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Sustainable Travel Policy

Social Responsibility
Economic Responsibility
Environmental Responsibility
Code of Conduct
  • All accommodations we offer to guests are personally reviewed by our team.
  • We ensure that local SHG/ NGO, managing a group of homestays is consistently contributing towards the sustainable development of the community.
  • Our accommodations are run by families with local staff.
  • We also look at how the family is involved in the development of the local community.
  • Our village experiences are based on ‘storytelling’ rather than sightseeing. This is to ensure a real cultural exchange.
  • We encourage the participation of women in decision making and entrepreneurship.
  • We discourage visits to orphanages. Our school visits by guests are limited to volunteering for an activity. We do not encourage building an emotional connection with children.
  • No animals are subject to cruelty on our tours. We observe them in their natural habitat and do not provide them with bait.
  • We visit local craft centers run by SHGs to facilitate interaction between guests and artisans. We also advise guests to buy products from these centers if they choose to.
  • Our community homestay programs are managed by a rotation system. This ensures that each homestay owner gets an equal opportunity.
  • All the stakeholders including guides, drivers, and homestay hosts are paid a fair wage that is agreed with the community.
  • Our gifts to the travelers we host are sourced directly from village artisans. They are bio-degradable, ethnic, ethically sourced, and provide direct income to the families.
  • 10% of the fee paid by the guests we host is invested in the village level community welfare projects such as –
    – Training of stakeholders for community-based tourism best practices.
    – Homestay maintenance.
    – Tree plantation drives.
  • The vehicles we use are compliant with the latest emission standards in India.
  • The drivers are trained to handle the vehicle for optimum fuel consumption especially in mountains.
  • We use recyclable bags to collect trash (if any) that is generated while traveling or at a destination.
  • We don’t use single-use plastic bottles. Guests are either advised to bring their own reusable water bottles, or we provide them on the tour.
  • Our back-office and field operations are 100% paper-free. All client communication, invoicing, and documentation is done electronically.
  • We encourage the guests to not purchase any food items in villages that are packaged in plastic. Eg. chips, biscuits. Rather we provide local snacks.
  • During our outdoor activities, we ensure that we dress to blend in with the environment and cause minimal damage to the flora.
  • We try to use solar lighting and heating wherever possible in the Himalayas. We encourage bathing rather than a shower to conserve water.
  • Wherever solar power isn’t available, we encourage energy-efficient LED lights over CFL lamps.
  • All the raw material we use for cooking is sourced locally.
  • Most of our accommodations are run by local families, not by hired staff. We will encourage and inform the guests about the local customs.
  • Our holidays are in regions that cannot afford non-biodegradable waste. We will inform and guide you about managing waste accordingly.
  • We suggest refraining from wearing bright clothes that do not blend in with nature for activities such as nature walks and birding.
  • We help facilitate meaningful conversations about local customs and beliefs to develop mutual respect and understanding.
  • Buy Local – We take you to locally run community projects and encourage you to buy any handicrafts (if you choose to) directly from the artisans.
  • Eat Local – We source all raw material locally and encourage you to try local cuisine at all places.
  • Stay Tout Free – The locations you travel to are free of touts. We still encourage you not to buy anything offered on the street or encourage begging.
  • Drink Responsibly – Relax! We will not stop you from consuming alcohol but we encourage you to drink responsibly and even try some of the local brews that we provide for tasting on the tour. We suggest not to buy any alcohol offered as ‘local drink’ from anyone in the village.
  • Lastly, we encourage you to share about us with your friends and family and help them travel sustainably to real India.

UNSDG we meet

SDG logo

 

The activities we do as part of our tours and the Self Help Groups (SHGs) we support help meet the following UN Sustainable Development Goals.

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