coca Cola in the plastic bottle, or does it also work with water that you fill in your reusable stainless steel drinking bottle? There are many little things that add up to make a huge difference.

Especially if you work in a national park or visit one in your free time, you will often come across signs warning tourists not to leave anything behind. There are no trash cans beyond the entrance in many South American national parks because you are expected to take all your trash with you. So, you should always have a garbage bag with you on excursions, because banana peels or apple casings shouldn’t be left there either. Organic residue can also affect sensitive ecosystems and animals! The best thing to do, think about the day before which provisions produce the less waste.

Incidentally, you can already avoid rubbish during your journey to your destination country. For example, by only eating in airport restaurants that serve “real” dishes instead of plastic plates and cutlery.

Protect water!
When it came to the garbage, we already talked about shampoo bottles. With everything to do with water and hygiene, you also must keep in mind that many of our projects are in or near very sensitive ecosystems that must not be allowed to get out of balance. In addition, in many countries the wastewater treatment system is not as well developed as in your home country. So, it is important to keep the water as clean as possible. Please make sure that you only bring detergent, soap, shampoo, and conditioner that are biodegradable and use them sparingly.