Eco-volunteerism

Interview: Anne Berry and Angela Jacobus, Travel That Matters

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Travel That Matters (tagline: “Be more than a typical tourist”) is a mother-and-daughter-owned company that caters to adventurous women in the United States, aiming to connect them in a meaningful way with nature, local economies, and women in the countries they visit. Founded by duo Anne Berry and Angela Jacobus in 2013, the crew are poised to embark on their second trip to Nicaragua in early April. They have previously led excursions to Bangladesh, Guatemala, Japan, and Thailand.

When I met Anne and Angela recently, I found the idea of their business exciting, and I was also curious about how family dynamics might play out in such a business partnership. I wanted to interview them and share some of their story here because they are a wonderful example of people following their dreams, living beyond the mainstream, and helping to create meaningful experiences for both their clients and the women in the countries they visit.

Angela weaving in Nicaragua

 

When did you two birth this dream?  Which of you thought of it first, and did you have to convince the other of it?

It sort of happened organically about a year and a half ago. Angela had just returned from living abroad and was brainstorming ways to turn her passion for travel into a career as well as help women get out there in the world and travel … but she wasn’t sure what that would look like. Anne was getting bored in retirement and wanted to facilitate retreats in Nicaragua. The more we talked, the more we realized we could turn our shared interests and passion for travel into a business together.

 

What had been your work or career backgrounds prior to starting this venture?

Angela spent 12 years in the traditional business world as an editor (marketing, not publishing). She escaped her cubicle in 2005 and made her living as a snowboard instructor/freelance writer/boutique hotel office manager for a few years. Later, she moved overseas to teach English where she spent two years in South Korea and one year in Bangladesh. After Bangladesh, she spent a few more months traveling and then decided to settle back in the States and start Travel That Matters.

Anne’s work background includes a variety of careers, including ballet teacher, closet designer, Defense Department contract administrator, County Government contracts officer and independent corporate trainer. While working as a corporate trainer, she logged one million airline miles.

 

After you thought of the idea, what fears or other internal stumbling blocks came up for you?  How did you overcome them?

New ones come up every day! Haha! But they’re the typical ones for entrepreneurs, I think. Questions like … What if this doesn’t work? How will I pay the bills? I don’t know enough about running my own business to be successful. There’s so much I don’t know! I should have started this a long time ago. How will we find clients? I’m not a sales person. How will I sell my service? I don’t have enough experience with this or that, etc., etc., etc.

We have gotten support. We have supported each other. We have committed ourselves to this endeavor. We think about the alternative, which would be to NOT follow our dreams.

 

What about external obstacles?  What have been some of your biggest logistical or business challenges?

The lead time and connections and effort that are required to create our type of travel experiences is pretty intense. We have had to adjust our expectations and be patient and have faith and figure out how to keep surviving and thriving while the business slowly progresses.

 

What do you enjoy most about working together, as a mother-daughter team?

This experience is allowing us to learn how to communicate differently … as professional partners … which, in turn, reveals a lot about our deep-seated personality traits and patterns. It can be challenging, to say the least, but it’s quite enlightening and interesting. The best part, though, is having a business partner you can completely trust. How lucky are we?!

 

What has been the biggest challenge in working together as such a team?

The communication challenges (see above).

 

What has been a high point, thus far, in this venture? 

Whenever we meet women and tell them about what we’re doing and they light up. When we see that they “get” us and they’re genuinely excited about this type of travel. Those moments when you KNOW you’re on the right path.

 

What are some of your ongoing dreams or plans for the business?

We want to expand our connections and relationships and add a variety of locations, both around the globe and closer to home. We also want to keep finding inspiring organizations we can support with our trips. One day, we’ll have a whole big team and a full list of adventures and a long line of women who are ready to get out in the world and EXPERIENCE it in a meaningful way.

Anne jewelry making

 

I wish Angela and Anne the best of success! To learn more about their company, their story, or their upcoming journeys (or if you have any ideas or resources to help them!) please visit www.travelthatmatters.net

California, here I come!

trainMy southbound train trip is fast approaching, and my excitement about it is building daily. I’m definitely looking forward to taking a break from Portland’s wintertime rain and cold … and I’m also really looking forward to expanding my Dream Into Change reach to more people and more cities! I am in the final stages of securing transportation and lodging, and now it’s time to turn my attention more fully to the connections I’m seeking to foster during my travels. Along those lines, I would love your help!

My itinerary is as follows:

  • Santa Cruz Sunday, Jan 6 – Monday, Jan 7
  • Los Angeles Wednesday, Jan 9 – Thursday, Jan 10
  • San Diego Friday, Jan 11 – Monday, Jan 14
  • Santa Barbara evening/night of Tuesday, Jan 15
  • Oakland/Berkeley/San Francisco Thursday, Jan 17 – Friday, Jan 18

Then back to Portland!

My intention is to offer my four-hour workshop (“So you grew up … What do you want to be NOW?”) in each location except for Santa Barbara. If you are interested in signing up for the workshop, and/or helping to promote it and/or willing to offer your home as a venue (in exchange for free admission to the $40 workshop) please let me know as soon as possible, by emailing me at maren@dreamintochange.com.

