Kyrgyzstan biking vacation

Planet

During this trip we predominantly use locally owned family home-stay and yurt camp accommodation which generates income directly to the families involved. We employ a local support company to supply support vehicles and drivers and visit and support village level industries creating hand made felt and leather products.

As a company we are committed to running our tours in a responsible manner as highlighted below:
- Small group size – Our groups really are small! With a maximum of 12 in any one group we minimize our impact on the small communities that we visit.
- Support local economies – buy locally made products, use local accommodations, restaurants, markets and support small businesses. (Buying locally made products also decreases the environmental cost of importing). We also employ local drivers and guides in the countries we visit.
- Encourage positive interaction and social exchange – again by supporting locally run businesses (and by traveling by bike!) we develop relationships with local communities and families on our trips where our clients from all over the world can meet and engage one to one with local folk; Also by learning the local languages.
- Educate our bikers – about the effects of buying products that come from endangered species, or products that are destructive to wildlife or the environment. We also like to think about – “What are the short and long term effects of aid/charity on local communities?”, “Who benefits?”
- Waste/rubbish management – when we travel we should treat our surrounding as we would treat our home (or better!). We do our best to avoid ‘single use packaging’ only using reusable or recyclable packaging. We recycle what can be, and manage any rubbish in the best possible way, and we always leave our campsites as we find them (or better!).
- Environmentally conscious office – To avoid paper waste we aim to use as much computer technology as possible in our office. We only produce a minimum of hard copy advertising/brochures/flyers etc… and we consider the source of materials used.

People

Where possible we stay with accommodation owned and run by local families. As well as the fantastic social and cultural exchange experienced by visitors and locals alike, our visits also brings a regular income to the communities (by paying for accommodation and other services).

Social integration with the local people is a central part of our trips. Simply traveling by bike is a great start – a great way for our bikers and local people to meet and start a conversation.

We seek out local services and providers that share a similar ethos and we aim to develop long term, mutually beneficial relationships with them. This ranges from who we recommend for your morning coffee, to the accommodation you stay in, to buying fresh local produce for your picnic lunch. We believe that not only does this "keeping things local" approach build the local economy it also gives our clients a deeper experience.