WHO WE ARE


Kumar
Insider Tours was founded by Sivalingam Vasanthakumar (otherwise known as Kumar)

Born in Kandy, Sri Lanka, Kumar spent his childhood working on the family homestead: milking the cows and goats, feeding the chickens and watering the vegetable gardens.

Kumar’s parents are originally from southern India. He went there himself to study his B.Sc. (agriculture) at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. His Master's degree in sustainable agriculture (London) took him to England, where he met his wife Harriet.

We have recently moved to Chicago due to my wife’s new job; this is only temporary and doesn’t affect the business in anyway. The business is based in the UK. You can contact me via email on info@insider-tours.com and copy to wyecowman@yahoo.co.uk – You could also try and call me on my mobile number 001 773 383 4350.

Kathy (our Peru tour partner)
Kathy is our lively Peruvian tour partner. She was born in Piura, on the north coast of Peru before moving with her family down south to Arequipa. She studied economics and then sociology at university, before setting up her own tour company (she likes to be her own boss), which she has run for the last four years. Her parents run B&Bs in Arequipa and Cusco.

Kathy adores children, the mountains and jungles of Peru, and traveling and meeting new people. She owns her own small piece of land in the Colca Valley where she proposes to run a small ecolodge.


Palitha (our Sri Lanka partner)
The prime mover in community-based tourism in Sri Lanka, Palitha has traveled the country inspiring and cajoling the country’s lethargic tourism industry into action. Famous for his patience, passion and good humour – we feel privileged to be working with him.

When he’s not arranging tours on our behalf, Palitha is President of the Sri Lanka Ecotourism Foundation (which he also founded) and a consultant for public and private sector organizations in South East Asia. He’s a man who gets things done – as typified by his work along the southern coast, where he has helped establish a series of community ecotourism projects. He was an active member of the Steering Committee for Ecotourism in South Asia (SARCE) based in Sikkim, India, and is involved in international ecotourism and conservation organizations all over the world.


Thomas (our India partner)
Commander Thomas has used his naval background to an advantage. Well organized, universally popular and with a ‘get on and do it’ approach to conservation and community-based ecotourism, Thomas has built up a network of local projects, offering tourists the chance to really submerse themselves in local culture.

The Executive Director of his own travel company, Thomas is a former Electronics Engineer of the Indian Navy. He has been an active member of the Nilgiri Angling Association and the Tahr Foundation at Munnar. He has also had vast experience in trekking and camping and has been an active volunteer member assisting the Kerala Forest & Wildlife wing in their fieldwork in Kerala.


Lt.General Jimmy Singh (our Himalaya partner)
After spending much of his life located all over India, General Jimmy Singh retired to the remote village of Samthar that nestles in the low Himalayas of Bengal. The village comprises hamlets of scattered homesteads set amidst terraced farmland. General Singh has initiated homestay holidays in Samthar and helped to set up a pre-school facility for local children.


Marta Heilborn (web designer/art director)
Marta is our wonderfully creative and very patient web designer. Originally from Brazil and now based in New York, she has extensive experience as a web/graphic designer and art director for commercial businesses, cultural, educational and non-profit organizations. Her design work ranges from logos and branding, to exhibitions, CD packaging, magazines and newsletters.

Marta is also a fine art painter and has exhibited in Brazil and New York. She has a Masters in Graphic Arts, from New York University.


Harriet
Harriet works for Centre for Neighborhood Technology in Chicago. She is the director for CNT's program on water. Harriet previously worked for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, UK Government and she was Director of Communications and Engagement at the UK Government's Sustainable Development Commission.

Harriet has a Masters Degree in Sustainable Food Marketing from the University of London. As part of her studies, she was awarded a Winston Churchill fellowship to travel across the US to film and research farmers' markets. Her tour was filmed by the BBC and helped further the introduction of farmers' markets in the UK. Harriet is co-founder of the responsible travel company 'Insider Tours'.


Daisy
Daisy (Kumar and Harriet's eldest daughter) is a web graphic designer. She has designed her own website and also designs websites for other people. She has designed four websites so far. Her website is Daisy Vasanthakumar.

She is also a keen cook and loves trying out new recipes from cookbooks and the internet. She especially loves cooking cakes and puddings. She is now living in Evanston, Illinois with her family. During the weekends she goes out with the family for long cycle rides. She also goes with her dad to walk the dogs in the park twice a day.


Molly
Molly (Kumar and Harriet's youngest daughter) loves horses. She goes riding every Saturday and goes to visit Evita, a Lipizzaner mare that she is training, on Sunday's. Her bedroom is covered with pictures of horses and rosettes from shows. Since her newfound passion has started she has set her mind on being a vet.


TOURS THAT MAY INTEREST YOU...

Peru tours
Click here for our Peru Insider tours

North India tours
Click here for village homestay holiday - Eastern Himalayas
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