SUSTAINABILITY

Journey Mexico is committed to low impact, environmentally, and socially sensitive travel that prioritizes community participation. Our experience has shown that supporting local businesses that protect pristine natural areas helps to ensure their sustainable future. We have never been more aware of the need for conscious living and this extends to all aspects of our lives. We actively work with local communities and non-profit organizations with missions based in conservation and sustainable development to make good on the promise of ecotourism as a catalyst for sustainable development; we invite you to learn more about our efforts to protect the pristine coasts, mountains, canyons, and jungles of Mexico.

OUR POSITIVE IMPACT PARTNERS

Journey Mexico´s Responsible Travel Fee directly support the below NGOs in Mexico. Each of the civil societies we support have been chosen because of their tangible impact on the biodiversity, traditions, and communities that make Mexico so special.

Mundo Maya Hacienda Foundation

Where: Yucatán, Campeche and Quintana Roo states

The foundation strives to strengthen the capacities and skills of the residents of Mayan communities in the Yucatán Peninsula, generating microregional development hubs with the participation of residents as promoters of their own projects. This helps to promote the identity, recognition, and preservation of Maya culture whilst working towards eradicating poverty and the social marginalization of the communities. Their projects include: rescuing traditional Mayan medicine and herbalism, strengthening the overall health of families and improving access to primary care; access to education constructed by the community members, integrating cultural elements specific to Mayan culture; and improved housing in rural communities through a Self-Construction Housing and Infrastructure program – the foundation provides materials and oversight while families manage the construction process themselves.

Xochimilco Agroecological Initiative (IAX)

Where: Mexico City

The IAX is dedicated to revaluing farming families and revitalizing the “chinampas” in Xochimilco, one of the last remaining parts of the city’s once vast lake system. Invented by the Aztecs, “chinampas” are small plots built up from the shallow canal beds – an ancient agricultural technique used to sustainably cultivate crops. The IAX has developed a model that supports healthy food production, ecological conservation, and fair trade, ensuring dignified livelihoods for farmers while helping to preserve a unique piece of Mexico’s cultural and environmental heritage. Their efforts focus on enhancing agroecological practices through water and soil bioremediation, collaborative organization, regenerative practices, and financial education. By fostering networks of farmers who maintain a healthy ecosystem through agroecology, they aim to set a national benchmark. Their goal is to demonstrate that sustainable production in harmony with the ecosystem is achievable and can be replicated to preserve agricultural tradition and promote it as a viable way to earn a living.

RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL FEE

MONTHLY CONTRIBUTION

A fee is charged per traveler per trip.
Total donated in full to the above associations on a monthly basis.
Running total updated to reflect contributions.

HOW IS THE MONEY SPENT?

Technology and resources to build and clean better xompantlis for the axolotl salamander.
Participation in national/international events to promote Yucatecan communities and their art.
Help support expenses of local changemakers and community workers as to not have to outsource.

IMPACT OF PARTNERS

Engages, teaches and inspires visitors to conserve the environment.
Sustainable utilization of natural resources and respect for the environment.
Rescuing traditional indigenous practices.

TOTAL DONATIONS

$4,600.00 USD

PURPOSEFUL TRAVEL EXPERIENCES

Discover the Enchanting World of Axolotls and Chinampas in Xochimilco

Researcher For a Day with The Whale Sharks of Baja California Sur

Reforesting Sierra De La Laguna Biosphere Reserve

Sea Turtle Conservation Expedition in Baja California

Sustainable Culinary & Agricultural Delights at Milpa Alta

Exploring Mayan Horticulture & Tradition Gastronomy in the Granada Community

Yaxunah Community: Mayan Horticulture & Traditional Gastronomy with Cooking Session

Dive into La Paz’s Coral Restoration Initiative

Hands-On Cheese Workshop at Rancho Cacachilas

Experience the Artisan’s Hammock Workshop in Tixkokob

Exploring the Majestic Sierra Norte Mountains

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AXOLOTLS AND CHINAMPAS IN XOCHIMILCO: NATURE & CONSERVATION EXPERIENCE

Discover the mysteries of the ancient Aztec city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan with this early morning nature experience in the back channels of Xochimilco. This incredible area is a hidden oasis that brings life to the flora and fauna of the metropolis.

To start the day, you´ll be picked up from your hotel and driven to Xochimilco pier where you´ll board your trajinera, a traditional, colorfully painted gondola. As you navigate the waterways, enjoy some birdwatching and discover Xochimilco´s rich history with your guide.

