Kalimantan tour, hidden Borneo

Environment

Nature conservation and animal welfare are absolutely vital on island of Borneo, as there are an endless amount of threats to the forest and its inhabitants such as logging, mining, human-animal conflict, poaching, the illegal pet trade, the animal entertainment industry and the biggest threat of all, deforestation to make way for palm oil plantations. Doing some reading and research before you leave for your trip, will help you to learn more about these threats and about what you can do to help. Enormous animal welfare and conservation efforts are being made by organizations such as International Animal Rescue and The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation. We visit and support BOSF projects during our trip.

The entrance fees that we pay when visiting areas dedicated to conservation and rehabilitation of wildlife, go towards this conservation and rehabilitation and towards the management of the parks and reserves.

To ensure we keep the natural environment as pristine and as safe as possible, we make sure we take all litter with us and dispose of it responsibly in larger cities and towns. We ask all of our travellers not to drop cigarette butts either and when purchasing food and other items, we avoid excess packaging.

Community

Keeping money in local economies and supporting tribal communities is also extremely important. We include homestays in our tour, where we spend time with these communities, taking the time to learn about their culture, traditions and way of life. Staying with tribal communities in their longhouses, not only helps to keep indigenous traditions alive but makes sure that small communities benefit from tourism income and that our money doesn't just go to large hotel chains.

Using local guides also ensures money stays within local economies and means we will be treated to such valuable, in-depth and honest knowledge which you perhaps wouldn’t get from a western guide. It also means we are keeping carbon emissions down.

Lastly, most people like to take photos, and it’s sometimes easy to forget that the photogenic person in front of you may not want their picture taken. We always ask if it’s okay, and respect their wishes if they say no.