Discover eight ways in which you can give back to the local communities on a tailor-made vacation with Audley.
Kate with a local in Myanmar
With so much to take away from a vacation, it is often nice to be able to give something back to the people, communities and wildlife that make your trip so memorable.
Here are eight suggestions of how you can give something back, as selected by our specialists.
Work alongside the coffee growers in Antigua, Guatemala
As Green as it Gets (GAIG) is a charity working to support small independent coffee producers and promoting environmentally responsible agriculture in Guatemala. Visit one of the families supported by this organization, where you will be able to work side-by-side with small coffee farmers in their daily coffee processing. This tour includes a donation to GAIG and the organization is also supported by the Viaventure Foundation on an annual basis.
After the devastating effects of Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, Audley wanted to raise funds to help a community affected by one of the worst natural disasters of all time. After months of fundraising and the hard work of a local contractor and workforce, a small primary school in Paya Ngoto village was rebuilt. At the school, you will have chance to meet all of the children and school teachers, as well as observing lessons and helping the children with their studies. This is a project of which we are immensely proud.
Visit the Mongolian Quilting Centre, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
The Mongolian Quilting Centre is a registered NGO which aims to improve the livelihood of women in Mongolia. Through the sale of hand made quilts the women who are associated with the center are able to generate a valuable additional income which has become essential to many as a way of supporting their families. A visit to the center provides a wonderful opportunity to meet with some of the women that take part and perhaps to purchase some of their wonderful work.
Look after elephants at the Elephant Nature Foundation, Chiang Mai, Thailand
The Elephant Nature Foundation is a non-profit organization that advocates and acts on behalf of rights for elephants in Thailand. The park offers visitors a rare experience to get involved with the elephants from an educational perspective. You have an opportunity to feed the elephants some of the fruit that you helped to buy from the local market and listen to tales from the park specialists on the biology, psychology and behavior of the elephants. After lunch you have the opportunity to bathe the elephants in the local river.
For each guest that Audley sends to stay with Norman Carr safaris in Zambia, we contribute US$20 per person to their tree planting scheme. This equates to around 10-15 trees for every Audley client. Currently we estimate to have planted over 400 trees so far. The scheme is intended to act on lots of levels, to offset carbon emissions and also to discourage deforestation in Zambia currently and in the future.
Visit The Pebbles Project in the Winelands, South Africa
The Pebbles Project is a registered non-profit organization that supports children living in the Winelands in South Africa. Visit three wine farms and taste their delicious wines but also spend time visiting the crèches and after-school clubs on each farm and get involved with a range of fun activities with the children. The Pebbles Project works with farm owners to develop their farm worker communities, focusing particularly on the education of the children.
Support the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, Jordan
The RSCN runs five main reserves in Jordan, and has followed a very successful model pioneered in the Dana Nature Reserve, where the local Bedouin are actively involved in the running and managing of the reserves. As well as protecting areas of beauty, collectives of local women manufacture traditional jewelry which can be purchased in the reserves or at the Wild Jordan Center in Amman with the profits going directly to the women involved.
Volunteer at the Chivaree Camp at Cape York, Australia
Work with indigenous rangers, researchers and scientists to learn, in a hands-on manner, about the environment and its conservation. It is a chance to discover more about the local ecosystem and the delicate balance required to ensure the future of the turtles that nest around Cape York. The number of turtles has decreased dramatically due to low reproductive success and high juvenile mortality, as well as adult turtles being entangled and drowned in ghost nets, and feral pigs destroying nests.
