Gary Diedrichs
Travel journalist
When Green Traveler Guides was in Oaxaca, Mexico, recently, we discovered the most inspiring and rewarding tour. Investours takes you to a small village renowned for its rug weavers. There, you spend a day meeting local women who need a small loan -- US$150, say, to make more tamales to sell at the local market, or to buy wool dyes to loom larger rugs. These are microloans, a Nobel Prize-winning concept that has lifted women out of poverty around the world. At the end of the day, tour participants decide which of the women receive all fees paid for their tour. (Loan applicants are coached and guaranteed financing after 3 tries.) Read more: http://greentravelerguide.com/2009/06/investours-oaxaca
