La Corporación para el Desarrollo del Turismo Comunitario de Chimborazo (CORDTUCH)

Website: www.cordtuch.org.ec
E-mail: corporacion@cordtuch.org.ec
Phone: +593 (0)3 260 6774 (Miguel Guamán or Patricia Tierra)

Who they are

CORDTUCH (La Corporación para el Desarrollo del Turismo Comunitario de Chimborazo, or the corporation for community tourism development of Chimborazo) is a community organisation in Chimborazo, Ecuador. It was formed eleven years ago, when various indigenous communities in the province of Chimborazo met and decided that tourism was a good strategy for conserving their natural resources, revaluing their culture, and diversifying their labour, in a participative and sustainable manner.

“CORDTUCH is a strong, self-managed and unified organisation. Its members are leaders in community tourism in Chimborazo and the Andean region of Ecuador. Local members administer and operate the touristic activities, they offer new, high quality tourism products, and its member communities are active and committed. Its activities protect the natural and cultural patrimony of Ecuador, contributing to the Alli Kawsay (good life), maintaining their ancestral values and principles.”

CORDTUCH is fully owned and managed by community members. The income made from tourism is firstly used to pay families for the services provided (for example accommodation, food, guiding). Any remaining money is placed in a community fund, which is reinvested in the communities based on their priorities (for example health, education, infrastructure, microenterprises)

What they do

- Conservation and management of natural resources (for example, reforestation, environmental education, improving water sources.)
- Cultural revitalisation.
- Support for the commercialization of artisan products from the communities.
- Support for social development projects.
- Community tourism

What they offer

Community Tourism:
Activities offered include:

- Trekking, horse riding and biking between the communities
- Climbing mountains and volcanoes
- Cultural exchange
- Ecotourism
- Mountain biking

Volunteer Opportunities:
CORDTUCH has a volunteer program within its member communities. These indigenous rural communities are traditional landowners, endowed with natural resources and a rich culture, which constitute a unique cosmovision which must be respected in any project or activity implemented there. Volunteers can contribute with activities contributing to local development or community tourism, depending on his or her skills and attributes.

The potential activities include:

1) Social labour – working with the improvement of basic infrastructure, schools, and roads and paths, cleaning the community, building a library.

2) Teaching specific subjects – teaching children and/or tourism groups English or French; teaching theatre, artisan production or painting; building capacity in environmental protection and sustainable resource management, including recycling, solar panels, and alternative construction; teaching gastronomy; teaching first aid.

3) Activities that strengthen the development of community tourism: Helping the construction of look out points, signage, rest places, guest houses, improving the condition of guest houses, implementation of solar panels.

4) Environmental activities: working with reforestation, planting organic crops, medicinal plants, managing & creating integrated farms, developing environmental education manuals, and interactive games

5) Research: Collection of information that contributes to community development in the areas of tourism, anthropology, environment, culture, and administration.