Congo River Expedition, DRC

Planet

We are proud of our involvement in the Congo, a country just beginning to recover from years of political unrest and civil war. As the country makes its first tentative steps towards a stable and brighter future, we feel privileged to join the Congolese people on their chosen path.

Environmental concerns are not the top priority of people still emerging from a brutal civil war but we try and encourage sustainability in a peer to peer manner, without condescending or patronising.

As most of our trips are based on camping, we will purchase all of our supplies from the local markets. We do not want to bring in supplies from outside as this will increase our carbon footprint. We are very careful to only do business with stall holders that have no bush meat or illegal produce for sale. There are opportunities to purchase locally made jewellery and ornaments and in doing so you will be supporting the skills of local craftspeople.

At the end of the journey travelers may donate any unwanted clothing, medicine and books, which are distributed to appropriate local charities.

We only work with operators who are as committed as we are to putting something back into the communities we visit. This may include giving a percentage of the profits from each tour to a foundation to help street children or local conservation projects.

People

This trip spends several days staying as guests of local people in their villages. The villages are remote and have little opportunity to participate in the market economy, and our stay here contributes to local development with a fair distribution of tourist income spread among the host population. We are extremely careful when staying with local people to respect their way of living and to make sure that all of our impact is positive.

Our stays in the villages are carried out with great sensitivity and much time and effort has gone into preparing for this and ensuring that we are not seen as intruders, but rather are able to contribute something meaningful during our time here. We spend time with local people learning about their heritage and customs, something which helps to reinforce the notion that local traditions are worth protecting and maintaining - in may parts of the Congo these are being abandoned in favour of a more homogenous, 'western' culture.