Transformation tourism in Colombia

The Intrepid Traveler

In this week's episode of the Intrepid Traveler I talk with Brian Schon, one of the cofounders of Cannua Lodge, Colombia’s first high end eco-lodge. Brian has had various careers - from working in public policy in Washington DC to living in Ukraine for a year and a half working for the peace corps. When his stint with the peace corps ended, Brian found himself back in his hometown, with an extreme passion to learn Spanish.

From there he found his way to Colombia in 2014, wanting to learn Spanish in a country that didn’t speak a lot of English. What he wasn’t expecting was to fall in love with Colombia and to build a life there. He and his partners saw a need for a new type of tourism in Colombia and Cannua Lodge was born.

Brian shares about the lack of infrastructure for tourism in Colombia, how development of the country for tourism was actually displacing precious species and how their property evolved while trying to honor the environment AND the community, all the while providing the luxury eco-lodge feel that so many travelers were searching for.
Brian tells of how their lodge was built on the basis of permaculture, a design philosophy based on the observation of nature. Follow along as we hear about how Cannua was built while not only maintaining nature but preserving it and rebuilding so that the native species could be at home within the property.

He also shares about the growth of Colombia in the last 10 years and he highlights the importance of farming while taking note of how these practices are not serving their bio-diverse area and how Cannua set out to change that. We hear about bricks made from the land and specifically treated bamboo, that is actually stronger than iron, and how these materials were mainly used to build their property.

The food at Cannua is also unique, 90% of the produce is sourced locally and you won’t find pork or beef on their menu due to the environmental cost of these products. Colombia is not a well known travel destination, but it is gaining traction. It is the kind of place you need to experience in order to appreciate the magic of this bio-diverse region!

Today on The Intrepid Traveler:

• Meet Brian Shon, cofounder of Cannua and learn how he found his way to Colombia in 2014
• The creation of Cannua Lodge and how the company used materials made from the land to build the property
• Hear about Brian’s passion for taking care of this country while also offering the first high end eco-lodge in the region
• A little overview of the culinary process that happens at Cannua and dreams that Brian has of having an entirely locally produced plate

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