Justin: article Times (Lean, Keen and Green)
Lean, keen and green
Most ‘responsible travel’ is booked by women. Tom Chesshyre charts the rise of the eco-babe
Wild at heart: Sarah Yearsley worked as a guide in an African lodge
MEN are from Mars and women care for planet Earth — that’s the message from eco-travel companies, who say that women now account for three-quarters of bookings.
About 75 per cent of sales on one of the UK’s leading on-line sustainable tourism agents — www.responsibletravel.co.uk — are to women, even though the founder of the site had never realised this before Times Travel asked him to break down his bookings. Justin Francis, of Responsible Travel: “I had no idea the trend was so strong. But there it is: women seem to care more when they go on holiday.”
Most are in their twenties, thirties and forties — a youthful lot indeed. Here we talk to five “eco- travel babes”.
SARAH YEARSLEY, 37, THERAPIST, LEWES, EAST SUSSEX
In 1992 I was working for a large marketing company. I hated it. I realised that I was in the wrong job; just selling things to people. I quit and went backpacking for three years. When I was in Africa I came across this great eco lodge. Everything was sustainable — eco-wise electricity, local products, and much of the profits spent on building local homes, schools and medical centres. Hundreds of people benefited.
I started working in one of the lodges, for a company called CC Africa, which ran them. I was a hostess, encouraging guests to visit villages near by and spend money in the shops. I ended up working for the company for two years, doing marketing and PR.
Now I’m back in the UK, I generally don’t go long distance in planes — I go walking in the UK and Europe. Although I did go on my honeymoon to an eco hotel called Nihiwatu on Sumba island in Indonesia. It’s very, very primitive, but very nice. A large chunk of the profits goes to a foundation that pays for children’s education and hospitals. Yet the place itself is so romantic.
My eco-tips
Stay at Nihiwatu in Indonesia — www.nihiwatu.com.
Go walking in Europe. The Alternative Travel Group is a good choice — www.atg-oxford.co.uk.
RACHEL BURGESS, 29, CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT, WOKING
Often when you go on holiday you can’t help but be keenly aware that the money you spend goes into Western corporate pockets rather than helping the local economy.
For example, my husband and I once went to this beautiful hotel on Bali which had its own swimming pool, but as soon as we ventured outside we were bombarded by people begging. The locals had to contend with cracked footpaths and weren’t even allowed to walk on their own beach.
Recently we wanted somewhere that was operated from a more ethical stance and so we settled on a farmhouse in the Algarve countryside.
There was a secluded beach near by where my son loved to play and it was quiet and peaceful. We were spared the more commercial, built-up side of the region. This little place also grows its own limited supply of organic vegetables, buys products from local markets, and is planning to introduce bio-diesel.
In the Algarve there is a lot of luxury holiday accommodation amid severe poverty. The managers of this enterprise are planning to put on courses in organic farming to help local youths. We felt more connected with the local community because we bought food from small shops rather than the nearby supermarket.
My eco-tips
Avoid flying. Now you can pay for your flight’s carbon emissions, around £25 per journey, but that is merely a conscience soother. I’ll think again before undertaking a long-haul flight.
Try Responsible Travel (www.responsibletravel.com), an on-line agent that is ideal for researching ethically acceptable tour operators.
Check out Tourism Concern’s website (www.tourismconcern.org.uk) for ethical travel tips.
My Algarve farm, just outside Lagos, was booked through Willing Workers on Organic Farms — www.wwoof.org.
LORRAINE DAMERELL, 20, GAP-YEAR STUDENT, KENT
I’ve always been quite conscientious about my impact on the environment. But my trips also have to appeal to me on another level — to be well organised, without any glitches.
I went on a trek up Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and what struck me was the amount of rubbish there. We were expressly told not to leave any rubbish, and yet people did. I was disappointed that people didn’t listen. You feel you put the effort in — why can’t everyone else do the same? There are hundreds of people on the mountain, so the path is quite visible. But at least it is contained erosion. The only way to preserve things is not to go there at all. But you have to draw the line between complete restraint and enjoying something. It should be about having a minimal impact.
I believe that trip did benefit the local people. Talking to the locals, I can see that Kilimanjaro generates a lot of wealth — enough for the guides to get an education down in Dar Es Salaam, and the tips we gave equated to a month and a half’s rent for a family.
Working on Kilimanjaro as a guide or porter can be equated to a student working in the local supermarket here in the UK to pay your fees. It was good to know I wasn’t just giving them money, but what they earned would be used towards their air fare to the university in Dar Es Salaam. And those porters really deserved it — they carried up to 20kg up the mountain on their backs.
I like physical exercise so I’ll always be drawn to adventure holidays. Next time around I can envisage myself doing aid work in the Andes or the Himalayas.
My eco-tips
Always remain aware of what you’re doing and try to retain a certain level of conscientiousness without hindering your enjoyment.
