Ioana Todosia | Bridging Communities Through Travel | The Comuna Project

Pod22 Travel Podcast

Ioana Todosia is a cross-cultural entrepreneur, experiential facilitator, photographer, and writer. She’s the founder of Comuna Project, a cultural exchange platform that connects a global generation to creative cultures through transformative and regenerative experiences.

Ioana was born in Romania, grew up in Northern British Columbia after emigrating to Canada with her family in the 90s, and now calls Montreal home. While working in the creative industry as a digital project manager, she took a spontaneous trip to Havana in 2017 that introduced her to two very different stories of the culture: the story of Cuba written by mass-tourism, and a glimpse into a more authentic story of Cuba that lived just below the surface. An open, wildly creative and incredibly rich culture that most never get to experience. Experiencing Cuba for the first time in that duality was what planted the seed for Comuna Travel. It opened her eyes to seeing the travel industry as a powerful platform that can facilitate meaningful connection and transformative experiences that nourish and enhance both sides of the travel experience: local and traveller.

Since 2017, Ioana has curated and led several cross-cultural exchange experiences to Cuba, Mexico and Romania. Her travel companions take a deep dive into the local life, traditional knowledge and contemporary vibe of these destinations. They find inspiration by pushing their boundaries and engaging with locals striving to passionately preserve and enhance their culture and age-old traditions for the future - from the underground arts scenes, to artisan communities, farmers and traditional healers. An Indigenous Wisdom Keeper from Oaxaca once told her that she has a very big appetite. Ioana embodies that spirit in her everyday life. Always driven by her passion, she seeks creativity, beauty and new experiences in the most unlikely of places. In turn, she shares these experiences, perspectives and wisdom to those around her.

Motivated by the recent pandemic and global travel restrictions, Comuna Travel has been evolving into the Comuna Project and extending the cultural exchange experience to an online space. In collaboration with her local partners and indigenous healers of Oaxaca, Mexico, The Comuna Project has been offering 4-week virtually immersive retreat sessions, called the Ceremonia Sessions. The goal? To introduce you to indigenous wisdom and culture that can support you in taking care of yourself, while lifting your community, and remaining connected to your source in these shifting times of intense change and growth.

Learn more about the Comuna Project: https://www.comunatravel.com/

Link to Comuna Video featured in the live version: https://vimeo.com/350658768