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Work progresses on first community hotel in Chile and South America: Tockolen in Toconao
The building, which is being constructed at SQM Salar’s former accommodations facility, will create a new tourism and economic hub in the area, while protecting the traditions, art and cosmovision of the Lickanantay culture.
September 2023 – Tockolen (“place near the Jere Valley” in kunza) will be the first community hotel in Chile and South America managed entirely by an indigenous community.
The site, located in SQM’s former accommodation facilities in the town of Toconao, was given free of charge to the Toconar community. The initiative seeks to highlight the importance of local identity and customs such as community traditions, the rock art of the first inhabitants of the salt flat, the astral cosmovision and community symbolism, opening up a new tourism and economic hub for the area.
Yermin Básques, president of the Lickanantay de Toconao Community, explained that “this is a long-awaited project. We started in 2019 and tried to continue developing, but unfortunately everything came to a halt because of the pandemic. But today we resumed it with strength and the conviction that we must do it because lithium mining may not be around in 30 years and we have to continue our lives and particularly to develop our young people and our children.”
The task was not easy, but last August after the groundbreaking ceremony, work began to dismantle the old facilities and bring the community’s dream to life. It hopes to open its doors in December 2024.
This initiative is part of SQM’s Community Life Plan, under the principles of sustainability and local conservation, whereby the company collaborates on this important project defined by its people through a process of citizen participation.
Gonzalo Guerrero, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SQM Salar, touched on the project’s importance and the company’s support to make this dream come true for the Toconao community.
“For us this is very significant, the integration process, which began with a citizen consultation to define the project, the name and what they wanted to do and build support together in partnership between the company and the community. That demonstrates something very important, that you can work together with communities, in partnership, to truly contribute to economic and social development, which for us is fundamental.”
The main objective is to develop a hotel with a community hallmark and local identity that creates opportunities to enhance the region, showcase local entrepreneurs, generate jobs for people of the community and provide ongoing training in first-class hotel and tourism management.
Manuel Silvestre, president of the Toconao Neighborhood Council, emphasized that “it is a great challenge and Toconao can do it. It has the capabilities and the power to have an indigenous hotel, managed by local people, which is a plus, it is a long-awaited dream. Now, we have to make it happen, to know how to work, to know how to empower ourselves in this great challenge, we have to know how to do it.”
The Tockolen Hotel features 33 rooms, a spa, meeting rooms, a swimming pool and a tourism circuit with at least 7 sites of interest such as the Jere Valley and Alma. The project also contemplates training for local residents in English and as tour guides for this unique, groundbreaking opportunity to show Toconao to the world.