If you have read our blog before, then you know that at the end of one of our previous articles (the Gentrification Article), we raised the question of how people can make a positive local impact while staying in a Coliving. Today, we will explore that topic further and try to give some ideas.
As a family-owned coliving in the Canary Islands, leaving a positive local impact as tourists is a matter close to home for us.
On the one hand, as locals, we grew up on our island and have felt the negative impact of tourism indirectly and directly so many times.
Growing up in a place loved by tourists, we developed a wish to encourage sustainable tourism and learn how to educate foreigners about the place we grew up in and love.
Our businesses, first the Ecotienda and then the EcoIsleta Coliving, are direct products of this wish.
But on the other hand, by opening our coliving, we intentionally opened the doors to our island to the outsiders. So from just a local business, we became a business that generates tourism, and with that, we gained a much greater responsibility of educating our visitors on how to come to us and leave with a positive impact.
Why Making a Positive Impact Matters?
All these amazing places you love and care about carry their struggles. It’s not different with Canaries.
Affordable local food often means a struggling local producer.; a warm welcome from the locals often shows a humble reality of a poor community that has learned to support each other and work together, and an untouched wilderness and flora often means an abundant nature that can easily get exploited.
Coming to a place with less economic power than your own country carries a certain responsibility for you as the tourist – a responsibility to be mindful, and understanding, and to learn to appreciate it without disrupting it.
So, who receives the value of mindful tourism?
The value of leaving a positive local impact while traveling is full of mutual benefits.
On one hand, the local community receives support, and feels seen and fairly represented, and on another hand, the traveler receives an incredible value to their personal growth.
If you travel to a place and only stay in a resort, eat foods only made for your liking, and are treated like no local has ever been treated before – can you even say you visited the place?
Cultural immersion is what makes us global citizens and what gives a voice to those who struggle to put it out there. It can be an outlet and shine a light on matters that are deeply intertwined in local histories and traditions, that often get overlooked and thrown under the rug. And these matters are what is really important when wanting to make a difference.
How can I give back to the local community?
We’re glad you are asking that! Giving back is actually easier than it looks and it often just means being mindful and doing your research.
Get to Know the Local Culture and Customs
Getting to know the local culture – and we mean – TRULY getting to know it – is the base you should not start without.
Everything that you can do for a local community will become much clearer if you start to understand what it is that the local community needs.
What is their history? How do they look at certain global events? What are the most important customs for them and why? How are they different from what you knew about them previously and what you see now when you sit down with them? What are their biggest struggles now and CAN you help in any way, and if yes – how would they like you to help?
Do Your Research
Researching a destination before arriving is nothing new and I am sure we all do it, but we rarely ask ourselves “Why?”. Why do the locals do things in the way they do them? What does that truly mean for them and from where does it originate from? What impact does it have on their culture?
Of course, we don’t have to do a deep dive into the local culture every time we go somewhere visiting but having a historical view of the customs and traditions gives us an important background. This background is important because it shows us what matters to the community we are staying in, ultimately showing us how we can help.
Engage with Locals
The second step is to engage with locals who will tell you more about their country, culture, and who they are. And when you do – to truly listen.
We often unintentionally focus on the stereotypes, or drive the complex topics of the local community to a simple matter, not leaving any space for real conversations.
Our advice? Ask questions.
Ask them respectfully but ask them. Oftentimes, the locals’ view on certain things might surprise you. So, stay open-minded and learn about a country from its locals.
Support the Local Economy
Supporting the local economy is one of those areas that can seem very simple but is actually pretty complex.
The first rule of supporting the local economy is focusing on local business, and that is:
- Buying produce and food from local markets and dining in local restaurants.
- Staying in locally-owned accommodation rather than choosing an international hotel chain.
- Supporting small locally-owned clothing stores, souvenirs, jewelry shops, art galleries, etc.
- Choosing touristic experiences from local guides and agencies
How to Choose the Right Businesses to Support?
If you are choosing a coliving rather than a hotel, we already assume you will focus a bit more on the local experience. However, please remember that “locally owned” is not always the only thing to have in mind.
