By Ezekiel Ole Katato

Joseph Thomson, the 19th century explorer and first white man to cross Maasai Land on a caravan in 1883 and came out alive, was a pioneer reporter who wrote about the “Dark Continent of Africa” – so named because no body knew anything about it save that it was full of savage tribes and wild animals. Across Maasai Land Initiative offers a unique opportunity to follow Thomson’s footsteps on a five-day walking adventure.

By Hollie Tu

Last month I headed out on a tiny plane into the interior of Borneo to spend 10 days with the Penan. The Penan are one of the indigenous peoples of Sarawak and were, until recently, the only people to live a nomadic lifestyle within the rainforest. Today, most Penan have settled in villages where they primarily cultivate the land yet still utilize their hunter-gatherer skills to supplement their diet.

By Katja Bechtloff

Nutti Sámi Siida is a Sámi tourism enterprise owned by Nils-Torbjörn Nutti, a reindeer herder from Saarivuoma Sámi village, and Carina Pingi from Gabna Sámi village. During one particularly bad winter in the pastures, starvation of the reindeer forced Nils and Carina to move their reindeer to corrals. The high costs of feeding the reindeer caused the needed an additional source of income, and invited visitors to the corrals. This – combining reindeer husbandry with tourism – led to the foundation of Nutti Sámi Siida.

By Kelly Austria

Inspired by our treks and visits to mountain communities, in 2007 we formed a group based on a shared common love for nature and compassion for the kids living in these mountains. We decided to hike on a new trail, and called our group TREK, or Trails to Empower Kids. Our first outreach program was held in the mountainous province of Benguet, in the municipality of Itogon, Philippines.

By Lennart Pittja

Sápmi (or Lapland) has long attracted visitors from all over the world, and today it is visited by millions of tourists every year. In spite of this bustling tourist activity, and even though Sámi traditions are frequently portrayed through various media, today we can see very few successful Sámi tourism companies. The Sámi community wants to change this, and wants to be more involved with decision making in the Swedish tourism industry.

By Melissa Lim

The Borneo Ecotourism Solution and Technologies (BEST) Society is a non-profit foundation formed by Borneo Eco Tours, a leading tour operator specializing in regional ecotourism adventures and accommodation. The BEST Society was established in 1995 in Sabah, East Malaysia, when Borneo Eco Tours joined hands with the Sukau Rainforest Lodge to organize a large environmental protection project in Kelananap oxbow lake.

By Ali Zerriffi

Barra De Potosi is a small coastal village at the mouth of a lagoon which runs along the coast of the Municipio de Petatlan. The lagoon network regulates the lives of both human and animal lives and has a balanced ecosystem that has kept its people employed and its environment protected. The people of Barra de Potosi are now confronted by a development project that they believe will destroy the existing ecosystem, in spite of Mexican laws protecting the environment.

By Neil Rogers

As a past advisor to Sweden’s Ecotourism Quality Label Nature’s Best, and as current advisor to VisitSápmi and the Quality Label for Sámi indigenous tourism, I’ve seen many positive changes over the years yet much remains to be done. Sweden and Norway have world-class assets for outdoor and experiential travel, and have enviable reputations for image, safety, security, health, hard and soft infrastructure. The question is how to make more of this competitive advantage so that small-scale entrepreneurs can thrive.

Every year, eager travelers set off to experience the legendary Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia. A journey along this leg of the famous ‘Indochina Loop’ is virtually guaranteed to provide a good balance between adventure, cultural awakening, natural beauty and just plain good fun. One major destination in the Golden Triangle is the historic city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. The second-largest city in the country, it is a vibrant gateway to the spectacular northern region.

Yurts – rounded wooden structures, canvas covered, comfortable, spacious, more like a home than a tent – are easily dismantled and moved (in theory). Mongolian yurts evolved as the home of choice for the nomads of Central Asia. In Mongolia, one of the regions yurts originally hail from, an innovative foundation called Ger to Ger (or ‘Yurt to Yurt’) is working with nomadic families to invite adventurous soles to discover their world.