Reroot, verb: To travel with the aim of learning.

See also: To spark a chemical reaction, modifying behaviors or challenging long-held perspectives.

A note from our founder:

I originally launched Reroot in 2016 as a travel blog, How Not to Travel Like a Basic Bitch, written in my own voice and sass. What was meant to be a website geared towards friends and family became a resource read by tens of thousands of people, and shedding light—good or bad—on entire populations. Over time, I realized I was “basic” by writing about places I wasn’t from. I turned the site over to the public, where people could write about their own countries and experiences.

The more articles that were published, the more I recognized the limitations of sharing information through a digital space. Authors, while experts on their own personal experiences, were not necessarily experts on a given subject. Information was shared through a single perspective through a one-way exchange. Even sharing stories written in English led to information shared through a tainted or privileged lens.

In 2018, I chose real life over a virtual setting, and took the blog offline. Combining my 15 years in academia and a lifetime of travel learning, I offered educational immersive group travel experiences where independent students could learn directly from those woven in the fabric of their societies. The beauty is always in the space between us and what makes us human.

It has become a decentralized university, if you will.

As demand grew, we caught the attention of human rights programs, universities, schools, and nonprofits—and Reroot was born. Our name comes from my origins in Hawai'i where the primary plant is kalo or taro root. In order for the taro to grow across space and time, the kalo must be rerooted. The offshoots are cut and planted in another space, genetic information passing from one plant through regrowth.

Like the kalo, humans also need to be rerooted. To reroot means to spark a chemical reaction—to have your beliefs, behaviors, or life altered in some way. Over the past 6+ years, we transitioned from telling people how not to travel to a space that celebrates stories of resilience, joy, and abundance. Today, Reroot partners with 75+ academic and community professors throughout El Salvador, Cuba, and Hawai'i to challenge perspectives, combat misinformation, and explore all nuances of travel.