Cuba tour, The Revolutionary Trail

Environment

When out on tour we encourage learning about the country we are traveling in, the local culture of the people we work with and the areas we pass through. Our Cuban guides conduct detailed briefing meetings and informal talks with clients to inform about and discuss with them all aspects of local life. This helps our clients to understand the country more and to better appreciate the lives of the people who live there. We encourage everyone to learn some Spanish before they come on tour so as to be able to communicate with local people, even at a basic level.

By staying in local homes and mountain community refuges, we are able to make a direct economic input into local communities. We enable interaction with local people thorough community activities and other events thus enabling our clients to meet and get to know people from the area. All our dance tutors and specialist guides are local people and they are treated and paid fairly. Where possible, food is purchased locally and we encourage cooking with local products. We ask everyone to bring donations of clothing and other items to present to one of the community projects we visit thus directly benefitting local people.

Community

We include accommodation in casas particulares where possible, so that our clients have an opportunity to meet and spend time with local people in their homes to learn something of local life. It also enables them to use their Spanish language skills, even at a basic level. Importantly, this also ensures that monies are spent at a very local level and go into the pockets of Cuban households and communities. All our dance/music/language tutors and specialist guides are professionally trained Cubans and they are treated and paid fairly.

We support local Cuban businesses in every aspect of our trips - accommodation, transport, meals, drinks and activities - thus contributing directly to the local economy and community. We also regularly organise donations for local schools and educational projects. We recommend that clients consider donations of items such as toiletries, baby and childrens clothing, some medicines and luxuries such as soap to the families they visit and projects we support.
We also regularly provide donations to two youth theatre and drama companies in Santiago de Cuba, bringing material for costumes and stage make from the UK or buying essential items locally such as paint for props.

On our dance and music vacations, we recommend that clients bring with them any musical or dance items which they can leave for their tutors, such as shoes, strings, instruments or dancewear. On our hiking trips, we encourage the donation of appropriate items such as hiking shoes or boots, small rucksacks, water bottles, penknives and other such items for the specialist guides accompanying the tour.