My other intention is to meet with as many people as possible in each city who are doing innovative work in one of my four main areas of focus: 1) veganism, especially in an educational, advocacy, or entrepreneurial role; 2) sustainable energy and transportation, such as bicycle advocacy or innovation or solar advocacy or innovation/entrepreneurship; 3) touch-positive and/or sex-positive culture, and/or ecstatic dance; and 4) Nonviolent communication (NVC) and/or restorative justice, including prison reform or innovative projects relating to incarceration and/or transition into society for inmates upon release.

I would love to talk with any of these folks to hear about their projects, and possibly also to interview them for this blog and help to spread the word about their work. So, if you know anyone who is involved in any of the above, again, please contact me at maren@dreamintochange.com to let me know about them (and/or please forward my contact info to them).

This trip represents a very exciting beginning for me. I want to expand my reach beyond Portland. I want to work with people from all over the country – and indeed around the globe – to move our culture forward in all of the above ways. In the future, I plan to take more train trips, to other regions. Possibly my next trip could take me to Seattle, Vancouver, Minneapolis, Chicago, Toronto, and/or Montreal! The next one might include Boston, New York, Washington, and Raleigh, NC. Other future destinations include Victoria, BC; Austin, TX; Melbourne, Australia; and London, England. Yeah, I’m feeling pretty adventurous!

But first things first. In about a week and a half, my first great rail adventure will begin! I can’t wait to experience California, and I can’t wait to see some of you there!

Mid-December inspiring stories

OK, I’m slowly catching up this month! There has been so much goodness, it’s hard to keep up. Let’s get into it:

  • brinkleyFirst, an update. Some of you may have read my inspirational interview with musician Jonathan Brinkley last month. Jonathan has now officially launched his Kickstarter campaign, and I encourage you to take a look (I even have a cameo in the video) and contribute to the project if you are moved to do so. Minimum pledge is $1; his music is wonderful; and his vision is bold and generous. Let’s help him succeed! http://kck.st/S1XdG5
  • lanzaOn the topic of unguarded hearts … it can be hard to keep one in today’s world. I enjoyed this thoughtful piece, from an NVC perspective, on the recent mall and school violence and its roots in the society we all co-create. The gist of the article: fear and vulnerability, un-tended or inadequately tended in youth, can turn easily to self-hatred and violence. On the face of it, this is not “good news.” But the positive message I took from the article was that with awareness and intention, we can all choose to continually create society differently:  The Fearless Heart: Adam Lanza and All of Us. http://bit.ly/VfRyqe
  • vegnewsSpeaking of creating a nonviolent world, one action at a time: Kudos to Costa Rica! The nation has officially banned sport hunting. What a compassionate, progressive place. No wonder their national “happiness score” is so high: Costa Rica Officially Bans Hunting Nationwide. http://bit.ly/UBkNFJ
  • vegnews-gardenburgerAnd in other good news for animals, as well as for hungry people: Gardenburger/Gardenbar has donated 100,000 vegan meal bars to the Oregon Food Bank. I applaud their corporate generosity. http://bit.ly/V8RZqN
  •  compostingAlso on the corporate-responsibility front: Charlotte Douglas Airport has begun composting with worms! I would love to see all airports follow suit in the near future: One Airport’s Trash Is 2 Million Worms’ Treasure : NPR. http://n.pr/VTlby8
  • lettuce-growAnd speaking of vermicompost and natural gardening: I just learned about a wonderful organization, Lettuce Grow Garden Foundation, which helps inmates grow gardens in Oregon institutions. The produce is used by the institutional cafeterias, as well as donated to other organizations in the community who help get the produce to people who need it. http://on.fb.me/VTVxZV
  • successful-peopleAnd finally, if you’ve been itching to get something started yourself, here is some good advice for becoming successful in whatever business or project you’d like to take on:  8 Things Remarkably Successful People Do. http://bit.ly/THfDua

 

Inspiring stories of early December

Wow! How time flies. My “weekly” digest is a tad late. Sorry. Better late than never, though, right? (Look for the “late December” edition next week.) Let’s get to it!

  • First, we have some wonderful news for animals. LUSH Cosmetics is taking an industry-leadership path by awarding a significant sum of money to promote cruelty-free research. I’m a firm believer that where there’s a will there’s always a way, and this sort of corporate philanthropy helps to pave that way.
  • madness-radioOn another topic: Here is an awesome, awesome project I just learned about, run by my old friend Will Hall: Madness Radio! “Since 2005 Madness Radio has explored the question ‘What does it mean to be called “crazy” in a crazy world?’ through powerful and provocative in-depth interviews. More than 125 shows have aired since Madness Radio began, featuring survivors of bipolar, schizophrenia, and psychosis diagnosis, as well as human rights activists, journalists, advocates, and artists.” I just pledged to the Kickstarter campaign. Perhaps you’d like to as well? And/or help spread the word?
  • daveChanging subjects again: Dave Dahl, of Dave’s Killer Bread, is a well known and respected example of a former prisoner who has quit drugs and become successful in business. (A vegan business, no less.) Using Dahl as an example, this article explores some recent policy changes that reflect a rehabilitative, rather than simply punitive, approach toward incarcerated persons. We need more of these approaches!
  • Lastly: If you are thinking of starting a business or nonprofit of any kind, I highly recommend this TED talk on entrepreneurship by a very knowledgeable and engaging speaker.

Thanks for reading! Keep your dreams alive!