We try our best to travel responsibly – respecting the places we visit and the people we meet.
Local culture
- Learning about the cultures in places we trek and the local language – either before we go or asking local guides and trekking crew
- Learning about cultural rules and values in the countries we visit – appropriate behaviour, dressing respectfully, tipping
- We highly recommend visiting the International Mountain Museum in Pokhara if you’d like to learn about mountains, mountain people and mountaineering history
- Asking for permission before photographing or videoing people, especially children
Local economies
- Choosing companies that employ local guides and porters to support the local economy
- We also prefer to work with expedition companies who support responsible tourism. For example those who ensure the safety of mountain guides and porters by following the International Porter Protection guidelines
- Buy local products and eat in local restaurants, especially in the villages we trek through
Environment
When trekking, we like to support the preservation of the outdoors through the gear we choose and applying best practices. For example:
- Water – save water and don’t shower on treks(!); only collect and use water for drinking and cooking; use Lifestraw and Nalgene reusable bottles, use filtered or purified water where possible in preference to bottled water
- Power – solar power for our electronics and lights
- Clothing – wool in preference to synthetics; responsible down
- Cooking – environmentally friendly fuel
- Utensils – metal
- Waste – ‘take only photos, leave only footprints’ – carry out all waste or dispose of responsibly, pick up rubbish from the trails
- Toiletries – use biodegradables and reusable/recyclable containers
Giving back
- When trekking – not giving gifts direct to children we meet in villages as this encourages begging. Especially not chocolates and sweets as this is bad for their teeth. Rather, it is recommended to either give gifts such as stationery to the local school so that the teachers can give to whoever is most in need
- We support non-profit organisations that help remote communities in the areas that we’ve trekked. It’s also a great way to stay connected with our adventures when we return home:
- Australian Himalayan Foundation operates in Nepal, Bhutan and the Ladakh region of India. AHF support people in the remote communities of the Himalaya through education, health and environment. We support the AHF through fundraising and volunteering
- Juniper Trust who operate projects around the world, including Pakistan
- Supporting local charities e.g. we did a momo cooking class with SASANE in Kathmandu – who help survivors of human trafficking
- Donating via trekking companies e.g. through Covid, as our treks were cancelled we supported the fundraising done by our trekking company who wanted to support the local trekking crew who were without work
