Tens of thousands of residents in the Riviera Nayarit region of Mexico have lost their income since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a nonprofit social enterprise that offers responsible travel programming, Human Connections (HC) and our local partners have been hit particularly hard. For HC and our community, the early end to the high season has left markets canceled and businesses closed. For our local artisan partners who rely on travelers and public spaces to sell their products, meeting basic needs has become near impossible.

HC is more committed than ever to ensuring everyone in our community is able to live healthily and with dignity throughout this crisis. As a result, our team is hard at work developing the Human Connections Living Room Project -- an innovative approach to engage and educate international audiences while generating revenue for our local partners during this period of global social isolation. The main activity supported by this grant is the pilot of a donation-based online tour that will, in real time, bring participants into the homes and workshops of indigenous artisans to hear their stories, see their artistic process, and engage in cross-cultural conversations. During the pilot phase, we plan on facilitating 5 tours. Each tour will visit two partners with between 6-8 viewers. Not only will these online tours be meaningful cultural exchanges, but participants will help offset lost income for HC’s local partners, as 100% of their contributions will be channeled directly to the artisans as compensation for sharing their expertise. In the long-term, these online tours will be an impactful way to support our community’s livelihoods during the Bucerías low tourism season (May through October), while making travel accessible to people of all income levels and abilities.

During a time when global interconnectedness is being challenged, we are proud to lead with a socially responsible opportunity focused on enriching our shared humanity.