In rural areas of Ghana, the Student and Youth Travel Organization (SYTO) works to arrange volunteering trips, internships, homestays and cultural exchanges for foreign visitors. To reach and get around the most remote and underserved villages of rural Ghana, these visitors need transportation on which they can rely; however, they often find that there is nothing suitable in their village destinations.
Read the full story »
Connecting travelers with inspiring ecotourism initiatives in destinations around the world.
Ecotourism best practice stories, uniting conservation, communities and sustainable travel.
By Leanne Haigh, Project Development Manager at Acacia Africa
Voluntourism has generated a new wave in travel, the growing feel good factor creating opportunities for the everyday traveller and not just the career minded charity worker. But the question remains, can you make a difference when you’re a short-term tourist?
By Mary Kuhner
Celebrating 35 years of research and education at the edge of the Arctic, the Churchill Northern Studies Centre (CNSC) recently cut the tape on its state-of-the-art 27,000 square-foot facility. In keeping with its mission to understand and sustain the North and to live sustainably on the fragile tundra, the new building is on track to obtain Manitoba’s northernmost LEED Gold certification. The CNSC reduces both the high cost of operating in the North and reliance on outside services and utilities.
This holiday season, turn your gift-shopping experience into a unique opportunity to support innovative businesses that embrace sustainability practices and to promote fun and practical eco-friendly products – as well as sharing some holiday cheer with your loved ones. You can also use your holiday gift giving as a way to educate your friends and family about eco-friendly practices, inventive use of sustainable materials, and creative ways to reuse and recycle used items and help divert waste from landfill.
Village Earth, a non-profit organization that provides sustainable international development training programs, is offering a new online course “Tourism and Development” as a part of the Community-based Development Certificate Program in partnership with Colorado State University. This course runs 5-weeks from January 6 – February 10, 2012. All registration is done online and the deadline to register is December 30, 2011. The course is about tourism and its impacts within the framework of community-based development.
On July 29, 2012, The Squaxin Island Tribe will host the Paddle to Squaxin 24th Annual Canoe Journey, an inter-tribal celebration of Pacific Northwest canoe culture and tradition. More than 100 canoes will land at the Port of Olympia, in Washington state, with thousands of people joining together to welcome each arrival. For centuries, Pacific Northwest tribal people navigated the waterways in intricately carved dugout canoes. The Salish Sea, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Strait of Georgia in Canada, were the central force that connected canoe cultures for inter-tribal communication and trade.
By Shelley Seale
Three decades after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, its legacy remains: over 30% of Cambodia’s population is under age 14 and uneducated. Nearly all of these post genocidal-era children work or beg in the streets rather than attend school. Without proper education this cycle of poverty cannot be broken and the suffering merely gets passed from generation to generation. That’s something that Ponheary Ly wants to end – with the help of an Austin, Texas-based nonprofit called Windows of Wonder Institute (WOWi).
By Melanie Jae Martin
If you want to see great apes in the wild, Sumatra’s rainforest is one of the most accessible places to do just that. However, you need to know how to visit them responsibly or you could introduce illnesses, since they share over 97 percent of our DNA. Less than 7,000 Sumatran orangutans live in the wild, and they’re an essential part of the rainforest ecosystem, helping seeds to germinate and even pruning the canopy.
By Amy McLoughlin
The quiet village of Thrikkaipetta is a beacon for community spirit and an inspiration for ethical tourism. Thrikkaipetta’s Bamboo Village was initiated by local people, passionate about improving life for the community. It is a community led bamboo nursery, using the materials to create traditional crafts, food products, for environmental protection and as a tourism attraction.
Join Restoration Expeditions in New Zealand February 5-11, 2012 for its Pure New Zealand Study Tour. Experience one of the world’s most remarkable landscapes and best organized travel destinations with other sustainable recreation and tourism development professionals. Dig out your passport and leave your car behind! The tour will include the opportunities to tramp, paddle, bike, sample wine, get your hands dirty with a restoration project, and stay at some of the most unique overnight accommodations
