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As a part of our continued commitment to responsible tourism, we operate this trip in a way that aims to reduce impacts and to give as much back as possible to the local communities. Whilst on this trip, clients can visit either or both of the following projects that we support.
Whilst staying at the gite in the mountains we will have the opportunity to visit the local school, which has been adopted by us as one of our Responsible Tourism projects. We have already supplied a water pipeline system to the village and a toilet block for the school and are keen to continue much much-needed improvements for the people of the village. You can help by donating money or by bringing along school items and clothing. Please ensure that anything you bring is passed to the teachers to distribute, and not directly to the children.
We support the Terre des Jeunes Project based just outside Marrakech. This project was set up to help young, underprivileged children, to be integrated back into society. The school gives these children a support network, offers them education along with the skills necessary to gain a gardening apprenticeship. The children are then supported in the task of finding employment at a local hotel. The projects aims are both to help these children and to promote environmental awareness. It is possible to visit the school whilst you are in Marrakech, and be shown round by one of the children.
We use a locally run operator, Dynamic, who employs local leaders. We have worked with Dynamic for well over 10 years and over this time have built up an excellent working relationship; we have regular training sessions with the local leaders to help them in all aspects of their jobs and to encourage them to think about the responsible tourism issues and to implement these ideas on the trips. Dynamic are also very keen to work with us on responsible tourism projects in Morocco. We are working on issues for example reducing our impact, by not buying plastic drinking bottles but developing a refill system on our centre based trips.
We use local leaders and they receive regular training, which covers all aspects of their jobs including Responsible Tourism and ensuring that all clients are given a responsible tourism briefing. Leaders are also encouraged to take all clients to visit our responsible tourism projects in the areas they visit. We use all locally owned and run accommodation on this trip. This contributes directly to the local communities as local staff are employed and locally produced and sourced goods are bought for the accommodation benefiting the wider community. In Tighza clients will stay in a local gite which provided direct benefit and employment to the local community, also in the visits of monuments in Marrakesh.
Small group sizes mean we can stay in small locally run accommodation in order to benefit the local communities more directly. Also means that the groups do not have a dramatic affect on the local communities in terms of litter and resources. We have at our offices worked to reduce our carbon footprint through a reduction of energy use and energy conservation measures. We also actively reduce the waste produced by having active reduction and recycling policies in place. We run annual staff workshops on Responsible Tourism. Global warming is a reality and to help you make a difference by reducing the carbon dioxide that is produced when you travel we offer a chance to carbon balance your flights. We encourage all our clients to do this and do so for all our staff travel.
The sales manager of this small group operator can still remember watching his first charging elephant in Africa with his father when he was 9 years old. He believes the world is the greatest classroom. A surprising amount of the staff, as well as some customers, have met their partners on trips and many have teenagers and younger children. They actually go on the holidays they provide with their families and so know exactly what works and what doesn’t. These active holidays will broaden your children’s horizons as well as ensure they sleep at the end of the day.
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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!