Aim to have “minimal impact”.
SAFIA MINNEY, 41, RUNS A FASHION COMPANY, SHOREDITCH
I hate big hotels — all that air-conditioning you often can’t turn off, and windows you can’t open. My big thing is to stay at eco lodges, or small family-run hotels — places with real food where you can sniff real air.
I recently went to this fantastic place in Laos called the Boat Landing. It was lovely: handwoven curtains and bed-linen, a laid-back atmosphere, all the food from local ingredients and everyone who worked there was local.
I fly a lot and that makes me feel guilty. But I’m not someone who joins one of those schemes to plant trees — that’s not my thing. Instead, my company is a big backer of the eco-movement. We handweave all our clothes, we don’t use big power looms. The wages go straight into the weavers’ pockets.
We operate in areas with bad unemployment, and many of these people would have been forced to cut down vegetation to survive if they didn’t have our jobs.
Whenever I can I use public transport — I’m always on bullet trains when I’m in Japan. I try to avoid airports, although it’s not easy with my job. The whole process of being herded through is so dehumanising. Maybe that’s why I like to stay in places run by real people when I arrive.
My eco-tips
Try the Boat Landing — www.theboatlanding. www.laopdr.com.
The Green Globe website, has eco-travel tips — www.greenglobe21.com.
Try a Japanese bullet train — www.japan-guide.com. NICOLA SCHOLFIELD, 29, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT, OXFORD
I always try to catch trains. Last year we went by train to the Amalfi coast in Italy via Paris and Rome. It took 24 hours, but we went on a sleeper, which broke it up. We also take the sleeper up to Fort William once or twice a year — you don’t really notice the time going by on that.
We’re planning to go to Australia next year, but I use a carbon-neutralising scheme to offset the emission damage — it will cost us about £25 each.
There is a website, www.wwoof.co.uk, which has great organic farms that offer accommodation. You help out on the farm for a few hours in the morning, then you do what you like in the afternoon.
I’ve weeded vegetable gardens in Cornwall, harvested olive trees and planted lemon trees in Andalusia, and taken supplies to isolated shepherds in the Pyrenees.
My eco-tips
Use the train more — see www.thetrainline.co.uk, www.raileurope.co.uk, www.eurostar.co.uk.
Or go by boat — see www.seat61.com.
Ride your bike — see www.sustrans.org.uk.
Use a carbon neutralising programme — see www.futureforests.com, www.climatecare.org.uk. Additional reporting by Elaine Mills
Most ‘responsible travel’ is booked by women. Tom Chesshyre charts the rise of the eco-babe
Wild at heart: Sarah Yearsley worked as a guide in an African lodge
MEN are from Mars and women care for planet Earth — that’s the message from eco-travel companies, who say that women now account for three-quarters of bookings.
About 75 per cent of sales on one of the UK’s leading on-line sustainable tourism agents — www.responsibletravel.co.uk — are to women, even though the founder of the site had never realised this before Times Travel asked him to break down his bookings. Justin Francis, of Responsible Travel: “I had no idea the trend was so strong. But there it is: women seem to care more when they go on holiday.”
Most are in their twenties, thirties and forties — a youthful lot indeed. Here we talk to five “eco- travel babes”.
SARAH YEARSLEY, 37, THERAPIST, LEWES, EAST SUSSEX
In 1992 I was working for a large marketing company. I hated it. I realised that I was in the wrong job; just selling things to people. I quit and went backpacking for three years. When I was in Africa I came across this great eco lodge. Everything was sustainable — eco-wise electricity, local products, and much of the profits spent on building local homes, schools and medical centres. Hundreds of people benefited.
I started working in one of the lodges, for a company called CC Africa, which ran them. I was a hostess, encouraging guests to visit villages near by and spend money in the shops. I ended up working for the company for two years, doing marketing and PR.
Now I’m back in the UK, I generally don’t go long distance in planes — I go walking in the UK and Europe. Although I did go on my honeymoon to an eco hotel called Nihiwatu on Sumba island in Indonesia. It’s very, very primitive, but very nice. A large chunk of the profits goes to a foundation that pays for children’s education and hospitals. Yet the place itself is so romantic.
My eco-tips
Stay at Nihiwatu in Indonesia — www.nihiwatu.com.
Go walking in Europe. The Alternative Travel Group is a good choice — www.atg-oxford.co.uk.
RACHEL BURGESS, 29, CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT, WOKING
Often when you go on holiday you can’t help but be keenly aware that the money you spend goes into Western corporate pockets rather than helping the local economy.
For example, my husband and I once went to this beautiful hotel on Bali which had its own swimming pool, but as soon as we ventured outside we were bombarded by people begging. The locals had to contend with cracked footpaths and weren’t even allowed to walk on their own beach.
Recently we wanted somewhere that was operated from a more ethical stance and so we settled on a farmhouse in the Algarve countryside.
