Circular economy

Almost everything we use is made by someone in Bariloche

A buff, a work jacket, a mug for the office. Small things, but buying them from the workshop round the corner instead of ordering them from far away ends up changing quite a lot. We have been doing it this way since 2019 and would not know how to buy any other way now.

What it means for us

Circular means the thing carries on

A travel company buys things constantly. Work clothing for the guides, materials to set up an event, a gift to see a group off. There is always the option of ordering it from far away, using it for a season and forgetting about it. Over the years we have leaned the other way, buying it nearby, looking after it while it lasts and sending it off to be mended when it breaks. We find the money goes further like that, because it stays circulating around town, and things last a good deal longer than you would expect.

Buy close by
Our guides' clothing and the merchandise we hand out come from workshops in Bariloche. These are people we know, who we can ring up to ask for a change, and what we spend goes back into the economy of the town we live in.
Repair before replacing
Before replacing something we try mending it. A jacket with a split seam or a worn zip still has several seasons left in it, and it is usually sorted with a short while at a workshop.
Make the material come back
Whatever we build for an event is carefully stored and comes out again at the next one. We print less and use fewer disposables every year, more out of habit than out of policy.

nortesur.org.ar comprelocal.org.ar

Who we do it with

NorteSur civil association

NorteSur has been working in Bariloche for thirty years and does two things at once: it supports makers in the social economy so they can keep their businesses going, and it helps families in vulnerable neighbourhoods improve their homes. Its CompreLocal® programme is the bridge to the companies in town. They know every maker, they support them on the technical and commercial side, and they take responsibility for the work arriving on time. That mattered to us, because good intentions alone get you nowhere when you have no idea who to ask for a quote.

Since 2019

Thousands of products made by neighbours

We started in 2019 with a small order and it grew on its own from there. Since then the Local Suppliers Network has delivered thousands of products to us: buffs, jackets, hoodies, aprons, mugs, voucher holders and stickers, among plenty of other things. What we like most is that behind every order there are families in Bariloche with work.

Buffs and jackets
Hoodies and aprons
Mugs and voucher holders
Stickers and signage

Recognition

All four CompreLocal® awards

Since 2022 NorteSur has given a yearly award to the institutions that buy most from the network, looking at range, volume, frequency and amount, which in the end is the real impact on the local economy. We have won all four editions in the large company category. We mention it fondly, mostly because behind the award there is an organisation keeping track of what each company actually bought.

One we were glad about

Jackets we no longer used that ended up keeping two schools warm

This year we gathered work jackets that had gone out of service and asked a maker from NorteSur to bring them back to life. Once they were ready, NorteSur took them to two schools in remote settlements where winter really bites. It is the story that best explains what we are after, because in the same motion someone was paid for their craft and the jackets ended up keeping warm whoever needed them.

1
The jackets go out of service
2
A local maker repairs them
3
They reach two village schools

The other two

What else we look after

The circular economy is one of the ways we understand our work, but two others matter just as much or more, because they have to do with the places we operate in and with the people travelling with us.

The places we work in

A good share of our tours happen inside national parks, reserves and protected areas in Patagonia and northern Chile. We work there every day, so looking after it is partly self interest and quite a lot of affection. In practice it is simple: the group sticks to the marked trails, the rubbish comes back with us and the place is left as we found it, even when that means missing a good photo. Then there are the everyday things, like looking after the fleet, printing less each year and asking the same of the people we work with.

Child protection

We host student groups all year round, and that puts us in a position of responsibility we would rather face head on. We run talks on preventing ESNNA, the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in tourism, both with our own teams and with the groups themselves: what it is, how to recognise it and what to do when something does not add up. It is the commitment we take most seriously, because tourism is one of the doors that crime comes through, and anyone hosting children needs to know it.

See all the pillars

Official backing

Certifications and commitments

Happily, none of this has to be taken on trust. Each registration is held in the company's name at the body that grants it and can be checked in a minute.

Committed to ESNNA

We run ESNNA talks with our groups: committed to protecting children and adolescents from sexual exploitation in tourism.

Q Tourism Quality Seal

Certification of excellence in tourism service quality, awarded by Chile's national certification system.

Registered with SERNATUR

Travel and Tourism company registered and authorised by Chile's National Tourism Service.

Licensed in Argentina

Travel and Tourism Agency with a Definitive Licence granted by the National Directorate of Travel Agencies. File No. 17399.

Registered with Cadastur

Tourism agency registered with Brazil's Ministry of Tourism. No. 51.536.187/0001-83. Valid until March 2028.

If you want to join in

Buying from the network is easier than it looks

If you run a company or an institution in Bariloche or Dina Huapi, NorteSur will connect you with the makers and support you through the whole process. We act as nobody's middleman, we are just leaving their details here in case you fancy giving it a go.

Find out about CompreLocal® Visit NorteSur

info@nortesur.org.ar · +54 9 2944 952655 · @comprelocalorg