Sikkim & Kolkata cultural tour in India

Planet

1. Our environmental responsibility starts from the office. All our communication within and outside the office is paperless. We also encourage remote work and working from home in our team to avoid traveling every day.

2. Each guest gets a high-quality NSF-certified reusable water bottle with an integrated filter that removes 99.9% of bacteria and viruses and filters up to 800 L of water (saving up to 1,600 single-use plastic bottles) before replacement.

3. Our village accommodations use organic composting to process the waste produced. The farming that you will be participating in has been transformed into organic over the last couple of years. Previously, pesticides were used, which had rendered the land useless. But slowly, the land has now revived due to organic plantations.

4. We do not use any unethical practices to lure wildlife on the Menam La trek. Any interactions you have with animals ensure that they are not harmed or exploited.

5. The raw material for meals is sourced locally. Not only is it fresh, but it also reduces the fuel emissions caused by transportation from long distances.

6. All our vehicles comply with the recent emission standards applicable in India. Drivers are trained to drive within speed limits to optimise emissions. As per the latest norms, all passenger vehicles use up to 20% ethanol-blended fuel, further reducing tailpipe emissions.

7. Sikkim is the first state in India to officially renounce the use of any pesticides and fully revert to organic farming. Your tour supports the initiative at each step.

People

1. The accommodations in Sikkim are family-owned and have hospitality training. Therefore, you needn’t worry about hygiene and food. The earnings from your tour are shared directly with the accommodation owners and tour guides from the village. Over the years, we have been able to develop a sense of pride together with the community, which has inspired the youth to stay back in the villages. Some of our guides are also doing a master's course in their tribal languages.

2. The activities designed for you involve local families as much as possible to utilize their skills in weaving and wood carving. Women are involved in handicrafts like carpets and local dresses. We opt for gender neutral employment. 100% of earnings from any handicrafts that you choose to buy go to the artisan working with the Self Help Group (SHG). The earnings are also partially put into the community development fund used for planting trees, maintenance of homestays, and as an emergency corpus.

3. Drivers and guides are from the local community and are given fair wages, which are decided on a per-day basis so that you are not overcharged at any point. The drivers and guides are trained in hygiene, communication, hosting, and other factors necessary to give you an extraordinary experience.

4. Rather than painting only a rosy picture, we also share the social and economic issues of the tribes with you. These issues could be about rural-to-urban migration for employment, women and children, education, environment, and more. It helps you form a 360-degree viewpoint of the community and the place.

5. The storytelling element in our trips helps you form deeper connections with the community, thus enriching both the traveler and the host. Storytelling also helps in creating mutual respect.

6. It is common to see the active involvement of the community, irrespective of gender, in decision-making, managing guests, finances, and raising the family.