Everything you need to know about community-based rural tourism in Argentina

‘San Francisco’ comes from the village’s patron saint; ‘Alfarcito’ from the alfalfa sowing —back then, in 1946, it was one of the main activities, especially for fodder. The fusion of both icons gave rise to a town hidden among mountains and reddish lands: San Francisco de Alfarcito. Dust streets, distinctive constructions, and the warmth typical of northern Argentinian people are the preface of a book loaded with culture, community support, and sustainability. Stepping on Alfarcito means getting deep inside a parallel world, where enjoying and connecting to indigenous roots is possible.

The internal organisation dates back to the village’s origins, and it works perfectly. All tasks are equally allocated, respecting nature, using available resources, and involving all members of the place. Guillermo Quipildor, the town’s local guide and member of the committee in which main projects are debated, says, “We have inherited our organisation system from our grandparents and ancestors: supportive and shared work carried out by everyone.” The indigenous community has its own governing system, with a leader or comunero chosen via an assembly, and commissions to structure daily tasks. Each individual collaborates so that everyone can be benefitted: that is the communal living bedrock.

In 2000, Alfarcito opened the doors to a new phase, becoming pioneers of it. What if all this wisdom and culture were shared? What about turning the daily work into services for outsiders? The answers came along with the implementation of community-based rural tourism, that is to say, tourist activities developed in rural places and based on locals’ active participation. In this way, Alfarcito got ready to welcome world travellers who wanted to enjoy an immersive experience in the community, respecting the native culture and sharing moments with their members. Accommodation, gastronomy, tour guides, craftwork displays and sales: everything has a local root frame.

What’s this practice’s goal? How is it achieved in San Francisco de Alfarcito? No one is better than Guillermo Quipildor to invite us to travel to the heart of Jujuy.

What Is Community-based Rural Tourism about?

It’s basically an activity that we consider the good life. It implies living in harmony with all beings around us and our peers, taking ancestral wisdom as the core of our lives and applying it. That is precisely how it is tied to the environment and the ecosystem where we live. We respect and love our land —we called it Pacha. She gives us all we need to survive, so we must learn to develop it sustainably. We don’t use up the resources: if we use them responsibly and efficiently, we will have them for a long time.

How Does the Practice Work?

We define what services and activities can be done in an assembly. We try to get as many families as possible involved. Some offer accommodation; others, guides or dining places. Some families don’t get involved as actively as others. Still, they take part through craftwork display and sales (the place’s main activity), indirectly collaborating even though it’s not tourism-specific. We all make an effort so that we can all profit from it. In such a way, rural tourism becomes a sustainable activity because all families and people from our community cooperate.

In addition, we gather with six other communities on the same track through a cooperative in order to strengthen tourism and help each other. Even if the geographic environment is similar, each village has its distinctive charm. The cooperative is called Espejo de Sal and is made up of Rinconadillas, Sausalito, San Francisco de Alfarcito, Barrancas, Cerro Negro, and Susques.

How Long Ago Did It Start to Develop?

We started with community-based rural tourism in 2000, and we were nominated as an original town by the Ministry of Tourism in 2007. Actually, two villages in Jujuy were nominated. This is a way of recognising our organisation system, local culture preservations, and how we build our houses.

What’s Daily Life Like?

We are basically artisans. Some have small herds of llamas and camelids, and we also sow vegetables, beans, potatoes, and corn during spring and summer. Everything is locally consumed and sustains families.

We have a community inn managed by all families in turns. So, when tourists come, we take turns to welcome them, taking a small percentage from it. The income that inn produces goes to a common fund and is used to maintain it. It is also for families who may need a loan. They can use it and give it back later.

What’s the History behind San Francisco de Alfarcito? 

It started to develop in 1880, and back then, life was different: it was harder and more arduous. There were no services, and the first inhabitants survived as they could. They were cattle breeders and artisans, who travelled on donkeys to Quebrada de Humahuaca to bring their local products (dried mutton, jerky, pieces of salt, and wooden craftwork) and barter them for fruits and goods.

Then, they decided to devote themselves to their children’s education. There wasn’t a fixed school, so they used to hire temporary teachers; something like an itinerant school. In 1940, the town was already formed, and a quaint church started to be built. It was made with local materials, such as stone and elephant cactus wood roofs. This was one of the main constructions, and it was finished in 1946.

Later on, committees were founded, and so the El Porvenir sport club, the school, and so on. This was gradually done because there wasn’t much financial assistance, which makes constructions move forward. Everything was carried out by the sweat of our brows.