Not many trips end with the sense of having made a significant difference to real people in real need. But I've recently returned from such an experience in a remote community in Northern Peru. A friend introduced me to the tour, a part of a larger travel company's offerings of sustainable eco-tourism, back in December. The notion of helping and getting to know others living in a different culture appealed to me strongly.

Our group consisted of 3 travellers from Canada (Heather, David and myself) and a tour guide, from Socio Adventures. The purpose of the trip was to build a brick and mortar stove for a family that currently does all of its cooking over an open fire.

Proper stove saves lives

The World Health Organization reports that the indoor air pollution from the acrid smoke rising from these inside fires is associated with one death every 20 seconds in the world