ADVOCACY

Our aims are to provide:

• You with a personalized and authentic tour
Tours that give you the opportunity to spend time with local people and absorb yourself in their cultures

• Support to local people and projects
Tours that offer respect for local cultures and an income that helps support it.

The finances
When you take a tour with us, 60-70% of your money stays in the host country – supporting the social/environmental work of our partners and the projects they support.

Tour guidelines
Our partners are, in turn, asked to respect our tour guidelines (see below).

Mutual learning
The relationships we have with the people who travel with us are personal (see testimonials) and are based on a mutual understanding of what we are aiming to achieve. We learn from your experiences and use them to improve future tours.

Most of the photos on this website are provided by people who have been on our tours. We are grateful to them for letting us use them.


WALKING THE TALK

We work to ensure that our own operations are sustainable.
Our office is based in our home in the village of Wye, Kent (UK). Wye village is home to Wye Cycle - who run one of the most progressive recycling, composting and local food projects in the country. We compost and recycle all our waste, and purchase our food at the fortnightly farmers' market and local farm shop (though we occasionally are seen at the supermarket!).


GUIDELINES FOR TOUR PARTNERS

Our tour partners are asked to stick to the following guidelines. These are aspirational and there are times when it is hard to meet them (e.g. in some places in Sri Lanka, we sometimes use accommodation owned by non-Sri Lankans):

Mutual understanding
When booking, visitors are asked to fill in information about themselves and their backgrounds. Tour partners and guides are asked to read this information in advance and to use the tour to learn from eachother. We always ask visitors for their feedback, this should also be used to fine-tune future tours.

Tour structure
We base our tours around specific community and conservation projects. We minimise car travel, by structuring tours around one or two regions and taking optional day trips via local transport. As a result, visitors travel less, have greater flexibility, and more time to relax and absorb the local culture.

Tours that tie in with local festivals and customs that travelers would not usually see are particularly welcome.

Tour guides
Tour guides/drivers should be local to the country and/or culture, and enthusiastic about our philosophy. They are responsible for the well-being of the visitors throughout the tour.

We encourage the use of local hosts to provide personal insight into a specific area. For example, when treking in the Sinharaja Forest we use local trekers, and when visiting a farm, we employ the farmer to show visitors around and invite them into their homes.

Activities
The emphasis should be on introducing visitors to the local culture and landscape – and giving them chance to participate in local activities. A stroll through a village and a cup of tea in one of the homes, or the chance to help cook a dinner.

Best practice
Conservation and community projects that follow best practice are preferred. Elephant and turtle conservation projects in Sri Lanka, for example, vary considerably in their practices.

Transport
For each tour, we aim to offer at least one opportunity to travel by public transport (e.g. bus or train), and at least one opportunity to travel using other alternatives to the car (e.g. three-wheelers, bicycle, tractor ride, horse, boat, or bullock cart). We encourage guides to let visitors explore places, rather than stick them in cars.

Accommodation
Accommodation should be small-scale, fit the character of the area and be owned by local people. We don’t like internationally owned hotel chains, but do like up-market hotels owned by local people that are historic, or built to fit the local character.

Food
Where possible, food should be sourced locally and cooked on the premises. Organic food is an added bonus.

We offer at least one opportunity (preferably several) for travellers to visit and eat at the homes of local people. Clean, but non-touristy restaurants and cafes should be used.

TOURS THAT MAY INTEREST YOU...

Peru tours
Click here for our Peru Insider tours

North India tours
Click here for village homestay holiday - Eastern Himalaya
Click here for Rajasthan and Delhi Insider Tours
Click here for Himalayan and Darjeeling Insider Tours

South India tours: Kerala
Click here for Kerala culture tour
Click here for Kerala backwaters tour

South India tours: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
Click here for Wilderness west of Bangalore tour

South India tours: food tour and birding tour
Click here for South India bird tour
Click here for South India food tour

Sri Lanka tours
Click here for schedules and prices for Sri Lanka tours

Weddings in India
Click here for schedules and prices for alternative weddings