Everest family holiday in Nepal

We stay in locally owned hotels and tea-houses and we travel in small groups. We use a locally run Nepalese agency who, on our behalf, employs local drivers, Local Group Leaders, porters and sirdar. This fulfils part of our commitment to make a positive contribution to the local economy and is the best way of ensuring that our money reaches as many people as possible. Local overseas leaders offer a great way to find out more about the local culture, speak the language, understand the day-to-day life around them and help to ‘open doors’ to a fuller experience. Without our employment many would be living a subsistence living as hill farmers and many of the tea-house owners now gain their sole income from trekkers.

Together with our local agent in Nepal we have built a community / sports facility that can be used by schools and villagers in surrounding areas. It consists of a football pitch and centre, with the primary aim of creating a club around sports activities and teaching practical skills that will help communities operate as just that. We donate $5 per person that travels with us to Nepal which helps to continue this most worthwhile of projects.

Our responsible travel code: Clients who travel with us will automatically receive a copy of our Responsible Travel leaflet. This contains details and advice on how you can make a positive difference when you travel. If you would like a copy in advance of travel please contact us.

Charity partnerships: The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that helps animals in need around the world through animal rescues, anti-poaching, support for animal sanctuaries, endangered species conservation, education and public awareness. We ask clients to use their Travellers’ Alert function to which you can report cruelty to animals worldwide and also we visit Ngamba Island, a Born Free supported Chimpanzee Sanctuary, on our Uganda trips. We also support Friends of Conservation – an international charity committed to working with local people to develop a balance between their needs and the wildlife with which they share the natural habitat and ecosystems.

Carbon balancing: We offset all of our staff travel, both for commuting to work and overseas trips. We also pay £2 per person to partially offset the carbon used in the destination that they are travelling to. We think that offsetting carbon should be a choice made by the individual traveller therefore we ask clients if they would like to augment this £2 with a further contribution. Similarly we ask if you would like to offset your flights – we have set bandings given to us by our Carbon balancing partners - Blue Ventures Carbon Offset and Climate Care.

Our foundation: We ask our clients if they would like to donate to our Foundation. Small donations of £1 per person build up quickly and we are able to give one off donations to various small-scale projects worldwide. Recently these have included installing heating in a school in the High Atlas, Morocco, providing school equipment for a new school building in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon and providing playground equipment for children at a community centre in northern Tanzania.