About Us
Grassroots Journeys
From extensive travels throughout Ecuador, Mathew and Linda came across numerous communities who sought to maintain their traditional lifestyles and minimise damage to the environment by seeking alternative sources of income, rather than accept oil drilling and logging. Community tourism is one of those alternatives, which, if operated correctly, can provide immense benefits to both the community and visitors. However, with limited resources and access to communication systems, most groups are unable to attract visitors. In face of this challenge, the idea for Grassroots Journeys was born, providing communities and the NGOs and ethical travel agencies that support them, the opportunity to promote themselves on a centralised website accessible by all.
Linda Westberg
Linda studied international relations and political economy at the University of Sydney, and has worked with NGOs in Belgium, India, Australia, Ecuador and Papua New Guinea, with a keen interest in culturally contextual approaches to income generation and health-related education. Having lived in a wide range of countries, and travelled extensively, she has gained a significant understanding and appreciation of different cultures and places. However, the more she travels, the longer her list of places to visit becomes, so she looks forward to her work and travels taking her to many new and exciting places in the near future.
Mathew Tasker
Mathew has been fortunate enough to have travelled throughout South America, Australia, South East Asia, parts of Asia and the Pacific. These experiences awakened a strong interest in the many diverse cultural worlds and the problems facing them. Building on these influences Mathew completed an honours degree in anthropology at the University of Sydney, and after working in the Ecuadorian Amazon and Andes, he is looking forward to experiencing and learning from the many different ways people see our planet.
Project
Linda and Mathew spent 2008 and 2009 working with indigenous groups in Ecuador, particularly promoting indigenous rights and culture through language preservation. Working with Kichwa communities in the northern Andes, and with Sapara communities in the remote Ecuadorian Amazon, they sought to assist these groups to embrace change and development, but whilst retaining their traditional beliefs, cultures and languages.