Eco-tourism initiative in Bolivia, the Che Guevara Trail, is a highly commended runner-up in this year's Guild of Travel Writers Award category for best overseas initiative.

The CARE International community project, funded by DFID alongside the Bolivian Ministry of Tourism, has been highly commended for alleviating poverty

 The aim is to improve the livelihoods of impoverished communities in the country's remote Santa Cruz region by developing an eco-friendly tourist infrastructure. The area, populated mostly by indigenous Guaraní farmers, is among the poorest in the country. It is also where legendary revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara and his guerrillas spent 11 months before being captured and killed by the authorities in October 1967.

The award was presented in recognition of the project's contribution to local communities during a gala dinner at the Savoy Hotel in London on Sunday 7 November, attended by key figures in the travel industry.

‘We are delighted that the achievements of this project are recognised overseas by an organisation such as the British Guild of Travel Writers,’ said Jacqueline Peña y Lillo, CARE International's Project Manager for the Che Guevara Trail. ‘The key aim is to increase tourism numbers in the area and thereby improve the livelihoods of the people who live there.’

‘It is the residents themselves who are the key beneficiaries of the project and, since they are also making all decisions relating to the trail, it is a wonderful example of how self-empowerment can be achieved at local level in impoverished communities’.

Read all about this exciting new initiative in the latest edition of Developments here.