Reserva do Ibitipoca is proud of our community intiatives. These projects encourage the inclusion of local residents in actions to enrich the local culture and rescue traditions that are disappearing. Since our founding, we have always prioritized everything local from goods, to flavor, to architecture.
One of our first actions was the creation of a Management Plan that pinpointed social and environmental concerns in the region. We rely on this plan to direct our projects, it influences the areas where we implement projects, products that should be explored, and things that should be preserved. Since our founding, we have always prioritized everything local from goods, to flavor, to architecture.
Today the employed labor is nearly totally from the region. We are proud to provide good employment opportunities for women. We participate in a number of community councils and NGOs and advocate for the community. We provide capacitation opportunities for our staff, such as English and computer courses, and have educated 200 people out of a village of 287 inhabitants. These intiatives were drivers for social change in the region, as these intiatives take place across three different municipalities and innumerous communities. With new skills, people could obtain new sources of incomes.
In addition to increasing local skills, we encourage entreapernership within the communities. We prioritize local businesses and wil pay up to 10% more for a locally produced good or service. This philosophy is why, in 2015, Reserva do Ibitipoca transferred ownership of the property to the employees. As a social enterprise, Reserva do Ibitipoca and all profits from tourism belong 100% to the staff, while the social and environmental projects are subsidized by the founder of the project.