What inspired you to work for ImpacTrip?
For me, ImpacTrip gives many of the most beautiful things about traveling without moving from Barcelona. These are the feelings of being active, surrounding myself with people from different cultures. At the same time, I feel that through the different volunteer projects, in which we get involved, I do something to improve my community.
Describe a typical day at work.
This is not an easy question because every day is different. And that's what I like most about this job.
On two Sundays a month, my day consists of picking up the new volunteers at the airport and taking them to the hostel. It is the first direct contact with them and it is usually very exciting. The next day it will be even more intense since they are introduced to the culture of the country and I guide them on the project where they will volunteer.
Also in the afternoon I accompany them on a social tour through the oldest neighborhood in the city. Since this person previously lived for years in those streets, participants are able to see the city through the eyes of a guide with a very special point of view. The next day usually involves accompanying the volunteers to their projects and carrying out volunteer work with them to ensure their good adaptation.
However, when there are no new volunteers, my day can consist of hours on the computer preparing future arrivals, answering emails and having meetings, and volunteering with the partnersor new associations that we can support. And at least one evening a week, I organize a meeting with all the volunteers so that they can update me and, ultimately, make sure that they are enjoying the experience and making the most of everything that Barcelona has to offer.
In short, each day is different and with new experiences that enrich my "routine".
Why do you do what you do?
Because I like to be part of the change and promoter of the change that I would like to see in my society, I hope I can help to create something more fair and sustainable. Also I try to change the negative vision that locals often still have about tourism in Barcelona and help people who come from abroad to better understand and integrate into the place they are visiting.
Traveling and recognizing the volcanoes in southern Chile.
What is your favorite part of your job?
As each day is different, I feel that I am continually enriching myself, practicing different languages and learning from each volunteer and the people who are part of the beautiful projects that we are creating together. I also like the fact that I can almost always organize my own schedule.
How do you use your education and international background in your current role?
My training and work experience, although it stands out for environmental education, fortunately has been very varied and I have had the opportunity to acquire international experience in different environmental and social associations.
I believe that this global vision and everything I have learned in the last 15 years are applicable to my day to day as it helps me with the different people I deal with, and to better understand the projects in which we can collaborate.
What challenges do you often face and how do you overcome them?
Meeting people radically different from me in terms of values and principles in life, sometimes it makes it difficult for them to get out of their comfort zone and adapt to new situations. However I think I have almost always managed to empathize at some point and get them to return home with a positive memory of their experience.
On the other hand, when I started this job, I discovered the concept of Voluntourism and its dark side. So that, especially during the first days, I make an effort with the new volunteers to expose them to that reality and promote a critical sense in them when traveling and volunteering to prevent and change that negative vision. In short, show them that it is obviously possible to be tourists and still create a positive impact and that they can be the best example of that.
Those challenges are what I deal with as well as getting up early on Sundays to pick up volunteers at the airport.
What are some current projects you are working on?
Currently, I have projects in Barcelona with the support of my partner Joana. I’m also taking advantage of the calm before the wave of arrivals of new volunteers in summer… We have officially opened two new projects in Barcelona; "Food Rescue" and "Immigrants and refugees Support".
But we also have an animal care project in a horse sanctuary and another one about environmental conservation in the Delta del Ebro Natural Park. Yes, we hope to be very active next summer :)
What advice would you tell your pre-travel self?
“By all means let’s be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.”
I think that this phrase by Richard Dawkins is applicable to a thousand areas of life, but especially when traveling and being open to new experiences but without forgetting the critical sense. Also not to have everything completely organized but to leave space to improvise plans or let myself be carried away by the people with whom I am coinciding.
First day with a new group of volunteers in the center of Barcelona.
What makes ImpacTrip special?
I think that what makes us special is the human team that we are part of. We share many values and experiences that generally create a comfortable work environment and make us get the best out of each other in our work and our commitment to the projects and well-being of the volunteers. And of course, we believe and trust in what it means to be a Bcorporation.
Why should someone choose ImpacTrip over competitors?
I don't know about the competitors, but I think that if someone is looking to travel with the security and support of a group of dynamic, empathetic and socially and environmentally conscious people, ImpacTrip is ideal.
It is an opportunity to do conscious tourism by immersing yourself in the local culture and getting involved with the community you visit, so that the memory of the trip does not remain only in photographs but in meaningful life experiences.
What hopes do you have for the future for ImpacTrip?
After everything that has happened in recent years and its consequences for the tourism sector (pandemic, war in Ukraine...), I hope that ImpacTrip stabilizes and strengthens all its current destinations with high quality projects.
I would like that each volunteer who has trusted us when they return home feel that they are now part of this project, share our ambitions and remember us fondly, since true learning lies in intenses emotions.
Are there any developments with ImpacTrip that you would like to share with us?
This year we are opening ImpacTrip in Athens (Greece), I think it is a destination with great potential and very interesting both in terms of projects and for travelers. A new eco-hostel has also been opened in Lisbon that will allow it to receive more volunteers and have more participation in the programs.
What makes ImpacTrip easy to market to potential participants?
Curiously, our most common participants are young people between 18 and 25 years old. Although those of us who are part of the ImpacTrip team are of different ages and nationalities, just like our participants, we believe that there is a conscious way of traveling and we want to promote change for the better.
We manage to transmit this message through our website and social networks, which in turn serve as feedback for this type of profile.
And of course we do not forget the importance of word of mouth of our old volunteers when it comes to transmitting our message and attracting more participants.
ImpacTrip Team
What is ImpacTrip's mission and how do you continue to work toward it?
