Florence Artisan Walk Supports Sustainable Travel

Context Travel's Oltrarno Artisans walk in Florence takes small groups on guided visits to some of Florence's traditional artisans and supports sustainable travel. Paul Bennet of Context Travel explains:

Part of the ticket price is a donation to the Context Foundation for Sustainable Travel, which in turn underwrites an apprenticeship position for one of the artisans in the Oltrarno. The apprentice is selected by the local jewelry and traditional crafts school in the neighborhood, Arte e Orafi, and s/he does a 6-month stage for an artisan, which both gives the apprentice real-life experience and, most critically, gives these struggling artisans a lifeline to keep them going.

During the course of the walk participants get a chance to meet the artisan and the apprentice. So, there's a real back and forth between tourism and sustaining the city.

Context Travel's sustainable travel initiative has been selected as a finalist for National Geographic's Geotourism award this year. Find our more about the Geotourism award and vote for your picks on Geotourism Challenge 2009.

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