Charity and Social Enterprise team-up to offer inspiring Fair Trade Adventures

London based charity Cafédirect Producers' Foundation (CPF) have teamed up with ecotourism experts, Sumak Travel, to offer exciting Fair Trade Adventures across Latin America.

The two-week tours will combine life-changing experiences with the opportunity to meet the vibrant producers that supply the fair trade industry.

Amongst a variety of activities available, travellers will be able to: traverse the hanging bridges of Los Campesinos in Costa Rica; marvel at the colonial architecture in Colombia; and meet the smallholder farmers on the steep Peruvian coffee plantations at Machu Picchu.

Cafédirect Producers' Foundation (CPF), a small charity working with a network of 280,000 smallholder farmers from 38 fairtrade cooperatives worldwide, sees this as a fantastic opportunity to help support their programmes.

“Much of our work with smallholders revolves around helping them to use their knowledge and expertise to find sustainable sources of income" said Alex Sowter, Creative Enterprise Manager at CPF.

“As a charity we aim to do the same. By leveraging the amazing work that farmers are doing, we can help them diversify their incomes and support our projects on the ground" added Alex.

As well as bringing money back in to support their programmes, CPF believes that enabling travellers to visit smallholder communities will raise awareness of the wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise which exists in under-served rural communities.

However, until they began their partnership with Sumak Travel, CPF had struggled with how to make sure that this still put the needs of the local community first.

“We are really excited about partnering with Sumak," said Alex “they share our strong commitment to ethical and sustainable business practices, which empower and protect local communities."

Sumak Travel's mission is to enable people to learn about amazing cultures, but to do that 'with, rather than against the grain of the local people, their communities, and customs.'

“For us, tourism is about creating personal, affordable and rewarding travel experiences that have a positive impact on destinations," said Felipe Zalamea, Sumak Director.

The maximum group size on all Fair Trade Adventures is 10 passengers. Starting from £1,595pp, prices include accommodation in locally-run boutique hotels or homestays, internal flights and ground transportation, English-speaking guides, and a range of fair trade and other activities and excursions, with 10% of the price going directly to support CPF's work with smallholder farmers.

Sumak can also arrange international flights and provide optional add-ons before or after tours, such as the Lost City Hike in Colombia or Tortuguero National Park in Costa Rica.

For more information about Fair Trade Adventures, download the brochure, visit the CPF website, or to book contact: fairtrade@sumak-travel.org or 020 36424246.