The Long Run | Pousada Trijunção

Pousada Trijunção

CERRADO, BRAZIL

Pousada Trijunção is part of an 81,544-acre conservationist farm, Fazenda Trijunção, in the Brazilian Cerrado. Covering 20 percent of Brazil, the Cerrado is the largest savannah in South America and one of Conservation International’s 35 biological hotspots. Biodiversity is plentiful, including over 13,000 plant species, 850 bird species, and 278 reptiles, but due to land loss, native animals like the jaguar, ocelot, giant armadillo and maned wolf are threatened. Already, there is less than 50 percent of the original Cerrado area. Eighty-seven percent of the farm’s land is protected and untouched, acting as a vital ecological corridor to the neighboring Grande Sertão Veredas National Park.

Conservation is at the heart of Pousada Trijunção’s mission, and it is part of local resistance against the expansion of irresponsible agriculture. By actively seeking out conservation solutions, it hopes to use tourism to restore land and wildlife. To date, a long-term bird monitoring programme has recorded over 210 species on the farm, and the Pousada is launching a ground-breaking maned wolf monitoring and conservation project in partnership with Projeto Onçafari (who have worked with Refúgio Ecológico Caiman in Pantanal). The Pousada also helps to protect and support the sustainable culture of fruit trees in the region, which complements income for over 2,000 families.

Visitors enjoy the intimacy of just seven rooms, giving them the chance to become fully immersed in the surrounding wilderness. As part of the National Park’s consulting committee, the Pousada is developing a tour guide programme to create economic opportunities and improve visitor experiences. Culture is a part of the guest experience, too. The cuisine reflects the nuances of the surrounding three states, Goiás, Bahia and Minas Gerais, and gastronomic experiences evoke the memory of Brazilian novelist, Guimarães Rosa, who was inspired by Grande Sertão Veredas National Park.

www.pousadatrijuncao.com

The 4Cs

Pousada Trijunção joined The Long Run in 2018 and committed to a holistic balance of the 4Cs – Conservation, Community, Culture and Commerce – as a means to contribute meaningfully to the biodiversity and the people of their local region.

CONSERVATION

Pousada Trijunção is surrounded by harvests and intense cattle farms – representing a preservationist oasis in the area. As such, our goal and challenge is to make Cerrado well known by Brazilians and international tourists, so that by increasing knowledge we gather more focus on other projects of conservation of its nature and wildlife. Also, by creating a profitable and non-invasive operation with a positive impact on the local environment, we aim to inspire and influence local players to follow the same approach.

COMMUNITY

The local community currently is 100% dependent on Tourism (which is still very incipient). Pousada Trijunção is set to use the tourist activity as an enabler not only for local preservation of nature and cultural expressions – but also as a way to ignite the local economy by employing locally (directly or indirectly). We are a leading business in the region to employ with fair employment conditions.

CULTURE

Like any large country, Brazilian culture is likewise tremendously diverse. Since Fazenda Trijunção’s property covers 3 different States (and Regions), it allows us to introduce elements of these 3 different ways-of-life (in essence, very relevant to Brazil) to tourists. Our goal is to build interest in this information and experience, from a biome usually taken for granted and under-promoted.

COMMERCE

Fazenda Trijunção already works on commerce for many years, its activity already addresses responsible commerce, and at the heart of its mission is an integration of sustainability-driven practices to business practices. With Pousada Trijunção, we plan to build on this successful practice to further inform tourists of the benefits of such practices to the local environment, as it occupies a space that would be otherwise occupied by irresponsible players.