Java 13 day tour

Planet

Our ground agents offer trips in a number of countries in South East Asia and are dedicated to reducing their environmental impact in all their Asian destinations. Where the scheme exists they support a social enterprise called Naga Biofuel which collects used cooking oil from hotels to recycle into biodiesel and bio degreaser for engines of all sorts before selling it at lower prices to environmental NGOs. In the regional offices staff are asked to reduce the air-conditioning to actual temperature instead of having it on max (which tends to be the norm in Asia!) regardless of the weather. They are also asked to completely turn off all computers and printers at the end of each day (there was a tendency to leave them on standby) resulting in a huge saving of energy. Drivers are asked not to leave vehicles idling while waiting for clients.

Our ground agents run a number of charitable causes through their own in-house foundation. This foundation offers support to local communities along with wider field projects aimed to help the world at large. One of these is the Refill my Bottle schemes which originally started in Bali and is now expanding throughout Asia and worldwide. This initiative tackles the worldwide issue of plastic pollution by reducing the consumption of plastic water bottles. Local retail outlets, restaurants, hotels, bars, cafes can sign up to provide refill stations for travellers and locals. They can come in, refill their bottle for free (or a minimal fee) and save single-use plastic bottles. There are currently 360 refill stations in Indonesia with more businesses joining the movement all the time. outlets can be sourced through an App from their smartphones.

Our ground agents have also recently set up a new project in Indonesia: Kalaweit. Forests in Indonesia are increasingly being devastated annually by illegal logging and the encroachment of palm oil plantations. The Kalaweit project is made up of 3 reserves created as safe habitats for wild populations of gibbons and other wildlife. The project rescues captive gibbons and, in conjunction with the local government, protects these forest reserves and aims to purchase land to expand the reserves further. They also aim to raise awareness about wildlife protection in the region. For every booking to Indonesia we make a donation to the foundation to further their ability to purchase land.

One of the next projects our agents going to support is Gili Eco Trust in Gili Trawangan island. This small-scale organization has done many things in the island. Among others, they created a waste management project where there was previously no waste segregation or recycling available. They also campaign about environmental awareness on the island, train local people and hotels about waste management, raise awareness about turtle conservation, horse welfare and operate a sea coral restoration project.

Regarding internal awareness about single-use plastic, our agents have arranged a number of campaigns. They have now stopped distributing wet wipes to clients and they now give reusable bottles to group tour clients on some of their trips to replace plastic bottles. They are starting this summer with some individual travellers. In 2018 they had a Zero Waste speaker speaking during a company event and campaigned about such things as reusable lunch boxes (as styrofoam is commonly used in Indonesia) and encouraged them to take part in the 'No straw' challenge. They also work with a company collecting their waste for recycling at the office.

Our local agents have campaigned to the hotels they use to encourage them to avoid excessive plastic waste and to ask them to put water dispensers in their properties to allow guests to refill their refillable bottles. They also run an environmental training programme (along with other local agents) for hoteliers including training on waste management. This month they have launched an email campaign about single-use plastic in the restaurants that they work with.
During sustainability inspections in hotels, our agents ask about waste management and give them feedback on how to reduce the waste they produce, especially the plastic waste.

People

Fair salaries are paid to all employees and regular training is provided to support future career development. Only local guides who are aware of local customs and cultures are employed which not only keeps the funds paid to staff within the local community but also helps avoid any potential cultural clashes between visitors and locals. All guides are also required to sign an agreement with our ground agents agreeing not to take visitors in their charge to unplanned sites such as schools, orphanages etc or to ask for donations or tips.

Our ground agents have been a supporter of a charity called ChildSafe throughout a number of South East Asian countries, including Indonesia. They have been a member since 2012 with staff receiving ChildSafe training and have been worldwide certified since 2016. The charity aims to prevent urban children from being taken advantage of and helps to reintegrate children back into society. The charity offers 24hr hotlines and a support centre which provide medical, social and economic development support to these children. ChildSafe also provides guidelines for visitors, local businesses and communities to help them understand what they are doing and encourage them to report any concerns they may have about local youths in trouble.
Our local agents also operate events throughout the year designed to help their local communities. In 2018 staff members took part in a local community clean up with the guides and they also took part in a Run to Give event to the Bali Reforestation Festival.