Now that March 8 is approaching, I began to think that in Malinali travel we are only women in the world of tourism where the majority of colleagues are men. It has been a natural and spontaneous process, it has not been thought or planned. It just was like that.
I started guiding trips 25 years ago from my home country of Belgium and since I have lived in Mexico I have organized and guided trips focused on generating experiences and new knowledge, so that the visitor returns to their country with a broader horizon about the world and of the different ways of living and organizing life.
It has been a process of almost 20 years. It has been quite a challenge, especially at the beginning for being a woman, being young and being a foreigner. However, today I am happy with everything I have lived and learned on this path. Our colleagues and contacts in the world of tourism have embraced our feminine way of working and being. We have not allowed criticism, biased comments or deception to disturb our desire to do what we do: organize trips from the heart.
Our office team is totally female and what is it that shows? Dedication, perfection, commitment, dialogue. What I appreciate the most is the absence of Ego, we work as a team and everyone decides on an area of work that best suits their personality and what interests them.
Most of our guides and tour leaders are also women and what is it that shows? His ability to feel the visitors and to incorporate everyone into the experience, his ability to work as a team (the operator, local guides, etc.). His ability to intuit and be empathic.
Many of the people we visit are women, because the activities we carry out with them are part -as far as Mexico is concerned- of the world of women: cooking classes and craft workshops. And what is noticeable? They receive us with the desire to share their arts and they do it with all their hearts, without favoring the entry of money. Of course, the economic income is important and must be correct, but what gives them the most satisfaction is the fact of sharing and spending pleasant moments with the visitors.
And finally, several of our trips are exclusively for women. We have Frida Kahlo themed trips for women and trips from Mindful Travel Mexico related to the Sacred Feminine. These trips bring together a small group of women and constitute encounters towards the depths of our being women. They are unforgettable experiences with many lessons. They make us reflect. They make us reconnect with our Sacred Feminine, with our sisters and with our Mother Earth. They make us be creators of our lives from love.
Thanks to all the Malinali team, the women in the office and those who go out on trips, those who receive us in their homes and in the fields, thank you thank you thank you.
Thank you also to all our male colleagues who respect us and who love us, and believe me there are many.
Murielle Coppin