You´ll get the amazing opportunity to explore the canals, waterways and ¨chinampas¨, or floating gardens, that once made up most of the entire city of Tenochtitlan. Understand the importance of these floating gardens, recognized as an Agricultural Heritage System, while supporting the preservation efforts. You´ll also learn about the ongoing conservation efforts to protect the intriguing, endemic Axolotl salamander. This incredible and rare amphibian, with its unique regeneration abilities, is on the verge of extinction.

This fascinating experience is led by the multidisciplinary and nature loving team behind ´chinampas en movimiento´. The project by non-profit organization REEDUCA strives to promote environmental education and rescue the ecosystem of Xochimilco. Through participating in this meaningful experience, you´ll be supporting the local community, chinampas preservation and Axolotl conservation.

While at the chinampas, you´ll be treated to a traditional lunch made with locally produced ingredients by community cooks, before traveling back to the pier to disembark. Once back on dry land, you´ll be privately driven back to your hotel.

HIGHLIGHTS
*Bird watching experience, with an expert naturalist guide, in the back channels of Xochimilco

*Support efforts to save the Axolotl from extinction and learn all about this intriguing endemic species.

*Visit the Chinampas and learn the history of these garden islands and about the preservation efforts to protect them.

*Enjoy a traditional lunch experience with produce grown on the chinampas.

GRANADA COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE – MAYAN HORTICULTURE & TRADITIONAL GASTRONOMY

The Granada Mayan community is located in the municipality of Maxcanú in Yucatán state. On this full-day experience, you´ll learn firsthand about the horticultural practices of present-day Mayan communities and find out about their Day of the Dead customs. Known as Hanal Pixan, altars and a special meal are prepared on these important dates.

To begin the day, your private guide will pick you up from your hotel and drive to the Granada community, located to the southwest of Mérida.

Upon arrival, you´ll be welcomed into the traspatios (backyards) of local homes, where a group of Mayan women cultivate and tend their gardens daily as an important source of nutrition for their communities.

Depending on the season, you can sow seeds or harvest vegetables on the patio, enjoying contact with the earth and connecting with local cultivation practices. You´ll also get to make fresh tortillas in the Yucatán style, prepared with corn that´s organically grown.

Under the guidance of your expert hosts, learn how to cook typical appetizers and the quintessential recipe prepared for Hanal Pixan, meaning ´Food for the Souls´ in Mayan. The dish, ´Mucbipollo´, resembles a large tamale made with corn dough and is stuffed with fresh vegetables, herbs, and meat or poultry, before being wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in a pre-Hispanic pit oven in the ground called a ´pib´.

While your Mucbipollo is cooking, admire the family home´s altar and learn about the significance of this tradition for the Mayan community. Thoughtfully decorated with photos, flowers, candles, and food, the altar ritual is a meaningful way to remember the deceased during Hanal Pixan. You´ll also play a game to identify the different types of vegetables and seeds grown in the traspatio, using only your senses! Before taking your meal out of the pib, discover the importance of a species of bees for the local environment and try the Melipona honey they produce. This Mayan delicacy is renowned worldwide for its medicinal benefits. To round out the experience, savor the delicious flavors of Mucbipollo with your hosts in the
family home. After saying your goodbyes, you´ll be privately driven back to your hotel.

YAXUNAH COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE - MAYAN HORTICULTURE & TRADITIONAL GASTRONOMY WITH COOKING SESSION

This meaningful cultural exchange takes place in Yaxunah, a Yucatecan Mayan village to the southeast of Mérida. You´ll learn about Mayan gastronomy and Hanal Pixan Day of the Dead customs, with the option to visit the local archaeological site and swim in a refreshing cenote.

To begin the day, you´ll be picked up by your private guide from your hotel. Receive a warm welcome in Yaxunah with flower garlands, before enjoying natural fruit water as your hosts share their knowledge about Mayan gastronomy.

Get hands-on as you help to prepare a traditional ´Mucbipollo´ under expert guidance. This ancestral recipe is made in honor of Mayan Day of the Dead ´Hanal Pixan´, meaning ´Food for the Souls´, as a special way to remember and celebrate the lives of departed loved ones. The dish resembles a large tamale made with corn dough and stuffed with fresh vegetables, herbs, and meat or poultry, before being wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in a pre-Hispanic pit oven in the ground, known as a ´pib´.

