Community

Unlike the rest of Tayka Hotels, the Community Association of the Tayka del Desierto Hotel is located several kilometers from the Hotel, in the town of Zoniquera.

Zoniquera is a population that is located within the municipality of Colcha K, 410 km. South west of Potosi - Bolivia. The region is characterized by an arid climate and an altitude ranging from 3,600 to 5,000 m.s. which drastically decreases the agricultural possibilities in the area. The main economic activity is linked to camelids. In recent years some residents of Zoniquera have also dedicated themselves to tourism, being operators of small travel agencies that work in the area.

The Community Association of this Hotel is called ACOTA (Community Association of Zoniquera Tucuypaj Allin). All the inhabitants of Zoniquera are also members of ACOTA, so this association is the largest.

Currently, the Association owns forty percent of the Hotel. The income it receives from dividends, along with the dollar per tourist, has allowed ACOTA to undertake several projects: together with the IES Foundation (the other member of the Hotel and manager of the Tayka Project) financed the expansion of the Hotel, which went from having 14 rooms to 28. ACOTA has also paid a bonus for senior citizens and purchased medical supplies to improve dental care in Zoniquera. In addition, for several years that the community has been working to achieve its next dream: the construction of a second hotel, this in the vicinity of Zoniquera, to attract more tourists from the area.

Awakening and nurturing this capacity to dream is one of the most important results of the Tayka Project: that after fifteen years of work it is achieving what it always wanted; let the inhabitants stop being part of the landscape and become actors of their own development.