The Gambia
India
Nepal
Romania
Thailand
Uganda
Margaret Mead
Our Partners in destinations
Andaman Discoveries - Thailand
Our partner in Thailand is Andaman Discoveries, a leader in sustainable travel and development in Thailand, which allows visitors and volunteers to directly support community education, village-led conservation, and cultural empowerment. The organization evolved from tsunami relief efforts and continues to balance grassroots development with international partnerships.
The North Andaman region remains remarkably undeveloped, and many communities survive by their traditional livelihoods. Minutes away from tropical rainforests and coral reefs, Buddhist, Muslim and Moken communities live in harmony, retaining their own unique cultural identity.
All Andaman Discoveries activities and itineraries are designed in collaboration with the villagers in accordance with community-based tourism principles. Visitors actively participate in the villager’s daily lives through interactive handicrafts workshops, jungle hikes, cooking lessons, island discovery tours, and other community-led activities.
Many activities happen naturally as the guests become part of village life. Guests may find themselves roasting cashew nuts, harvesting fruit, or weaving fishing nets. From the visitors’ perspective, the programs promote environmental awareness and understanding of a low-consumption lifestyle. Activities such as mangrove planting, endemic water lily protection and orchid conservation emphasize the overarching natural heritage of each village. The Andaman Discoveries team builds local leadership and supports community management of tourism and resource development. Andaman Discoveries has been acknowledged for its model through several prestigious awards, including the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award, Travel + Leisure Global Vision Award, and the SEED Initiative.
Apuseni Experience - Romania
Our partner in Romania is Apuseni Experience, an ecotourism and adventure tourism programme developed in Apuseni Mountains/Western Carpathians, Romania through Eco Transilvania Ltd. The program is managed by a group of young enthusiasts, who made a way of life from their common passion for these unique mountains.
The people who work in the company have been around since 1994 when they first started to discover the area as young people. The nature and people have played a significant role in their lives. As members of various local NGOs they have developed several projects aimed to protect the amazing nature and authentic local culture of Apuseni Mountains. Most of them are still involved as volunteers or consultants in this kind of projects
The Apuseni Experience Programme was established with a simple idea in mind: to provide the best interpretive cultural and natural experiences and use responsible business to preserve the heritage of the Apuseni Mountains, which is their mission statement. They are committed to share their knowledge and love for Apuseni Mountains, the history, culture and nature, while offering opportunities for the sustainable development of their communities. Focusing mainly on Apuseni Mountains helps them to provide a quality and authentic travel experience for travellers while supporting the communities and the nature of this area. However they can offer programmes in other parts of Romanian Carpathians too.
ASSET - The Gambia
Our partner in The Gambia is ASSET (Association of Small Scale Etnerprises in Tourism in The Gambia) – a recognised association that has been successful in promoting small scale enterprises within responsible tourism. ASSET aims to "bring together, advocate for, and promote a large number of small-scale enterprises that are active in the tourism industry in The Gambia." Tourism is one of the main incomes in The Gambia. Over the last decade, ASSET has played an important role in spreading income from the tourism industry to smaller enterprises.
Members of ASSET include craft market vendors, tourist taxi drivers, official tourist guides, juice pressers and fruit sellers, small hotel, guest houses, tour operators etc. Future goals are education and training of personnel, development of new products and implementation of industry standards.
One of the outcomes in The Gambia was the opening of the new college Institute of Travel and tourism of The Gambia in January 2008. During our travels to The Gambia we visit many of the members to hear their stories. In 2005 ASSET won the Best for Poverty Reduction award during the Responsible Tourism Award 2005 held at the World Travel Market in London.
Mitandi - Uganda
Our partner in Uganda is Mitandi, a mountain lodge situated at 1800m altitude in the spectacular, snow-capped Rwenzori mountains. This area is considered as one of the most diverse and beautiful in all Africa. The Norwegian hosts, Tore and Vigdis Oldebraten, live at Mitandi. They started up by building primary schools for a non-governmental organisation, but today they live here without bindings to any organization.
