The culturally-rich Mapuche Ruka & Weaving Tour includes a visit to Doña Rosario’s ruka (traditional house) in the local Mapuche community, where she shares age-old cooking traditions as she prepares a home-cooked meal for guests from Vira Vira; a visit to the town of Curarrehue also provides a unique opportunity to learn about the time-honored skills of local indigenous traditional weaving on a wooden loom.

As part of its outreach programs that give back to Mapuche communities, the lodge partnered with the REIS Foundation and Rising Sun to help the nearby community of Quelhue install a rainwater harvesting system with a solar-powered water pump and underground storage tank to irrigate an income-supporting organic garden. The system provides a consistent and needed water-source for community agriculture, conserves vital drinking water supplies, and serves as a pilot project for other communities in the area.

Projects in development include conservation classes by andBeyond guides for children from the Quelhue Elementary School, which lies in the heart of the indigenous Mapuche community. The school has received several certifications of excellence. Some of its most important projects include the creation of an organic greenhouse, and a Mapuche ruka (traditional house) to stimulate conservation and cultural awareness.

During the COVID-19 crisis, andBeyond Vira Vira has supported families-in-need at the Quelhue Elementary School with essential supplies, locally purchased to support community businesses. The lodge has also harvested and delivered fresh vegetables from Vira Vira’s organic garden to families in the nearby town of Curarrehue. Responding to an urgent appeal from the Quetroleufu community, the lodge contributed to the purchase of required fire extinguishers and a water heater, allowing community businesses to remain open during the pandemic.

In addition to the elimination of single-use plastics and the use of certified sustainable wood pellets for heating, 100% of the lodge’s grey wastewater is recycled for irrigation purposes and organic waste is reused and recycled. Approximately 10,000 single use plastic water bottles are eliminated each year through an on-site refillable purified water bottling plant, saving an additional 30,000 liters of water, as it takes 3 liters of water to make a 1 liter plastic water bottle. Furthermore, the elimination of single use plastic bottles – a fossil fuel derived product – plays a key role in reducing carbon emissions on property.