Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
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Community
This venture supports the Puerto Lopez Volunteer Project. Working in partnership with the National Parks Authority, we have launched a number of initiatives to improve the park’s infrastructure to attract more visitors. Thus income is generated, which flows to local people in the form of guiding fees, mountain bike hire fees and accommodation fees. Simultaneously, a number of initiatives have been launched to improve the infrastructure for the communities that live within the NP boundaries.
Over the last three years we have organised three groups of eight volunteers per year, each staying for a four week period. That is three months continuous volunteer work per year, which allows an ambitious amount of work to be done. Most of the tasks are practical, which means that at the end of your time on project, you can stand back and see exactly what you’ve achieved. Classrooms and trails are permanent; once they are there, others will use them, others will derive value from them, others will earn an income from them, but they’ll all remember your contribution.
As well as our guides you are also accompanied by local guides and project partners. Groups are kept to a maximum of sixteen people, big enough to help the local communities, but not big enough to have a negative affect themselves.
All our development projects have been carefully chosen to satisfy several criteria. They are of definable and sustainable benefit to the indigenous community and allow us the opportunity to work in tandem with the host community. Funding for the projects comes directly from our Trust. For each person that joins us, we, as a company, give at least US $400 (GB £215) to the Trust. 100% of the money the Trust receives is spent on the projects.
All development projects are over-seen by a resident Project Manager whose role is to co-ordinate the adventures, the funding and the project's objectives. We are committed to direct patronage within the local economies of the countries in which we operate.
We pay local tutors to teach languages; accommodation throughout the adventure is in locally owned hostels or based in the project locations; and the entire expedition budget will be spent by the team at local "grass roots" level.
Environment
Back in the UK we also have our own environmental policy and we believe this is where responsible travel should start, prior to departure. It is simple things that help and perhaps the biggest impact in the office comes from recycling paper, as a rule where possible we print on both sides of paper and it is not until it is completely beyond use that we then send it to be recycled.
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!
