Kashmir cultural holiday, India

Environment

In India we have developed unique relationships with many people, some of whom help us with our tours, others that simply live in the different regions to which we travel and through. Through our form of interactive, socially conscious tourism we have helped them adapt to the modern, changing world by providing an important additional income.

Our “Leave No Trace” ethic is applied to this trip to Kashmir. We have a strict environmental policy to make sure that the fragile eco-structure of the land is not damaged or spoilt in any way. Our guides are trained to uphold this policy and all clients are fully briefed on appropriate/responsible behaviour whilst in wilderness areas. This policy will be applied especially during nights when the group will be camping, such as on day 4 when they will camp on the edge of Manasbal Lake and day 5 camp will be set up on the edge of Walur Lake. The tour leader will ensure that the sites are left as tidy as they were before arrival, if not tidier to ensure the environment is totally unaffected by the groups presence.

When you take one of our trips, we make a contribution to “Carbon Clear” – an organisation who work with hundreds of organisations to measure their carbon footprint and reduce their carbon emissions.

We also support several NGOs around the world such as the TESFA community project in Ethiopia, Adopt-A-Minefield in Afghanistan and Children of the Caucasus a great little charity that helps orphaned children of Georgia and the Caucasus through art, theatre and education. All agencies and NGO's are carefully selected to improve the standard of living for the communities we visit.

Community

On this trip to Kashmir we employ the services of local guides and drivers, stay in locally owned houseboats, hotels and guesthouses – which diverts important funds directly into the area. The wonderful thing about this kind of interactive tourism is that everyone gains – the locals financially, and our clients with the unique experience and social interaction.

For three days the group will travel on the local boats - shikaras - north of Srinagar so money goes directly to the locals that run these boats. You will encounter the local Kashmiri people that make their living with their small shop boats selling all sorts from jewellery and flowers to pashminas and food that come straight to your shikara.

In India, we have implemented tree planting schemes (a hands on experience for some of our trips!) as well as helping directly with the financing of rural village schools. In Calcutta we support the Hope Foundation, an organisation devoted to helping and improving the living conditions of street children by offering education, health services and nutrition and to help give them a better chance in life.