The Modern Luxury of Responsible Tourism
Responsible tourism is more than ever at the heart of future travel. As a silver lining to such an overcast time, the pandemic has brought a growing awareness and urgency to caring for our planet. At Outside the Corral, we carefully select local partners who strive to have a positive and minimal impact on the local environment and the communities in which they operate.
A great example is our Argentine partner Kevin Begg of Estancia Los Potreros, an award-winning authentic estancia located in the hills of the Sierras Chicas in central Argentina. In this article, we give the floor to Kevin to explain the remarkable way in which he implements responsible tourism at Estancia Los Potreros and shares this philosophy with his guests.
Kevin Begg - Estancia Los Potreros
This is a time to change how we travel, supporting hotels and destinations which have an ethos of responsible tourism and sustainable practices. Both of these are huge parts of life at Estancia Los Potreros. Still a working cattle estancia, we work hard to remain true to our original values.
We produce the majority of our energy through renewable resources, mainly wind and solar, all our farming is based upon organic principles. We try to minimize our impact on the land and allow nature to dictate our course, managing our herd carefully we prevent over-grazed and eroded land, ensuring we have sufficient grass for both our horses and cattle throughout the year.
Located on a provincial reserve of the Sierras Chicas we have a farming style which continues to encourage the presence of incredible wildlife including the elusive puma, wild boar, foxes, hares, and with regularly sightings of the Andean Condors, whose habitat lies across the Punilla valley, in the Sierras Grandes. Although we are known for our world class riding we have an incredible variety of birdlife year round, from the commonly spotted burrowing owls, field flickers and southern lapwings to visits from the more exotic peregrine falcons, black vultures and American kestrels.
One of life’s great luxuries should be to leave a positive impact on the places we love to visit, helping them to protect their culture and history but more importantly ensuring we will be able to visit time and time again for years to come.
Supporting our community is very important to us as well. The majority of our staff are a part of our family. Many have followed in the footsteps of their elder brothers, fathers, grandfathers, and even great grandfathers, who have worked alongside the Begg family for generations. We have long supported the local rural school, with the help of our guests. By running a small shop on the estancia, we donate all the income to the school, which is where many of our gauchos studied, and is now attended by their children.
Our commitment to responsible tourism was born out of a necessity, as our location is off the grid, and we have to be as self-sufficient as possible, but now more than ever we are working on minimizing our impact on our environment. Although this doesn’t mean we are for-going luxury, we are redefining the way we live. Even mealtimes celebrate each season of fruit and vegetables accompanied by tender delicious beef from the estancia.
One of life’s great luxuries should be to leave a positive impact on the places we love to visit, helping them to protect their culture and history but more importantly ensuring we will be able to visit time and time again for years to come.
Discover more on this gorgeuous estancia on our website: Sierras Chicas Estancia Stay. Are you ready to start planning your holiday here? Do not hesitate to contact us to make this dream come true!
