Brazil small group holiday, Pantanal explorer

Planet

This small tour has a maximum of 10 travellers, and our groups average only six clients with many tours operate on a private basis with just two travellers. This has much less impact when travelling through wetland and rural areas, reducing our environmental and social affects, which is especially important in environments like the Pantanal, home to many species of wildlife.

As this region is home to over 1000 species of birds and 300 mammels, we spend our time between an eco-friendly lodge and aboard an expedition vessel, to ensure we are minimizing our negative environmental impacts as much as possible and to not disturb or destroy any habitats and the environment.

Sustainability is a key focus for us and we work closely with our local team on being as sustainable as possible. Guests are encouraged to minimise their use of water, reuse towels, and sort their litter into the separate bins provided by the Pousada to reduce their impact on the environment.

The accommodation used has modern ecological sewage treatment system and solar powered water heating facilities.

Our guides will brief travellers on appropriate behaviour, both cultural and environmental, and when visiting this area of natural beauty we make a point of ensuring that we leave no permanent traces of our stay behind, taking all rubbish with us to protect these valuable tourist attractions.

Finally to emphasis our commitment to Responsible Tourism all clients will receive a copy of our Travellers Code of Conduct with their travel documents.

To minimise our carbon footprint, all vehicles used on the tour have low carbon emissions. Also, all city tours are done by walking to reduce our environmental impact, and we encourage walking instead of using vehicles. We work closely with our local suppliers to highlight best practice in terms of environmental issues.

Where possible we always take nature walks to view wildlife and birdlife rather than using vehicles.

The eco-lodge and the boat that are used in this tour predominantly use local produce in the preparation of meals, avoiding as much as possible bringing food from far away and thus reducing carbon footprints.

We only employ local staff and unlike many operators we believe that to send a foreign Tour Leader along to accompany your trip is an unnecessary burden on your wallet and our carbon footprint. We believe that locals know best.

People

Rio Mutum is also investing in the construction of the Associação Comunitária Cuiabá-Mirim, a local community centre which aims to offer courses and activities that will facilitate greater cultural and intellectual development in the area, and promote an exchange of experiences between locals and visitors.

Our philosophy is to only use small and locally owned suppliers, meaning that the income remains within the country and creates a real economic contribution. We also feel that the passion inherent within such suppliers means that your experience will be enhanced.

We aim to always treat our suppliers fairly and with respect; they are after all part of the key to our success and to us working together is much more than just a business arrangement, but an on going relationship that we aim to ensure truly benefits everyone involved.

We believe that tourism is a double edged sword that needs to be wielded very carefully. Our philosophy is to have a limited amount of departures – usually between one and three a year - for each of our itineraries. By limiting our presence in areas where local culture can be quite fragile, we hope to avoid as much as possible the phenomenon whereby an area changes in character due to repeated and prolonged exposure to tourism. We want to visit an area as friends, not intruders and to ensure that what we see will also be there for others to enjoy for many years to come.

Our local operators only use locally owned accommodation. This means your money stays in the area to benefit the local community. When possible we use local transport, (i.e. rail or bus) and we always use local restaurants, markets and shops and encourage our clients to interact both financially and socially with the communities that they are passing through. In doing this your travels are supporting and encouraging the development of local services.