Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
The Pousada partners aim to “create alternative income sources which lead to a sustainable development of the region whilst preserving its unique beauty, natural variety and cultural identity”. The Pousada employs 25 staff, all of whom come from the local area. They have a staff nursery at their onsite company office, and have established a school for the local residents. The school is aimed at young adults who do not have a proper education because for a few months each year they are unable to attend the school in Maraú because the road is impassable.
We were voted most responsible tour operator by UK NGO Tourism Concern. On average 75% of the cost of your trip with us - excluding flights - remains in the destination.
Flights are automatically carbon offset through The Travel Forest, which plants 10 indigenous trees on your behalf (currently in northern Tanzania). Whilst the primary motivation for planting the trees is to offset carbon emissions, the project also works as a poverty alleviation and environmental improvement scheme.
Our local operator in Brazil reinforces practices considered fundamental for environmental conservation and works to inform visitors, local staff and the population in general. They are one of the country leaders in ecotourism and one of the company directors is president of the Brazilian Bureau of Ecotourism. The company was founded to supply nature studies trips for students in the preserved areas of the country such as the Amazon and Pantanal. Though the company now also has an incoming tourism department there is still a very active study trips department. They strongly believe that these trips should promote the sensitivity of students towards nature preservation, present and promote models and techniques of sustainable exploration of natural resources and stimulate the sponsorship of local projects. The contact between urban students and local communities brings a possibility of development of other social and economic relations that value cultures and, at the same time, their peoples.
Amanda set up this adventure tour operators with her husband in 1998 because she wanted to involve local people in offering authentic travel experiences. She believes in sticking closely with who you want to work with and maintains strong relationships with her staff. As a result, her holidays offer imaginative itineraries with unusual add-ons, thanks to the interesting links with grass roots companies. Amanda is passionate about green travel and has her own travel foundation which promotes sustainability. She and her staff work hard to 'keep it real' so that your holiday leaves you truly inspired.
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
