407: Rodrigo Baena - The Power of Local Communities

I think it came from in 2010 when I traveled to India and Nepal, and I remember everybody asking me, like, "Are you gonna go to Taj Mahal? Are you gonna go to those very touristic spots?" And I personally never been drawn to ...

[coughs] Sorry.

Never been drawn to-

No problem

... to n- n- touristic things.

You know? Even here in Brazil, I remember bringing my ex-wife back then to see the Christ, and it was nice.

In Rio, it was nice, but I feel like, uh, the, the most touristic spot doesn't support local people.

Yeah.

You know what I mean? So for me, being in India, uh, I decided that trip was my ...

The first trip that I decided to only support local businesses, local community, you know, connect with locals.

So when I saw a lot of people going, you know, the tourist tribe, tourist vibe and directions, I would ask someone local, "So where would you eat?" Like, uh, what, what's your life like? And by nature, I mean, I'm a journalist, you know, uh, I did in college and everything.

So by nature I'm very curious about people's life and stories.

But that trip, I remember, was the first one that I did consciously.

Even the hotels, I would ask, like, is the owner local? Does he live here, you know, in the same city even?

Yeah.

And I start to think like, huh, there is a, a lack of connection.

I feel like, uh, more and more, especially with the, the, you know, technology.

As technology is, is growing more and more, we are traveling to places more and more, and we're forgetting that we don't travel to place.

We travel to people's homes.

And that for me-

Mm-hmm

... is becoming more and more clear.

So about 12 years ago, I started this project.

At the beginning it was just a personal thing.

I wanted to inspire myself, keep a track, and maybe inspire others to just rethink the way we, we see traveling in general.