Mitandi offers visitors a unique insight to the culture and nature of the mountain region. In close collaboration with the local mountain-people Tore and Vigdis run several projects in the area; a clinic, a library and a school sponsor programme where friends of Mitandi sponsor children through their primary school education.
Tore and Vigdis welcome responsible tourists to stay in their guest huts - not only to spend the night, but to involve themselves in the Mitandi community. The volunteer programme at Mitandi is a good opportunity for people who want to stay for longer periods of time and contribute in a special way. Commitment to responsible tourism at Mitandi implies that all activities must be in agreement with the people, culture and nature around Mitandi. Tore and Vigdis' motivation comes from friendship and interaction with people, guests and volunteers at Mitandi. A visit to Mitandi will bring new knowledge and perspective to your life.
socialtours - Nepal
Our partner in Nepal is socialtours, a three time Responsible Tourism Award nominated company based in Kathmandu, Nepal. They are one of the leaders in responsible tourism practice in Nepal. The company started in 2002 and right from the start aligned its principles and practices to Corporate Social Responsibility and Responsible Tourism principles. socialtours prove that it is possible to be a profitable organizations and at the same time practice responsibility. They work towards the mainstreaming of responsible practices, offering mainstream trips alongside specially developed trips.
socialtours are deeply passionate about people and nature. Keeping their passion close to their hearts they tailor make extraordinary trips to suit extraordinary people. Responsible travel practices are the important ingredients in their work with the local communities, environment and travelers.
socialtours aim to exceed the travellers’ expectations and safety, minimising the impact on the environment and at the same time maximising contribution to the local economy. They are not only working in Nepal, but have responsible trips to Bhutan, Tibet and Ghana as well. Their engagement in responsible tourism is important in these countries as they provide the travelers an an alternate gentler travel option.
The Blue Yonder - India
Our partner in India is The Blue Yonder - a pioneer of responsible tourism in the country. The Blue Yonder "was set up as a travel company based out of Bangalore (Karnataka), four years back to bring in attention of the world to the status of sadly depleted and neglected Bharatapuzha River (River Nila) in the North of Kerala in India and to help raise funds for Nila Foundation that works to revive and regenerate the dying river."
The Blue Yonder uses responsible tourism as a tool to spread awareness of the river, folklore, culture and daily life. Working in partnership with the local communities, The Blue Yonder has contributed to create better lives in destinations where they offer unique holiday experiences to travelers. Nila is no longer their only destination. Many Indian communities are lucky to be working with The Blue Yonder.
During our travels you will get to know The Blue Yonder and see the impact of their work - first and foremost near Nila. Their work has been acknowledged with two highly honorable mentions at the 2007 Condé Nast Traveler World Savers Awards. In 2006 The Blue Yonder received an award at the Responsible Tourism Awards at the World Travel Market in London. They were recognised as a tour operator for using tourism as a tool for poverty reduction and preserving local culture and tradition. And last but not least, in 2007, The Blue Yonder received an unexpected and much appreciated award from the community members near River Nila acknowledging the work they are doing in Responsible Tourism.
West Africa Discovery
West Africa Discovery is a socially conscious web based organisation born from the founders’ passion for West Africa and Responsible Tourism. The portal aims to raise awareness towards the West African region and to promote Responsible Tourism development through the listing of tours which strive towards fulfilling the criteria outlined in the Cape Town, Kerala and Belize Declaration. Ethical Travel Portal met West Africa Discovery at MBOKA in The Gambia in 2008. Sharing the passion for responsible tourism, West African countries and the belief that there is a need for travellers to be educated and guided to choose the good way of travelling created the platform for our collaboration.
West Africa Discovery is filling a gap in the travel industry to promote and be a voice for the unique treasures that the West African countries contain. Most of the West African countries have been out of the journalists’ priority list of stories they write about. We hardly hear any positive stories or articles from this region. West Africa Discovery is changing that. They provide a stage for west African Responsible Tourism suppliers to promote their services to the European market, and subsequently attract tourists to the West African region. West Africa Discovery is a fantastic portal to promote these countries and their effort of working on responsible tourism initiatives. Visit their web site West Africa Discovery.
