LA CORDILLERA
Association for social promotion
About us
The NGO ‘La Cordillera’ was founded in June 2019.
Founded by people from all over Italy, we set ourselves the objective of providing funding for our volunteer missions in the Bolivian plateau in Peñas, Santiago De Huata e Batallas.
A reference point for those who return, and would like to get closer to our world, a springboard for those leaving.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to create a space in which young likeminded people can see their work and services as useful tools in their personal growth, helping people connect with themselves, and forcing people out of their comfort zone to better understand who they are.
In 2016 we founded the university school of ‘Rural Tourism with special Focus on Adventure’ (Turismo Rurale con menzione in Avventura), in Peñas , Bolivia. The school offers technical courses with the support of the Bolivian Catholic University and the Province of Trento.
The school’s objective is to combat the mass exodus of the ‘campesinos’, the people of the rural plateau, to major cities. This free course aims at providing people with the means to create a career in ethical tourism that is both sustainable and ecological.
FisioPeñas
A physiotherapy project in Peñas, Bolivia. This project started in 2014 and has a simple objective: To reduce the marginalization of individuals with physical differences, as well as to make a statement on the importance of physiotherapy in terms of wellbeing and prevention of disease.
In the summer of 2019, we started the conversion of the Baita Piazzoli cabin, on mo Mount ‘Alben’, in the Valley of Serina (Bergamo, Italy)
The project entails the construction and opening of a refuge. This is a structure, located in a mountain environment where people can come together (overnighting) and experience adventures together.
The refuge will be entirely staffed by volunteers, and any profits will be given to help the projects in Bolivia.
La cordillera experience
tRAVEL aGENCY
Are you interested in going on a trip in Bolivia? Would you like to experience an adventure, while still being responsible and aware of the environment?
With our help of the alumni from our school, we aim to develop sustainable tourism in this area, giving a new opportunity for the peoples of the region.
A journey through the history of this vast landscape, as well as guided tours and ascents on the Cordillera Real.
TITICAT
Santiago de Huata
What initially sounds like a tongue twister is in reality a dream come true: a project started in 2013 and carried on by Father Leonardo Giannelli of the Parish of Santiago de Huata, on the banks of the world’s highest navigable body of water, Lake Titicaca.
These catamaran tours aim to take tourists on tours on the lake, created as a joint venture between a local boat mechanic and a local sailing school.
THE BOLIVIAN CIRCLE
BATALLAS
Simona and Riccardo are running several projects in the pueblo of Batallas, just outside of Peñas and Santiago de Huata.
The afterschool group “Condorito, aprender para vlar alto” helps 50 or so children to develop their own knowledge, as well as giving them a world of fun and freedom.
A cafeteria, a beauty centre and a tailor shop are other projects supported, giving the inhabitants of the plateau broader career choices.
