When you travel, you make a lot of choices. Where to go, where to stay, who to book with (we’re grateful you choose us!). What most of us don’t see as clearly is what happens after our booking is confirmed. When you book an UnTour, that’s where the story begins — for you and for many others.
Where does your travel dollar actually go?
At UnTours, that question matters. A lot. Because UnTours is owned by the UnTours Foundation, and 100% of profits are reinvested into social enterprises around the world. That’s not a campaign. It’s structural and integral to how we connect your UnTour to real impact. Everyday.
So when you travel to any destination with UnTours, your trip doesn’t just support a place in the moment (though that’s equally important). It contributes to changemaking entrepreneurs and social enterprises that are hard at work around the world.
This month, we’re highlighting four UnTours Foundation investees in Latin America: Costa Rica, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, who are all connected, geographically or regionally, to destinations you can explore as an UnTourist.
Let’s follow how your travel dollar connects to their incredible stories.
Costa Rica: Wearsos Reimagines Waste to Rebuild Livelihoods
If you’ve spent time near Arenal or along the beaches of Guanacaste, you’ve seen Costa Rica’s commitment to biodiversity. In the rural town of Turrialba, a different kind of regeneration is taking place.
Wearsos began by redirecting retired airline seats from the landfill. The leather, built to withstand years of travel, is stripped and repurposed into durable bags and travel goods.
But the heart of Wearsos isn’t the material. It’s the workplace.
Every artisan was previously unemployed or working in the informal sector. More than half are single mothers. The company integrates skill-building, financial literacy, and access to psychological counseling directly into operations. Employment here isn’t framed as temporary work. It’s structured as a pathway toward stability and confidence.
The impact is measurable. Artisans report reduced stress levels, improved financial stability, and a strong sense of belonging within the workshop.
Wearsos is also an investee you can visit on your UnTour. Travelers can step into the shop, meet the artisans, and see firsthand how a global waste stream becomes a local opportunity. And, hopefully, you’ll find something to bring back home!
Dominican Republic: Global Coralition Restores Coral Reefs that Help Marine Life Thrive
On the coasts of the Dominican Republic (north of our UnTours in Las Terrenas and Santo Domingo), coral reef coverage in some areas has dropped below 10 percent. Globally, coral reefs support roughly a quarter of marine life and protect coastlines from erosion and storm damage.
Global Coralition approaches reef restoration with a long-term, technical mindset. Their land-based coral farming system accelerates coral growth rates compared to traditional ocean-only nurseries. Their underwater sculpture, Atabey, serves as both art and reef substrate, gradually becoming a living habitat.
Around the sculpture, the restoration domes now host more than 1,000 coral fragments. These are monitored, maintained, and expanded over time. This is not plant-and-walk-away conservation. It’s ongoing care.
Local leadership is central. Coral technician Melfin Martínez began experimenting with coral reproduction years ago as a hobby. Today, he leads microfragmentation and propagation efforts supporting reef recovery. His journey reflects a broader principle: rebuilding ecosystems and building human capacity at the same time.
When you spend time in these Caribbean waters, your travel dollar helps strengthen the ecosystems that make them possible.
Mexico: Regenerative Hospitality That Integrates Turtle Conservation
On Mexico’s Pacific Coast near Zihuatanejo, Playa Viva operates as both a hotel and a regenerative project. Central to its model is La Tortuga Viva, a sea turtle conservation initiative founded in 2010.
Nightly patrols protect nests along kilometers of beach. Eggs are relocated to a guarded sanctuary. Hatchlings are released carefully so they can imprint on the beach and, years later, return to nest. Since 2010, more than 500,000 hatchlings have entered the Pacific.
But regeneration here extends beyond turtles. The resort runs entirely on solar power, harvests rainwater, recycles greywater, and converts organic waste into compost and biogas. A percentage of each stay is directed to a regenerative trust that funds local education and healthcare initiatives.
The systems are integrated. Conservation isn’t separate from hospitality; it shapes it.
When you explore Oaxaca on an UnTour, you’re investing in a country where tourism can support ecological restoration rather than undermine it.
Mexico (and Beyond): Pachamama is Shifting Power in the Coffee Trade
Pachamama Coffee began with farmers asking a practical question: why remain price-takers in a volatile commodity market when they could own more of the process?
Five cooperatives came together to form a farmer-owned company that roasts and sells coffee directly to consumers. One of those cooperatives, La Unión Regional de Huatusco in Veracruz, represents 2,000 families committed to certified organic production and regenerative agriculture.
In 2011, the UnTours Foundation provided a $50,000 loan — without requiring collateral — at a pivotal moment. That capital helped Pachamama expand wholesale relationships and continue to strengthen its farmer-owned structure through cooperatives around the world.
This isn’t impact added on afterward — it’s a business model built on shared ownership from the start.
The next time you sip organic coffee, there’s a chance the story behind it is connected to cooperatives and countries much like the ones you explore as an UnTourist.
A Different Kind of Return
Travel will always change you. New landscapes, new rhythms, new perspectives — that’s part of why we go, and it’s the essence of the UnTours Way. What’s different and hopeful about our model is that the return isn’t one-sided.
When you travel with UnTours, your experience is personal. But structurally, it’s also participatory. Your trip contributes to coral farms, rural workshops, regenerative hospitality, and farmer-owned enterprises, and so much more — in many more places.
You unpack once, but your travel dollar keeps working long after you return home.
Learn more about the UnTours Foundation and the investees supported by your travels. And if you’re ready to experience it firsthand, explore our classic UnTours in Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. Travel differently. Change the world.