Do you dream of jungle adventures with playful orangutans and indigenous tribes in Borneo? Or of crossing Kyrgyzstan on horseback and staying with shepherd families in their yurts? Or of going back in time and learning Mayan traditions whilst discovering the secret archaeological sites, cenotes, caves, and beaches in Mexico? Today we bring you a fascinating interview with a guy who makes these kinds of life-enriching experiences possible for anyone.
James Scipioni is so passionate about travelling deeper, and travelling differently, that he started his own sustainable travel enterprise, Go Barefoot, which works globally, from policy to the grassroots, to ensure that tourism contributes positively to places and their people. Read on to find out more about the incredible travel experiences Go Barefoot offers, and get a special summer discount on your next big adventure… ~Rachel
Safari with Go Barefoot’s host family and friends in Rwanda
1. Tell us more about your company, Go Barefoot…
Go Barefoot is an award winning travel operator, which designs innovative tailor-made experiences exploring authentic cultures and places. It is driven by a social and environmental ethos. We work in partnership with NGOs, co-operatives and social enterprises to provide a more immersive and enriching discovery of a destination away from the conventional and commercial tourist circuits.
The experiences we design are for anyone and everyone, from honeymooners to families to global adventurers, from people who want a restful, relaxing escape to an all-encompassing, action-packed break. They incorporate the bizarre, the beautiful, and the inspirational, whilst supporting sustainable development, cultural preservation and environmental protection.
2. How did Barefoot begin?
After working for some environmental and development organisations, I studied MA Environment & Development at Kings College to deepen my understanding of global environmental and social issues. I soon realised that businesses can be far more responsive and effective in providing solutions to global and local challenges if they are directed by the right ethos, in particular, achieving a greener economy. I set up Go Barefoot after watching a friend initiate a community based tourism initiative in Bahia, Brazil. I felt passionate and motivated by the positive impact tourism could have on the environment, communities and visitors.
3. You believe that travel should provide people with a fresh outlook and a genuine understanding of a country and its people, whilst having a positive impact. How does Go Barefoot encourage more enriching, sustainable and responsible travel experiences?
Go Barefoot develops and promotes sustainable, safe and enjoyable tourism experiences that inspire people to see, hear, taste, and do things they might never have done while making deeper connections with the place they’re visiting.
We really wish to challenge all the stereotypes and preconceptions that people have of certain destinations – of the people that live in them, and their culture, ideas and habits – because what we think we know, and what is portrayed in the media, is usually far from the reality.
We often promote emerging countries and regions, reinventing conventional circuits with a focus on the journey and experience rather than the end-point. Many of our itineraries include an experience that a client would never normally do in everyday life, such as learning a traditional handicraft or a skill that is being preserved, or the opportunity to be part of a project that highlights local social, historical, environmental or political issues.
Discovering a women’s handicraft co-operative in one of Rwanda
We do this by selecting partners who are driven by environmental and social values to ensure that our itineraries are positively received and that travellers enjoy a truly enriching experience. Additionally, we select accommodation providers who are committed to sustainability and who prioritise selecting locally owned businesses and services. We never include all-inclusive resorts or internationally owned hotel chains in our packages as they offer little insight into local culture and they reduce ‘leakage’ into the local economy. We also promote the use of public transport wherever possible so travellers experience local life whilst reducing greenhouse emissions.
4. Why are the experiences you offer so unique?
We try to make our experience as immersive and interactive as possible so our travellers take away new-found knowledge and skills, as well as fresh inspiration and perspective. Our experiences encourage people to explore the history and culture of a place on a deeper level by learning, for example, why a city’s architecture is the way it is, why a culture uses cooks with certain ingredients, or what indigenous language the people speak. Usually the best way to do this is by getting to know the people, learning their craftwork, understanding the symbolism in their artwork, and trying their food and listening to their music.
5. Exactly how does Go Barefoot support social and environment projects in local communities?
Many community based tourism initiatives require a minimum footfall in order to survive. By promoting these initiatives Go Barefoot provides the financial backing they need to ensure their tourism project is sustained, and continues to grow, with low risk investment. What’s more, often our clients are so inspired by the experiences they have that when they come home they volunteer to contribute financially, or in other ways, to support projects/initiatives they’ve been part of.
6. What exciting conservation and community projects/partnerships have you launched recently that will interest people who are looking to travel responsibly and sustainably and experience ‘real’ life in a different country?
Following several pilot visits, we have now finalised a new itinerary that allows clients to stay with several Mayan communities throughout Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The project has been developed with the help of local universities and academic specialists and of course, the communities themselves. Their input has been fundamental in the decision making and development process to ensure we attract the right kind of tourism and adhere to the economic model the communities wish to adopt so they can remain self-managed. This community experience, which includes overnight stays, allows visitors to connect with, and better understand the culture and lifestyle of the Mayan people, something they would never gain from a resort holiday on the Peninsula’s coastline. There’ll be ample opportunity to see the communities sharing their ancient beliefs, knowledge and handicraft practices.
