Low Impact Transportation
We’re walkers, hikers, bikers and busers. On an OG program, you can expect to move around in ways that are naturally better for the earth. Whether it’s a 3-day trek in the Andes or a 2-day float down the Amazon, moving slowly is both an incredibly rewarding way to travel and kind to our environment.
Local and Independent Digs
We eat, sleep, stay and play with small-scale, family run businesses we know and love. This way, we can be sure that they walk the talk when it comes to their environmental policies and practices. Eating regional cuisine is not only fun, but it also means that the food hasn’t travelled halfway around the world before reaching your plate!
Preparation is Everything
We are diligent about knowing what we bring to and what we leave in a place. For example, all participants bring their own refillable water bottles so that we don’t have to constantly buy single-use bottles on program. We reduce our impact by being equipped with the gear and knowledge that helps us do just that.
In the Ecuadorian Highlands, this family-run organization aims to restore the bee population in Ecuador and preserving the once pristine highland forests. They focus on community and global education to promote a “bee friendly culture” both locally in Ecuador and in the places their visitors call home. Meet them in person on Ecuador: Food Revolutions
Ecosphere is a social enterprise whose focus is to create sustainable livelihoods that are linked to nature and culture conservation. They are located in the Spiti Valley in the Himalaya. Not only does Ecosphere commit to the development of the place, people, and resources of their specific region, but also to the outside world with whom they wish to share their rich and natural world.
The Kausay Punku farm is a family enterprise run by the Ccapa brothers, Arcadio and Dario, located in Maska. Their purpose is to preserve the Incan culture and lifestyle, and traditional methods of working the land, while encompassing continual themes of environmental sustainability and traditional healthcare. Visit Kausay Punku on Peru: Secrets of the Sacred Valley.
Sustainable Travel International has been working to minimize the negative impacts of tourism and maximize its positive benefits for people, cultures, nature, and wildlife around the globe since 2002.
Their educational and intersectional work includes carbon offsetting for travellers and businesses. OG is proud to be a Guardian Member of Sustainable Travel International in addition to offsetting US and international participants’ flights and program GHG emissions through them.
PlanetAir is a Canadian organization regarded by the David Suzuki Foundation as one of the leaders in the industry of carbon offsetting. They were launched by the Unisféra International Centre in 2005 and are recognized for their high-quality carbon credits and thorough reporting on their work.
We offset Canadian participants’ flights and program footprints with PlanetAir. OG also offsets its office GHG emissions with PlanetAir, as we are also based in Canada.
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