Indonesia wildlife vacation, primates and dragons

Planet

Accommodation and Meals:
Our accommodation is predominantly locally owned and locally staffed and we try on this tour to use a variety of hotels so that several communities benefit. This is 4 nights in comfortable hotels, 6 in standard hotels and 1 night on board a boat in Komodo National Park. We support hotels with strong environmental and community policies which complement our own ethos. For example, we often use Bukit Lawang Ecolodge, which is a not-for-profit organisation run by ‘Yayasan Ekosistem Lestari’, which means the Foundation for a Sustainable Ecosystem. Money spent here goes directly back into community development and nature conservation. Where meals are provided, the spread will be fresh and plentiful. When eating out, guides will be able to recommend a range of locally run, authentic restaurants which will benefit from our business.

Activity:
Our activity is based around the incredibly diverse wildlife and landscapes in Indonesia, so it is really vital that we are strict with our ‘leave no trace’ policy. Local guides will enforce this mentality through responsible tourism briefings to make sure that we minimise negative environmental impact and maximise our positive effect on communities. We visit two national parks- Komodo National Park and Gunung Leuser. The latter is one of the two remaining habitats for Sumatran Orang-utans and one of the largest parks in the world at over 800,000 of virgin rainforest. We visit the Bohorok Orang-utan Centre, which cares for semi-wild Orang-utans. This invites support for their conservation and well-being, and fuels the local economy. Other optional activities include visiting a bat cave, a temple tour, a downhill biking tour, rafting, and a Bali 4WD or village tour. Through this, we support local suppliers and alternative employment opportunities.

UK Office:
It all starts at home so we have first worked at reducing our carbon footprint in our UK Offices. Through energy conservation measures and recycling policies, we are proud to be actively reducing the waste produced and our impact on the environment. We support various projects all over the world to try and give something back to the places we visit.

People

Charity:
Since 2013, our local operators have financially supported the Water for Sumba project, which aids a remote, hilltop community with building wells, providing pumps and water towers to facilitate getting water. They have also sponsored improvements made to the Tolong Flores School near Labuan Bajo. The children often come from poor families and the school is lacking in facilities and supplies. However, with donations and contributions of educational materials, children are now able to enjoy a small library, toys and access to the internet. If clients are interested in making a charitable contribution, we can arrange to visit an orphanage in Bukit Lawang for dinner where profits go towards caring for the children.

Local Craft and Culture:
Indonesia is full of rich culture and this is represented by a lot of traditional craftsmanship and organic production in the country. Ubud, surrounded by rice fields and temples is our final destination and is now known for its artistic community, awash with artists' workshops and art galleries. This is a great place to learn about traditional crafts and how they play into modern Indonesian art and culture. At Rinca and Komodo, local villagers also make and sell wood carvings which financially supports these fishing dependent villages. There will be plenty of chance to explore some local markets selling fresh produce. Berastagi, for instance, is known for its colourful fruit and vegetable market. Here you can buy passion fruit, rambutan (a type of lychee) and the foul-smelling (but, to many, delicious) durian.

Group Size:
This small group tour has a maximum of 16 participants, meaning that we have a low impact on the environments and communities we visit and are able to ensure that we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people. The small number also allows us to stay in unique, family-run hotels that cannot benefit from coach tours and other mass tourism due to their limited sizes.