ACTION: Development of the school curriculum has been supported with field trips and classroom instruction on the environment, wildlife and natural resources existing in the area, to improve the chances of sustainable use of the biodiversity around the Madre de Dios River and the Tambopata National Reserve, as also in Machu Picchu Pueblo.

RESULTS: The students are better at recognizing species of mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, and trees of the tropical Amazon cloud forest and rainforest, and also have more awareness of how to take care of the environment. Some of this group of students could be interested in becoming ecotourism professionals.

ACTION: The primary schools associated to the NGO ACEER situated in the city of Puerto Maldonado from 2003 until 2008, continually visited Inkaterra’s Hacienda Concepción, located across the Madre de Dios River, close to the Tambopata National Reserve, where the primary school children of the associated ACEER schools were shown around this Botanical Garden which has more than 200 species of rainforest plants. They were shown the treatment, uses and benefits of traditional indigenous plants, including their interesting medicinal properties.

RESULTS: The instruction of hundreds of children who took advantage of the crops grown by Inkaterra and Inkaterra Asociación to learn about this varied Botanical Garden, as well as the instruction about maintenance techniques for the fruits and harvesting these products from the tropical Amazon rainforest.

ACTION: Inkaterra has received almost a million guests since it opened its first lodge in 1975, which became a “university” in a hotel, where scientific research was conducted on biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest and the Machu Picchu cloud forest and the scientific research was disseminated through publications to educate our workers, students and guests from the region who wanted to learn more about the valuable natural and cultural resources that Peru possesses. Inkaterra has also pioneered in the construction of a lodge in the Tambopata region with a philosophy of sustainable development with formal employment, against the proliferation of illegal mining and logging that affects this region, considered the ‘biodiversity capital’ by the Peruvian State at the request of local residents.

RESULTS: Almost a million tourists have learned about the wildlife and archaeological sites, in addition to the publications of books, CDs, DVD, identifier sheets, computer graphics, and check lists based on this scientific research for better knowledge of the wildlife, environment and cultures that inhabited and inhabit Peru.

ACTION: Up till now Inkaterra has trained more than 400 local collaborators making them tourism professionals. The high quality of Inkaterra’s interpreters has led to the guests’, employees’, students’ and visitors’ understanding about the natural and cultural resources where the hotels of the Inkaterra chain are located.

RESULTS: The good training of the 400 interpreters or tourist guides prepared in several languages results in the smooth transmission of knowledge to Inkaterra guests. The training of these interpreters also continues in Peru and abroad, as the case of the training conducted in Conservation Corporation Africa, where the company’s best interpreters or guides did a full training course.

ACTION: Two English teachers hold daily classes in Inkaterra’s two most important hotels for all of the personnel: cooks, guides, waiters, administrators, etc. for the purpose of bringing up their knowledge of the English language at a good level to be able to communicate clearly with guests who normally speak this language.

RESULTS: Good communication between hotel workers and Inkaterra guests.