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Booking our Thailand trip is not just treating yourself to a luxury alternative holiday - you’ll also be joining a 30-year tradition of working together to maintain a responsible lifestyle. We aim to create a total living experience which can lead to changes beneficial both to the individual and to the world we live in.
As part of your booking, you will be provided with a copy of the company philosophy which emphasises being rather than having, doing rather than consuming, and cooperating rather than competing. Community meetings give all participants a chance to talk to each other and to have a say in the structure of their daily life. You will be provided with pre-trip information on the host community to raise cultural awareness and help you to make decisions on how to integrate responsibly and your host will give you a Responsible Travel briefing including practical advice on social interaction with the local people.
During your holiday you will have opportunities to learn some local language and eat locally-sourced organic national cuisine. We use a locally-owned operator for the coach and ferry transfer from Bangkok. Our participants are encouraged to give local nationals English lessons as an alternative to the work contribution expected at our other sites – this is a way of contributing to the host community by improving employment prospects. We have a policy of employing and training local admin assistants and previous Thai employees have gone on to achieve good positions in the local travel industry.
The Resort itself also:
- Recycles plastic waste
- Turns all its kitchen waste into fertilizer
Our commitment to positive action is not restricted to our holiday destinations. At our administrative offices various environmental policies are in place, including:
- All single sided printed material is stapled into booklets and re-used for notepaper
- All staff living within a 3 mile radius have elected to walk to work
- We have made available downloadable versions of literature from our site to reduce reliance on printed brochures and encourage online booking as an alternative to paper-based methods
- Waste materials are sorted for recycling wherever possible Staff, guests and suppliers are also actively encouraged to suggest further ways in which we can increase our environmental responsibility.
Established in 1979 by an American psychologist Dr Dina Glouberman and Greek journalist Dr Yannis Andricopoulos, we were Europe's first-ever alternative holiday centre and remain a world leader. We pioneered the concept of educational holidays and a classical Greek holistic community in exquisite locations. We strive to provide this within community structures which have been copied all over the world. The benefits of the holiday include learning new skills and experiences, new friendships and relationships, new interests, a fresh outlook or even a whole new way forward. Our goal is that this is a holiday you will take home with you.
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