Women Travel for Peace: Community-based tourism helping women worldwide
By Linda Rivero, President and Founder, Women Travel for Peace
As our ferry approached the opposite shore of Senegal’s Soungrougrou River, the air began to throb with rhythmic drumming. Waving arms and brilliant smiles beckoned to us. The stunning village women, dressed in their dazzlingly colorful boubous, ran to us singing and clapping as we disembarked.
We were the five women who had traveled to Senegal with Women Travel for Peace. Our goal: to fund and help construct a sturdy, concrete well for the women’s farming collective. While this project had begun several months before our arrival with village meetings and discussion, on this, our last day in the village, we were all ready to inaugurate and celebrate our much needed contribution.
Women Travel for Peace’s community-based tourism enables women from the industrialized world to work side-by-side with women in the developing world in support of a community project improving the lives of women and children. The projects we contribute to are locally chosen. In this case, the women of this small farming collective had met several months earlier to determine what our contribution would be. After much discussion, they decided that of all the needs on their list, their most pressing was a well.
Water is a precious commodity in this village, as in much of Africa. It feeds families and clothes children. But these farming women depend on a sprinkling of hand-dug wells that are spotty in their performance: they cave in during the rains, becoming unusable for 3-4 months a year. The women visiting with Women Travel for Peace would provide financing for the new concrete well in addition to some final physical labor. In the meantime, Women Travel for Peace colleagues in Senegal would work with village leaders to organize construction logistics.
In rural Senegal, the women are the field laborers—as well as the cooks, wood-carriers, nurturers of children, and housekeepers. They’re up at dawn; then off to the fields in early morning after feeding children and husband, cleaning house, and praying; and they return home at 7 or 8 in the evening. In other words, these women spend 10-12 hours each day hauling water and doing back-breaking field work to cultivate their crops.
In founding Women Travel for Peace, I held two objectives: 1) to create travel experiences for women that finance and physically support a community-based project chosen by and directly benefiting local women and their children, and 2) to nurture communication among all the women.
This is the rationale behind the language and cultural training we offer our travelers before departure. Our goal is to create an atmosphere of mutual growth, learning and sharing so two disparate worlds may connect for the deep and lasting benefit of all. Those who join Women Travel for Peace give their hearts and minds in addition to their resources, and the local women give their strength, dignity, and spiritual depth.
There is something magical in the inherent connection among women. We may not speak the same language, but we communicate: we cook together, we work together, we adjust each other’s moussaur (headdress), we laugh. And how we dance and sing!
This natural connection and caring is the foundation of Women Travel for Peace. From this resonance come long lasting, measurable improvement in the lives of women and children and life-changing growth for all involved.
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Photo credits: (from top) Family – Chhayal Parikh; Well – Linda Rivero; Women – Linda Rivero
Hi Linda,
I think women helping women is necessary. Unfortunately, in the USA and most likely internationally, women compete and are jealous for whatever reason, the unfortunate side of human nature. That has been my personal experience. Perhaps indicative of a capitalist society in which everyone is out for themselves can be a side effect but of course that can be in a third world country on a more basic scale. Either way, I am grateful to have the opportunities we have living in this country and we can always do more to help others on a local and global scale. I hope to join one of your groups in the near future. Love what you are doing! Jaye-Anne
Linda, again, must say this is brilliant. I’ve posted it on my Facebook page daring students and peers alike to get involved!
My students have started a “club” working to help refugee women, and in memory of my mother, I’ve started a scholarship for immigrant and refugee women this year. In 2005 my family started a scholarship for immigrant and refugees as well; I was fortunate to have a student that survived the horrors of Rwanda; she is an inspiration to me.
The next clear step is taking a trip to travel for peace and to further and share the acheivements of women world-wide.
When’s your next trip? Count me in!
What a wonderful concept and organization
I live in the Caribbean (have done most of my life) and do development-training projects locally when I get the work but there’s always more that needs to be done and much that it’s difficult to organize funding for in my area and beyond.
At times you do get volunteer groups such as students or archeological clubs who come and do projects but to me, it often seems like the benefit to the local community is not served as well as the visitors’ benefit: This also happens with foreign consultants where proper local consultation and involvement is not done.
I think the way you are approaching it seems much more likely to hit the mark than much that has been done before. Your consultative approach all round sounds great.
And the added fellowship that can come from these ventures is just wonderful. I can think of a number of lasting, rich friendships that have been made across the miles between people from vastly different backgrounds.
I’m known locally as a strong advocate of being cautious of foreign consultancy; that we must ensure consultants’ appropriate skills and further, respect and use local input and expertise wherever possible and if it’s not there, try to include some transfer of skills too. So when I see efforts like yours, I am happy; we can’t do it all alone, but we do need the right kind of help.
Wish you all the best in your ventures
Hi Linda,
I really appreciate that what you are doing. It is advisable to encourage the women. I am based in Ethiopia and my profession is a tour operator arranging different tour in rural areas and as well as in the cities. Lots of Tourists join the “Women Trip for improvement” this problem is really hard and should get solution and learn the next generation like for example there is one village in Ethiopia. It is called Awra Amba. This unique settlement that is considered to be a prime model for self-help and above all gender equality. Women have equal rights as men and there is no distinction in divisions of labor. Men cook, women plow, and religion have no place. They believe in hard work and being good to people. Please let me know when your next trip will be.
Many Thanks
Thank you all for sharing great comments! We’re happy to add the following response from Linda Rivero, the author of this article (website: http://www.womentravelforpeace.org)
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I am so encouraged by the strong, positive response to this concept of women-helping-women.
It is high time that we women advance in our dealings with each other. Yes, probably all of us, at one time or another in our lives, have experienced competition and spite in our interaction with other women. Yet hopefully the vast majority of us realizes the foolishness — and the waste — of such a strategy. We are the caretakers of our families, the nurturers of life. And we’re smart! Surely we can do more to create a better world than to compete atavistically for the romantic attentions of men. How much better it is that we join together in deepening communication and understanding amongst ourselves, teach this openness to our children, and enlist the support of enlightened men in the process.
Clearly many women (and men) understand that, in the end, moving our world forward is and will always be the result of understanding… harmony…compassion…intelligent action…and cooperation.
Thank you, all, for sharing your deeply felt experiences and gifting me with your support.
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>> Visit http://www.womentravelforpeace.org for more information about Linda’s women-helping-women initiatives!!
Hi,
This is a great effort and arose at the correct time. Ative women participation in tourism is unavoidable for sustainable development in addition to overcome the primary challenges in the world.
As academic and researcher in in the field travel and tourism, I would like to appreciate and forward my sincere thanks for your wonderful effort.
At the movement I have been involving in a research based on women particpation in community baased tourism, whereas your contribution is remarkable for my studies.
In future I hope, we will have chance to work together.
Thanks and kind regards
MSM Aslam
Senior Lecturer
Department of Tourism Management
Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka
Belihuloya
Sri Lanka
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