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By supporting locally owned hotels and homestays we are helping to provide employment for local communities. All of the accommodation owners on this tour are extremely proud of their strong policies regarding the environment and ecotourism.
Ideal Beach Resort is a privately owned resort right on the beach. It is a friendly place with a range of accommodation.
The Dune is an eco hotels. There is a very long list of environmental benefits offered by the owner and staff of this hotel including the fact that they were built using reclaimed and recycled materials, not one tree was cut down, all kitchen waste is converted to compost which they use on their organic farm, etc. In addition to the environmental responsibility The Dune is actively involved with the local communities in the field of education, local capacity building, vocational training and rehabilitation following the 2004 tsunami. These activities are carried out under an Indian trust – ‘Children of the World’ (supported by the French Red Cross).
Tanjor Hi is part of The Dune group (see above). It is a new and stylish 'eco city hotel' with just 15 rooms.
Visalam is part of CGH Earth which is a group of hotels that has won many awards for their environmental policies. The family that own and manage the group are fully committed to responsible tourism and their hotels have a wide range of environmentally friendly features including – water harvesting, organic gardens for vegetables, worm farms, bio-gas converters etc. Visalam was built in the 1930s and was the ancestral home of a local trading family. The conversion to a hotel was carried out extremely sympathetically and the building retains its original features.
Kadambavanam is an ethnic resort built alongside a Cultural Centre. Both the cultural centre and the hotel are the brainchild of the delightful husband and wife team - Ganapathy and Chitra. They had the idea of promoting and protecting the cultural heritage of Tamil Nadu (said to be one of the oldest continuous cultures in the world). They started with the Cultural Centre which is well placed in central Tamil Nadu – just a short distance from the pilgrimage city of Madurai. Once that was completed they started work on the adjacent resort. With Ganapathy’s background in architecture designing the villas was not a problem – but as well as designing comfortable rooms he has also ensured that they are environmentally friendly. We have given you two nights at this resort to allow enough time to visit the Shri Meenakshi Temple in Madurai and experience many of the activities on offer at the Cultural Centre. Activities include – music and dance, folk art, traditional sports etc. The food served is also traditional and authentic. Kadambavanam has only been open for a short time but already our customers love it.
Shenbaga Vilaasam was built in the early 1900s and is the beautiful farm house of a traditional family who want to share with their guests the authentic South Indian experience. The owners decided to share their heritage home with guests just a few years ago and staying here offers a wonderful insight into the culture and traditions of the area. There are just four rooms with air-conditioning and attached facilities. The cuisine is local and vegetarian only. This tour includes two nights at Shenbaga which allows a full day of discovery. Many activities are offered (including a variety of crafts, walks through the farmland and local villages, folk dances etc) and we urge you to pack in as many as possible.
Kurumba Village is a small, privately owned hotel situated on the steep hill that leads to Ooty (32 kms uphill from here). The Kurumbas are one of the five ancient tribes of the area. The Kurumbas are known for their affinity with nature and this was why the name was chosen for this hotel. Accomodation is in cottages and the setting is spectacular.
The ground handling of this tour is provided by our local agent and we supply him with more than 90% of his turnover. All of the drivers and staff are local people. Thus we have fifteen local families that are directly financially reliant upon us. Our drivers have a contract and are paid a monthly wage. This is very unusual in South India where most drivers are normally employed on a commission-only basis (not easy for such seasonal work).
All of the guides we use are local. Tailor-made vacations cater for couples or small groups and this means that our customers have the opportunity to interact with the locals. All of our customers are supplied with detailed information about their vacation. We supply general advice relevant to all customers as well as more specific facts about your particular tour. These documents offer our customers lots of advice and guidance including how to obtain an Indian Visa, which immunisations are recommended, how much to tip people, how to dress appropriately and how to behave in National Parks.
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!
