Laos cycling & village experience tour

Planet

We offers high quality bikes for your tour which means less scrap is generated by having to constantly buy replacement parts. Bikes undergo strict maintenance protocol with an emphasis on maintaining top performance & repairing existing parts. This tour utilizes "people power" in the form of cycles & kayaks in every possible location to reduce the use of fossil fuels. We encourage guests to refill their water bottles as often as desired at each homestay location where we provide filtered water refill stations. The homestay buildings in village have been built using eco-construction guidelines with materials such as adobe bricks made in the village with materials available in the village. Each eco-bungalow was built by volunteer labor in conjunction with the villagers under the guidance of an eco-construction expert. Additional buildings in the Houy Fai village are currently being constructed using water bottles collected during organized clean up efforts of the surrounding area.

Eco Bungalows do not offer air conditioning which is known to be a high energy consumption appliance. As a result of the use of adobe bricks in their construction, there is no need for air conditioning as the adobe acts as a natural insulation to help regulate temperatures. Further, the materials for the building of each Eco Bungalow were sourced from the village or nearby villages in order to eliminate the need for large trucks to carry materials from Luang Prabang or farther. All meals at the homestays are made of locally grown or sourced vegetables & meats. It is common for the meals at homestays to be majority vegetables as meat can be a costly luxury, often if there is fish provided, it has been wild caught by the villagers. Ingredients such as cheese are not included in local cuisine. All guides for this tour are local people; therefore, eliminating the need to bring people in via plane or other vehicles.

People

Each of the 3 homestays are at Eco Bungalows constructed on request from the villagers using volunteer labor & in some cases, the villagers have also participated when it did not interfere with their farming or daily life activities. The advantages of clay to make adobe bricks include being made from locally sourced materials which lowers costs and their efficiency as an insulator; clay keeps interiors cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Further, using the adobe bricks does not pollute the environment.

Long Lao Mai, like most rural villages in Laos, is a subsistence farming community. Over 96 families live in the village, most without an additional source of income. Its location at the start of a scenic trekking route to Kuang Si waterfalls brings the village a steady stream of travelers. Seeing an opportunity to harness Long Lao Mai’s potential for the benefit of the villagers, the Eco Bungalow was strategically placed & is a year round income-generating operation owned and managed by the community.

Nong Khuay is a Khmu and Hmong village, a total of 47 families live together in this community. Like Long Lao Mai, this community depends on their farms for sustenance & income. Unlike Long Lao Mai, this community is far from the main road & has no tourists passing through. This is the most remote of all the villages we work with. The Eco Bungalow has given them a way of accessing tourism. Without the volunteers or tourists the community would not have this option.