Then in India, we visit projects of an NGO which is providing water resource and sanitation solutions and improving agronomic practices for villages overcoming the challenging conditions of living in Rajasthan’s desert territory, again something most tourists would never be aware of if they were embarking on a typical hotel-based sightseeing tour.
7. What part does Go Barefoot play a part in influencing national and regional tourism policies? Can you give us a couple of examples of programmes that you have been working on?
In Armenia we worked alongside an NGO, acting as a social enterprise, to develop a tourism initiative that supports their conservation and education activities.
In Rwanda, we conducted an assessment of a newly launched community-based tourism product along the shores of Lake Kivu called the 1000 Hills Trail. Following our visit, Go Barefoot provided recommendations to the Ministry of Tourism for improving the new product experience and how the product can be successfully marketed to diversity Rwanda’s tourism from gorilla-only visitors to benefit more isolated communities.
In Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula we have linked with universities and NGOs to create a sustainable, community-focused experience away from the resort heavy parts of the coastline to enable travellers to discover Mayan communities and their lesser-known and culturally significant archaeological sites.
We also actively encourage hoteliers and accommodation suppliers to implement sustainable operations and policies, including: recycling and reducing waste, use of renewable energy for electricity and water heating (using solar panels and wind), biogas – from food and organic waste – for cooking and eating, water reusing and reduction, biodiversity and conservation projects, employment of local people, use of natural cleaning products, natural construction materials. Such adopted practices offers them a marketing edge and a business cost saving.
8. Why should we all be more environmentally conscious?
Currently, our society is living beyond the Earth’s sustainable limits. As resources become more finite it shall inevitably lead to more conflicts and extreme nationalist protectionism. For the sake of the planet, and for our own health, wellbeing and survival, we must rebalance our lifestyle, economic approach and consumption behaviour. We have a moral responsibility to avoid shortsighted thinking and ensure future generations inherit a planet that provides both opportunities and equality. Adopting a more ecologically sensitive lifestyle also allows us to reconnect with traditions, values and nature.
Go Barefoot’s first group experiencing community based tourism in Kyrgyzstan
9. What five pieces of advice can anyone who is travelling abroad follow to help minimize their trip’s environmental and social impact?
- Arrive with an open mind without pre-conceived perceptions or expectations. Absorb the experience fully and come to your own conclusions.
- Use bathroom water sparingly.
- Dispose of your litter correctly, particularly in rural areas, and recycle where possible.
- Don’t buy products made from endangered species, hard woods or ancient artefacts.
- Feedback to hotels that you want them to be more sustainable, for example, use of natural bathroom products. As a business they are receptive to clients comments since it is a reflection of market attitudes and changes.
10. What’s your big dream? And your big dream for Go Barefoot?
I wish to grow Go Barefoot in both size and influence by establishing outgoing offices in other countries and initiating sustainable tourism projects that set examples for others can learn from. My personal dream is to reinvent my family’s village in Italy as a hub of enterprises, ecological products, and artisan workshops to provide new opportunities and ideas young locals.
James’ snapshot
Most profound travel experience to date: Sharing the lives of a Quilombolo community in Bahia, Brazil
Countries that have had the biggest impact on you: Russia and Rwanda; demonstrating how history and culture can only be fully understood through first hand experiences and people’s stories
Place you most want to see: Mount Roraima, Venezuela & Isle of Mull, Scotland
Dream adventure: Dog sledding under the Aurora Borealis or cycle around the Black Sea
Place you go in London to relax in nature: Hampstead Heath or Richmond Park
Most inspiring book read on travel: The Genius of the Poor by Thomas Graham
Favourite film/documentary to highlight why we should all be more environmentally and socially conscious: The Age of Stupid and The Story of Stuff
Quote you live by: Leave things better than when you arrived
Wish for the world: To make decisions without ego
You can find out more at the Go Barefoot website and on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.
SPECIAL READER OFFER!
Go Barefoot is offering two special summer discounts especially for Do What You Love readers…
1) A 7.5% discount on any tailor made itinerary you book before September 1, 2015.
2) 15% off the brand new fixed departure tours to the two fascinating and friendly Caucasus countries of Armenia and Georgia on the following dates:
June 12 – June 22
July 03 – July 13
July 17 – July 27
July 31- August 10
August 14 – August 24
August 21 – August 31
September 04 – September 14
September 18 – September 28
October 02 – October 12
October 16 – October 26
November 06 – November 16
For more information click here.
