Why we are Eco?
Today tourism is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries and it can have very positive or very negative impacts on its hosts. When we travel we benefit by the exposure to new and different cultures and ways. It is equally important to us that when we travel to different parts of our amazing planet that our exchange is always a mutual one and that we make a positive contribution to people and places that we visit along the way.
These days ‘Responsible Travel’ and ‘Sustainability’ are hot topics. We believe Responsible Travel is about taking time to think about how our actions can benefit or how they impact the people, communities, economies, environments and eco-systems we visit. We then use this to make a difference (or sometimes more appropriately – NOT make a difference). We are constantly considering our actions and how we and the people who travel with us can improve our impact on the places we visit.
- Small Group Size – Our groups REALLY are small! With a maximum of 4-6 in any one group we minimize our impact on the small communities that we visit.
- We will teach you some of local languages. Learning a few phrases and greetings in the village you visit shows respect to the people.
- When meeting and interacting with people who have or appear to have much less (material possessions or opportunities) than we do – it can be tempting to want to ‘give’ and share what we have with them. We think it is very important to think about – ‘What are the short and long term effects of aid/charity or even the simple act of giving – on local communities?’, ‘Who actually benefits or feels good?’ Usually the answers to these questions are complex. Please think or talk about them before you go ‘giving’ things away.
- We like to support the economies of the places we visit – by buying locally made products, using local accommodations, and supporting markets. (Buying locally made products also decreases the environmental cost of importing).
- We employ local Guides, cook, porter. and interpreters in the countries we visit.
- We always give the opportunity to try local food and specialties. Many rural areas are under threat from a reduction in their agricultural base and by eating locally produced goods we help the local farmers as well as the local economy.
- We always remove ALL rubbish from the places we trek and camp and deal with it in the most appropriate way:
- We buy locally made produce which reduces the environmental cost of importation.
- When we washing ourselves or cooking utensils, we take the water and wash well away from the water source, drain used water into the soil so that it is filtered before re-entering the source. We use biodegradable soaps and detergents when possible.
Community Projects
Depends on your interest, where possible we also include a school visit in which you can see and experience an education system which is very different from those in the developed world. The primary objective of our visits is the fantastic mutual social and cultural exchange which takes place between our clients and the children and teachers in these schools. Some of our clients also like to donate educational tools and basic stationery which always comes in handy to these schools.
It is also possible to volunteer a day or long at Schools, clinics or farms etc…