"The company was founded in 2015 by two dedicated social entrepreneurs who wanted to change the way people travel. ImpacTrip combines incredible travel experiences with the ability to make a positive social and environmental impact.”
“We really want travelers to have the most unique and meaningful travel experiences. We help them to connect with the locals, to experience the culture and to contribute in a positive way to the local communities, while making friends from all over the world."
This description is what we found on the ImpacTrip website, and I think that I contribute to it without a doubt. As coordinator of the volunteers in Barcelona, I am very concerned that each volunteer gets the best of their trip in a responsible and sustainable way with the environment and with respect for the locals. Little by little and despite the incredible tourist pressure that Barcelona has experienced, I believe that the concept of “Tourist”, that we locals have, can be changed.
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
In the end, we want a positive impact as part of their volunteering in the community, obviously, but this altruism is reciprocal. What I really hope is that each volunteer becomes an impact promoter in their own community, and in their future in general.
I hope they get a beautiful experience, which marks them and positively influences them in the future.
How do you help support participants?
I try to be there, or at least let them know that both my partner Joana and I are there for whatever they need.
The truth is that the first 3 days are when we are most present, from then on we try to make them "fly alone", and well, after all, they are all adults. Apart from that, we are always guiding them, we inform them of more occasional volunteering opportunities apart from what they do in their programs, we tell them about local events and festivities, we organize meetings, dinners, or typical activities.
Finally, we ensure that everything runs smoothly in their projects and with their coordinators in the associations.
If you could participate on one of your organization's programs, where would you go and what would you do?
I love this question! Well, bearing in mind that either because of this job or because of my experience volunteering, I do all the volunteering or I have done them before... But I think I'll take one of the last ones we've launched, “Support for young immigrants at risk of social exclusion.”
But of course, from my professional experience I know that I would enjoy like a little kid the two that we are going to launch soon in the horse sanctuary and in the Natural Park of Delta del Ebro. And from ImpacTrip outside Barcelona, for sure the one about wolves or bears protection in Lisbon and Split.
What questions do participants often ask you, and how do you typically respond?
There are many kinds of questions, as usually all depends. For example, before arriving they used to ask about the other volunteers of their program, their age, or about the placements or Covid situation, schedules… Always a few days before they come I contact them by whatsapp to confirm the flights and to ask the questions I have and can be useful for their placements, and we take the opportunity to resolve all these doubts.
While they are here, the common questions are about museums, or how to get tickets for Camp Nou, places to visit or… this one it seems very funny to me, which kind of outfit should they wear in their programs. Many people don't know that Barcelona is a super open mind and modern city in terms of clothing styles, social norms, and environments.
Descending volcanoes as part of my other life as an environmentalist in the Azores islands.
Why is it important for people to travel abroad and experience new cultures?
To me traveling means to acquire new experiences, enrich ourselves by knowing different people and ultimately, live intensely. And all that is important to cultivate our most human side.
However, it is true that it is also possible to "travel" and learn new cultures surrounding yourself with different people without moving from your place, or simply reading a good book... but it will never be the same as seeing yourself totally out of your comfort zone in a new environment.
Why do you think learning a new language is important?
I think that learning a language means learning a culture, it means being able to meet lots of new people and personalities, empathize with other lives, and it makes it easy to move and adapt to new environments.
Although I believe that there are universal languages, it will always be easier to move around and you will make a better impression if you learn a basic language of the region you are visiting.
What advice do you have for individuals thinking about going abroad?
I would advise them and ask them to be respectful of both the people they come across and the place they visit. And that they try to integrate and learn everything they could from that new environment. Also to be critical when choosing products, agencies, or companies. For example, if you go outdoors, try to leave everything cleaner than you found it.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
That trip that manages to change my lens of reality, that turns the ideas I know to give way to a new vision of the world that surrounds me. The one in which I also make new friends who collaborate to make all those things that I have already mentioned come true and ultimately help me grow and improve as a human being.
What issues do you see in the world of international education that don’t line up with your values and expectations for mutually beneficial & educational relationships between providers/programs and the communities in which they are located within?
These issues are exactly the dark side I was mentioning about the concept of Voluntourism. In so far as the conditions in which that education or training is given causes more negative than positive impact due to the lack of training of the student, to the detriment of the beneficiaries, or for any reason that ends up negatively affecting the community and its environment by doing something opposite of the original goal.
What does ethical global engagement mean to you?
The ethical commitment for me is to be aware of the moral values of the different activities we carry out, as well as to respect and know how to limit their social implications. All this applied to all the environments through which we move and at the same time to share those values with others so they can do the same.
What hopes do you have for the future of international education?
For me, education is the basis of any society and an investment in the future. My hope is that in the future education will be fairer and there will be more equity in terms of opportunities to access international education.
My dream would be that all the young people in the world could have an experience like this at least once in their life, even if it was for a week, despite their physical, social or family conditions.
What qualities in program & host community relations are important to you? (And ImpacTrip?)
It is very important for us that our volunteers understand and empathize with the projects in which they participate. Let them know that it is only up to them to adapt to the project and the association and that they are part of a team and sometimes almost a family. The qualities in itself I think would be listening and good communication to achieve the desired cooperation and practivity.
How is your company handling Covid protocols? What should participants know about your Covid readiness? How are you assisting participants with navigating the new travel landscape?
It is mandatory that everyone come with their vaccines and covid certificate and there is a protocol of action both in the hostel and in the projects in case of a positive covid. Currently in Barcelona, the restrictions have practically disappeared and the mask is only mandatory in public transport, pharmacy, and hospitals.
From the first day and even before arriving, we try to give them security and recommendations so as not to be too confident since the pandemic is still there and affects us all.