Foreign-owned is not always as bad. Some places have had their influx of expats, from whom some have started businesses that truly do support the local economy. Whether an accommodation, a restaurant, or any other business’ funds go towards helping a local issue, they are as good a choice as a “locally-owned” business.
On the other hand – locally owned does not always mean that a business is supporting the local economy. Yes, you might be supporting one local person, but this person might not be thinking or investing in more than themselves.
Unfortunately, it might be a hard pill to swallow, but gentrification is not only in the hands of non-mindful tourists but also in the hands of the locals taking advantage of those tourists.
Build Meaningful Connections
Now this one – this one is what thighs it all together – building meaningful connections.
Remember that places you visit are a part of the people who live in them and vice versa. Making meaningful connections with the place and the people is what will truly help you understand what makes this place what it is.
Getting to know a place through local events, workshops, or community gatherings, will show you what is important for the people that live there, what community means to them, and what truly matters to them.
We often stay locked in the stereotypes without knowing. These stereotypes often take us in a misleading direction and we end up trying to help in a way that doesn’t really resonate with the real needs of the locals. It is only when we understand the context that we can truly see if and how we can make a difference. And sometimes, that difference is only to understand and break the stereotypes.
Volunteer Responsibly
Lastly, when you really want to give back, you can look into volunteering opportunities while you are traveling. Almost all places offer some type of volunteering opportunities where you can leave your mark and help the local community.
However, be careful, some volunteering opportunities can be exploited and created only to attract volunteers to raise funds or obtain another gain, so make sure you do your research well.
How EcoIsleta is trying to use it coliving to make a local impact in La Isleta/Gran Canaria
We wanted to attract people who think differently and leave their mark. But at the same time, we tried to educate and share the word about sustainable tourism throughout the island.
Over the years, we have focused on making our business a place that will work for our island, but we also wanted to make a space that starts these important conversations.
Every day, we strive to be better, but we are proud to say that most of our colivers have left with more knowledge about our neighborhood (La Isleta), more understanding of our struggles, and more love towards the island that we – the locals truly love.
But of course, this topic goes way beyond just Eco Isleta and the Canary Islands.
Every place you visit, you should see it mindfully, and often, that means finding ways how to leave a positive mark.
Some of EcoIsleta’s Initiatives
Some of our initiatives at EcoIsleta that support the local community on our island are:
True Local Food Workshops
It is said that the best stories are shared over food – and we like to think that is true. At EcoIsleta we often host dinner parties and cooking workshops where we showcase the real local food of our city and island.
We like to show food you would find on a real local family’s table, passed down the generations, as this food often tells our history better than words.
Local Hikes
As somebody who grew up in La Isleta, we like to take people on a walk through our neighborhood and up for a nice local hike with views of the ocean.
During the walk, we tell stories about our past, the neighborhood, and the island, and try to encapsulate the real life in this area and share it with our visitors. After such walks, we always feel our guests feel a bit more connected with us.
Integrating Locals to Throught Coliving Events
As locals – we know locals. Opening a coliving, we wanted to be the bridge between the foreigners and those who lived in La Isleta their whole lives. That is why all our workshops, events, seminars, etc. always have their doors open for our special local invitees, which helps the foreigners feel in a place more “real” than just in a traveling bubble; and it helps our friends and neighbors learn new things, practice new languages, and showcase their home through their own voice and stories.
Fresh Local Produce and Local Products
As a small contribution, we bring a weekly basket of local produce to our colivers with the intention to inspire them to buy locally and seasonally. We also keep recommendations of such places and always have an ace in our sleeve when recommending small locally-owned businesses that we love and support ourselves.
Highschool Visits
One of our favorite initiatives is partnering with a local high school, where we occasionally organize visits where our coliving guests host workshops on various topics.
Our idea is to show these youngsters the world that is out there and help them develop new ambitions and ideas. We aim to show these kids that they can achieve whatever they set their minds to, providing tools and strategies often missing in the public system.
We also collaborate with the school on other projects offer support whenever possible, and include our visitors whenever there is an opportunity for it.
