In collaboration with Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos in Peru (ECOAN), the LATA Foundation has two projects in the Lares watershed that aim to counteract the environmental pressures of tourist activity and to support local communities. The area has suffered deforestation due to the demand for firewood both from local communities and for tourist campfires and our first project will be the planting of 20,000 Polylepis seedlings in December 2008/January 2009 to help reforest Polylepis patches in the high Andes. The goal is to provide habitat for endangered species of flora and fauna and to produce essential and sustainable resources for energy supplies. Our second project aims to support the Lares communities on an ongoing basis by providing Medical Supplies and First Aid Kits for four villages in the area.
In Guatemala the LATA Foundation is working with As Green As It Gets in an eighteen month project, commencing in autumn 2008, to create a line of all natural cosmetics made by small artisans in the Antigua area. By supporting the provision of training, technical services & marketing and by financing the purchase of materials and equipment, the goal is to create a viable cottage industry which will become financially independent and profitably run by hard working small producers from disadvantaged communities. With an emphasis on social awareness in production and environmental awareness in packaging the programme seeks to help participants lift themselves out of poverty.