At Amazing Escapes, we believe that sustainable tourism, even top-of-the-range, is the best way to raise travelers' awareness of environmental conservation while bringing sound economic development opportunities to isolated communities.
Amazing Escapes made friends with the community of Jirira in 2015 when we chose the community's territory to set up a temporary camp for one of our expeditions. The welcome we received, the kindness and cooperation of the community members, not to mention the beauty of the place, definitely won us over. So it was naturally to them that we turned when we began to imagine Kachi Lodge. It was unthinkable to develop this project without their participation and from the beginning, they were integrated into the operations. Today, some of them hold positions essential to the functioning of Kachi Lodge.
Apart from the privileged relationship with the community, the preservation of the environment has been at the heart of our concerns since the beginning of the project. Before settling on the Salar, we wanted to be sure that we could deploy a building with the least possible impact. We have therefore invested in cutting-edge technologies in both water and energy management systems.
Kachi Lodge aims at a 0% plastic policy. No plastic bottles or packaging. Â Waste sorting is the rule and we hope to be able to set up our own waste treatment structure in the near future.
For the construction and operation of Kachi Lodge, we focus on Bolivian companies and buy as much as possible locally. The wood used for the Kachi Lodge platform is a Bolivian wood with FSC certification.
We highlight Bolivian cultural heritage, for example through collaboration with Nativa restaurant, who's mostly works with Bolivian producers, or by exhibiting the work of Gaston Ugalde, the most famous contemporary Bolivian artist. This cultural heritage is also discovered through activities offered by Kachi Lodge in collaboration with the local community.
We hire local guides whom we train with the help of professionals with years of experience in tourism.
For transportation, we use drivers from Uyuni, whom we once again train to meet the expectations of high-end customers.
Kachi Lodge is aiming at being a model of sustainable tourism development thanks to its environmental approach and its interaction with local communities, through joint development projects, training in tourism-related jobs and exchanges between Kachi Lodge hosts and community members.