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Rickshaw 'sustainable' TravelIndependent travel to far-away destinations is a great way to meet people of different cultures. Allow yourself to be surprised by the unique way of life close to nature, different religions and the simplicity of life. Many people appreciate these aspects of independent travel, enjoy the beauty it exudes and recognize how it puts their own lives in perspective. We believe that the essence of sustainable travel is creating and maintaining positive introductions to new countries. This manner of travel generates respect and a greater knowledge of other cultures.Local partners...? As an organisation focussed on sustainable travel we maintain high standards when selecting local partnerships. We also evaluate what the effect of tourism is on the travel destinations we offer trips to. We select local travel agents that have a good sense of the country and who put the needs of their people ahead of all else. For instance, we are affiliated with the IMEC (International Mountain Explorers) for our Kilimanjaro treks. This organisation cares for the proper wages and proper working conditions for carriers and mountain guides. They also arrange for a tree to be planted for ever person that climbs the mountain, so that every person can make a positive contribution in the fight against climate problems. |
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And the local population? We are an organisation that promotes independent travel by individual travellers. Every traveller makes his or her own choices own how they wish to travel and what they wish to contribute to the country they are visiting. We often include small projects focussed on interaction between travellers and locals to our travel programmes. For instance, in Vietnam travellers can go on a boat ride through the small canals of the Mekong. This river and its enormous delta with fertile grounds provides prosperity for southern Vietnam; one of the most important export products is rice. Travellers pass by floating markets and get to know the local population living along the banks for the river. We provide small-scale accommodation in small villages as often as possible. This encourages contact with the local population; they will become more involved with tourism in their area and profit by it. We also select aid projects for each destination that travellers can participate in. These are usually small-scale projects benefiting schools, clinics or orphanages in which travellers can make a positive contribution to the project. For an overview of the aid projects that Rickshaw supports, have a look at our Rickshaw aid projects web page. Naturally we will respect the choice of those travellers that wish to keep their charity donations and travel separate. |
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And the environment? Rickshaw also strives to support companies that compensate for environmental problems created by international travel. Rickshaw is definitely aware of the negative impact that long flights have on the environment at our travel destinations. However we also maintain high standards when selecting environmental compensation projects to support. There are at least 80 organisations worldwide that provide a means for consumers to compensate for their contribution to environmental pollution by flying. The only problem is that each organisation maintains different measurement and calculation methods. However, we have found several organisations that have proven to have a positive impact on the environment. On option for flight pollution compensation involves the Trees for Travel, a non-profit organisation. Their goals is to sustain more forests, increase the usage of sustainable energy and decrease the emissions of greenhouse gasses. More information is available on www.treesfortravel.info. Additionally, the organisation Green Seat also provides a valid option for compensation of travel pollution. Visit www.greenseat.com and you can easily transform your ‘polluting airplane seat’ into a ‘green environment friendly seat’. Aside from these organisations you can also help improve environment conditions using your credit card on http://www.myclimate.org/index.php?lang=en. Our goal is to help travellers have incredible journeys, filled with endearing experiences and which leave them feeling good about the country and the culture they visited. If we’re able to do all of this while ensuring sustainable and constructive travel, all of our efforts have been worthwhile. |