Learning about it. Fighting it. Eradicating It

WINNER
The Haciendas, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
small chain
When Luis Bosoms and his wife, Marilú Hernández, discovered five old haciendas—former sisal plantations, each in a down-on-its-luck company town—scattered across the Yucatán, they saw an opportunity to do well and do good. They turned the haciendas into chic resorts—juxtaposing sleek pools and colonial furnishings with a semi-industrial aesthetic—and hired local people who had been earning a meager income from the infertile land. They employed villagers, whose Mayan ancestors had built nearby Chichén Itzá, as workers, waiters, and accountants, and helped others start businesses, including folk art and massage cooperatives. Says Hernández: "The Haciendas project was born with a social conscience." A side benefit: Women have been empowered. "When the men saw their wives bringing money into the household," says Hernández, "everything changed."

WHY I LOVED IT
"I was thrilled by The Haciendas' approach. The company's dedication to the environment and the surrounding community's health proves that you do not have to sacrifice luxury to protect natural resources"
—Laurie David
Trustee, Natural Resources Defense Countil; co-producer, An Inconvenient Truth

RUNNER-UP
Gap Adventures, global
tour operator
With trips ranging from Thai trekking to a Buenos Aires tango fest, this company is dedicated to the communities in which it works. When an earthquake hit Peru in 2007, Gap raised more than $130,000. It is funding a Cuzco youth center and provided loans to more than 60 Honduran women.

TIP
Sign up for the Dollar-A-Day program; 100 percent goes to community projects (800-708-7761; gapadventures.com

AND THE JUDGES ALSO LOVED...
airline
Airline Virgin Atlantic
Helped raise $100,000 and built dorms, a kitchen, and a water pump system for a school in Kenya's Masai Mara (virgin-atlantic.com).

cruise line
Ecoventura
Funded a micro-enterprise for Galápagos fishermen's wives—converting a boat into a restaurant and boutique (ecoventura.com ).

city hotel
Grano de Oro
Provides vocational training for abused mothers and helps them find employment (hotelgranodeoro.com).

small resort
Lapa Rios
Improved infrastructure, launched health initiatives, and supported the building of a recycling center on the Osa Peninsula (laparios.com).

large resort
Gibb's Farm
Provides education, loans, water, and road maintenance and teaches farming methods to Tanzania's Karatu community (gibbsfarm.net).

large chain
Ritz-Carlton
Runs Community Footprints guest volunteer programs, from feeding the poor to home-building with Habitat for Humanity (ritzcarlton.com).