There was a secluded beach near by where my son loved to play and it was quiet and peaceful. We were spared the more commercial, built-up side of the region. This little place also grows its own limited supply of organic vegetables, buys products from local markets, and is planning to introduce bio-diesel.
In the Algarve there is a lot of luxury holiday accommodation amid severe poverty. The managers of this enterprise are planning to put on courses in organic farming to help local youths. We felt more connected with the local community because we bought food from small shops rather than the nearby supermarket.
My eco-tips
Avoid flying. Now you can pay for your flight’s carbon emissions, around £25 per journey, but that is merely a conscience soother. I’ll think again before undertaking a long-haul flight.
Try Responsible Travel (www.responsibletravel.com), an on-line agent that is ideal for researching ethically acceptable tour operators.
Check out Tourism Concern’s website (www.tourismconcern.org.uk) for ethical travel tips.
My Algarve farm, just outside Lagos, was booked through Willing Workers on Organic Farms — www.wwoof.org.
LORRAINE DAMERELL, 20, GAP-YEAR STUDENT, KENT
I’ve always been quite conscientious about my impact on the environment. But my trips also have to appeal to me on another level — to be well organised, without any glitches.
I went on a trek up Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and what struck me was the amount of rubbish there. We were expressly told not to leave any rubbish, and yet people did. I was disappointed that people didn’t listen. You feel you put the effort in — why can’t everyone else do the same? There are hundreds of people on the mountain, so the path is quite visible. But at least it is contained erosion. The only way to preserve things is not to go there at all. But you have to draw the line between complete restraint and enjoying something. It should be about having a minimal impact.
I believe that trip did benefit the local people. Talking to the locals, I can see that Kilimanjaro generates a lot of wealth — enough for the guides to get an education down in Dar Es Salaam, and the tips we gave equated to a month and a half’s rent for a family.
Working on Kilimanjaro as a guide or porter can be equated to a student working in the local supermarket here in the UK to pay your fees. It was good to know I wasn’t just giving them money, but what they earned would be used towards their air fare to the university in Dar Es Salaam. And those porters really deserved it — they carried up to 20kg up the mountain on their backs.
I like physical exercise so I’ll always be drawn to adventure holidays. Next time around I can envisage myself doing aid work in the Andes or the Himalayas.
My eco-tips
Always remain aware of what you’re doing and try to retain a certain level of conscientiousness without hindering your enjoyment.
Aim to have “minimal impact”.
SAFIA MINNEY, 41, RUNS A FASHION COMPANY, SHOREDITCH
I hate big hotels — all that air-conditioning you often can’t turn off, and windows you can’t open. My big thing is to stay at eco lodges, or small family-run hotels — places with real food where you can sniff real air.
I recently went to this fantastic place in Laos called the Boat Landing. It was lovely: handwoven curtains and bed-linen, a laid-back atmosphere, all the food from local ingredients and everyone who worked there was local.
I fly a lot and that makes me feel guilty. But I’m not someone who joins one of those schemes to plant trees — that’s not my thing. Instead, my company is a big backer of the eco-movement. We handweave all our clothes, we don’t use big power looms. The wages go straight into the weavers’ pockets.
We operate in areas with bad unemployment, and many of these people would have been forced to cut down vegetation to survive if they didn’t have our jobs.
Whenever I can I use public transport — I’m always on bullet trains when I’m in Japan. I try to avoid airports, although it’s not easy with my job. The whole process of being herded through is so dehumanising. Maybe that’s why I like to stay in places run by real people when I arrive.
My eco-tips
Try the Boat Landing — www.theboatlanding. www.laopdr.com.
The Green Globe website, has eco-travel tips — www.greenglobe21.com.
Try a Japanese bullet train — www.japan-guide.com. NICOLA SCHOLFIELD, 29, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT, OXFORD
I always try to catch trains. Last year we went by train to the Amalfi coast in Italy via Paris and Rome. It took 24 hours, but we went on a sleeper, which broke it up. We also take the sleeper up to Fort William once or twice a year — you don’t really notice the time going by on that.
We’re planning to go to Australia next year, but I use a carbon-neutralising scheme to offset the emission damage — it will cost us about £25 each.
There is a website, www.wwoof.co.uk, which has great organic farms that offer accommodation. You help out on the farm for a few hours in the morning, then you do what you like in the afternoon.
I’ve weeded vegetable gardens in Cornwall, harvested olive trees and planted lemon trees in Andalusia, and taken supplies to isolated shepherds in the Pyrenees.
My eco-tips
Use the train more — see www.thetrainline.co.uk, www.raileurope.co.uk, www.eurostar.co.uk.
Or go by boat — see www.seat61.com.
Ride your bike — see www.sustrans.org.uk.
Use a carbon neutralising programme — see www.futureforests.com, www.climatecare.org.uk. Additional reporting by Elaine Mills