Volunteer

Volunteer

How this holiday makes a difference

Environment
This venture supports the Ecoan Project. Project Aims: To conserve the remaining Polylepis forest through community development activities and to reforest selected areas with new Polylepis groves

ECOAN are a specialist organisation, based in Peru. Their resources are limited but their connection to local communities is strong and their dialogue is on-going. We are able to mount about four expeditions a year to support this project and the funds we bring with us help to fund ECOAN during times of the year when we are not there.

Local people have a stake in this project because they help with the re-planting as well as hosting the travellers and making on-going use of the salon communal. They protect young trees throughout the year and the children gather seedlings throughout the year which they can redeem against toys, throughout the year. Most sustainable of all is the conservation lesson that the children are part of. Caring for the environment is best taught to youngsters, so that as they grow up, living responsibly and sustainably become second nature. This is a long term goal, but the most important objective of all.

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.

Community
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 the 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.

Volunteer