As your Mucbipollo is cooking, visit a ´milpa´ to see how local produce is cultivated. Learn about sowing and harvesting processes, as well as tasting different types of ´atole´, a traditional, hot corn-based drink.

You´ll make a another stop at a family home to view their altar and find out about its significance to the Mayan community. Beautifully assembled for Hanal Pixan, the altar is decorated with photos of the deceased, along with candles, flowers and food.

Depending on time and interest, you´ll have the option to visit Yaxunah´s archaeological zone, a large Mayan site surrounded by dense vegetation. Bring your swimsuit if you´d like to take a dip in the nearby cenote! These natural sinkholes are native to the area and were considered sacred in ancient Mayan
cosmology.

To close the experience, try your hand at making fresh tortillas before delving into the flavors of your Mucbipollo with your hosts at the family home. After an enlightening day with the Yaxunah
community, you´ll be privately driven back to your hotel.

CONSERVATION PROJECT & LA PAZ WALKING EXPERIENCE

This is an exclusive experience by Journey Mexico that includes hands-on participation in one of two conservation projects: coral restoration or pearls cultivation; combined with La Paz downtown
exploration and visit to the Whale Museum, ideal for families with kids.Corals have various functions, including carbon fixation, preventing erosion of our beaches, as well as providing home, food, and shelter to many marine species. Corals have various functions, including carbon fixation, preventing erosion of our beaches, and providing home, food, and shelter to many marine species. Early this morning you will meet your private transportation to join efforts with a local non-profit organization dedicated to environmental conservation and restoration efforts for a hands-on and environment educational experience. This effort represents the major restoration project of the entire Mexican Pacific, with new colonies growing and ready to be placed at restoration areas in the bay of La Paz. Help them in their work with tasks such as the building or cleaning of the racks for corals; and later, put on your snorkeling gear and dive into the water to observe the coral gardens and witness this great work first hand.

Alternatively, for those who want to know more about pearl cultivation, you´ll have the opportunity to visit a laboratory where experts will explain the growing methods and you can interact with pearl oysters, crabs, sea urchins and starfish. At the end of your visit, browse a jewelry store where sales support this valuable project.

After a few hours of scientific immersion, you´ll be driven to The Whale Museum, where your guide will fill you in on all the details about these magnificent cetaceans. Afterwards, your guide will share some recommendations for local cuisine for you to enjoy lunch on your own.  At the end of the experience, you´ll be privately driven back to your hotel.

* Please let your travel planner know of your preferred conservation experience. If necessary due to wind or weather, the itinerary logistics may change for the best experience on the day.

SUSTAINABILITY

OUR POSITIVE IMPACT PARTNERS

Mundo Maya Hacienda Foundation

Xochimilco Agroecological Initiative (IAX)

RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL FEE

MONTHLY CONTRIBUTION

HOW IS THE MONEY SPENT?

IMPACT OF PARTNERS

TOTAL DONATIONS

$4,600.00 USD

PURPOSEFUL TRAVEL EXPERIENCES

OUR STORIES #JourneyGivesBack

OUR RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL FEE: WHAT IT IS AND WHO IT BENEFITS

PUERTO VALLARTA RIVER CLEAN UP

JOURNEY MEXICO B-CORP CERTIFIED

COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY AND COMMUNITY IMPACT

UNCOVER THE MAYAN TRADITION OF HANAL PIXÁN

JOURNEY MEXICO’S SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE

ANCESTRAL AGROECOLOGY IN MEXICO CITY

AXOLOTLS AND CHINAMPAS IN XOCHIMILCO: NATURE & CONSERVATION EXPERIENCE

PRIVATE WHALE SHARK RESEARCHES FOR A DAY AND BEACH LUNCH

SIERRA DE LA LAGUNA BIOSPHERE RESERVE

SEA TURTLE RESEARCH CAMP IN BAJA CALIFORNIA

SUSTAINABLE CULINARY & AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE AT MILPA ALTA

GRANADA COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE – MAYAN HORTICULTURE & TRADITIONAL GASTRONOMY

YAXUNAH COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE - MAYAN HORTICULTURE & TRADITIONAL GASTRONOMY WITH COOKING SESSION

CONSERVATION PROJECT & LA PAZ WALKING EXPERIENCE

RANCHO CACACHILAS: PRIVATE CHEESE WORKSHOP

HAMMOCKS ARTISAN’S HOME WORKSHOP IN TIXKOKOB

HIKING THE SIERRA NORTE MOUNTAINS

OUR STORIES
#JourneyGivesBack