Inspiration, Responsible Tourism

25 years of the Rainforest Alliance… where will they go from here?

October 31, 2012

Recently, I was lucky enough to go to a conference celebrating the Rainforest Alliance’s 25th anniversary. I’m not usually the person in the office who looks after our relationship with the organisation, so learning about what they had achieved since their beginnings in 1987, and their visions for a sustainable future, was a welcome learning experience for me. The list of invitees was impressive, including several big shots within the corporate world of Kraft, Nestle, Marks and Spencer and Costa among others, and left me with the impression that I was rather a small fish in a big pond (or a small tree in a large Rainforest…).

To give you a potted history of the Rainforest Alliance’s work through the years, their main aim in the beginning was to conserve biodiversity by transforming land-use practices and changing consumer behavior. Their system of Certification of farms and forests – RA helped to establish the Forest Stewardship Council. Think you don’t know the FSC? Check your orange juice packaging, or the toilet roll you buy. Their logo is instantly recognizable, once you know where to look – has led to tangible benefits for ecosystems and human populations. In the Minas Gerais region of Brazil, the ape population density is significantly higher in FSC certified forests. That’s a win for ecology! Elsewhere, yields in certified cocoa farms are higher than in non-certified farms, which have lead to an improved productivity of 30-40%, and therefore an increased income. This incentivizes farmers, who have better access to healthcare, higher pay and a better quality of life.

I could go on and on. That would, however, mean glossing over the more uncomfortable subject of the work that is left to do. Recently the Rainforest Alliance launched their ‘Follow the Frog’ campaign (watch the below hilarious video for the finer details), which directly targets consumer attitudes towards responsible buying. Ie, what can WE do, actively, and what should we do? Is it reasonable to believe that, instead of buying your usual coffee/tea/chocolate, if you purchase a bag of coffee with a Frog on it the world will suddenly undergo a significant change? I’m not sure about that. But what if 50 people did it? And then 100? These are the kind of large-scale behavior changes that can engender positive repercussions.

If there is one thing that I learned from the conference, it’s that big businesses such as the aforementioned powerhouses have a responsibility to offer the right things, rather than expecting customers to buy them. I rather enjoyed the thoughts of one of the ladies on the panel, who impressed upon her audience that the value of kindness was going to be good business in the future. Consumers are tending towards better products, better service, a better ethos, and going away from the value of ‘more’ that was so predominant in the Noughties. So why not transfer this sentiment to tourism too?

Indeed, surely kindness should be one of the most important values in an industry that connects many millions of people across the world each year, forcing disparate cultures into contact and bringing many tourists into the world’s most fragile ecosystems. As a tour operator, we hold a role of great responsibility within the industry, and it is our duty to ensure that our expeditions benefit the host communities so that these destinations retain their natural and cultural treasures for future generations to enjoy. The tourism section of Rainforest Alliance is small but growing. To be a member of the international community of tour operators, TOPS (Tour Operators Promoting Sustainability), we signed an agreement committing to encourage our suppliers out in country (lodges, hotels, restaurants etc) to become verified and to give priority to certified and verified suppliers always. It is, admittedly, really difficult to police and enforce this, but like the directors and officers at companies such as Costa and Marks & Spencer, we realize that a big change is necessary to get long-term results.

I have had many things to think about after the conference, as both an employee of an organization whose mantra is to be responsible, and also as a consumer whose duty it should be to buy responsibly. Perhaps the best thing I learned was the phrase ‘Net Positive’ (never heard that before). It means that we are striving not to be ‘less bad’, not just to dilute negatives with one positive action, but to strive to produce 0 carbon; 0 waste; to buy food that you know has come from sustainable sources, whether from Waitrose or from your local butcher; to research your holidays and ensure that they are being operated responsibly; to try and make real, verifiable changes to human life with your actions.

No pressure then!

To learn more about all our charity challenges, and find out how else we get involved with responsible tourism you can read our Responsible Tourism policy here, and you can visit our website at www.charitychallenge.com . To keep up to date on all our challenge news, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking on the orange RSS button, you can also enter your email address into the adjacent box to subscribe to our mailing list.

Inspiration

When Dreams and reality Collide Part 2 – Making Plans for Machu Picchu – Laurie Sodomlak prepares for her Journey of a lifetime to Peru next year!

October 29, 2012

Making Plans for Machu Picchu – Laurie Sodomlak prepares for her Journey of a lifetime to Peru next year

My commitment to this project was there, in the public, on a website.  Again, I took a little pause.  I was going to Machu Picchu!!!  I began to focus on the plans. I started a file folder, printed the material and information from the Charity Challenge website and took out some books from the library on Peru, trying to decide on which travel book for Peru I wanted to purchase.  I picked up this book at the library, Cradle of Gold: The story of Hiram Bingham – a real-life Indiana Jones, and the search for Machu Picchu by Christopher Heaney.  I am not a history type person, but this description of the first visitors to this area was fascinating.  I have my name on hold for a few other books, just waiting for them to arrive at my local library.  I like to have some knowledge of a place before I go, so the names of places/sites etc. are familiar but the actual sites/sounds/tastes are all the new experiences.

One of my friends, Marilyn, who has done this trek offered to share her photos.  This is another great way for me to see what I might see….but knowing that I will see it from my own view!  I left her house full of more excitement and her backpack/suitcase, her used Frommer’s Peru (with missing pages she used on her trip) and a plan to meet again prior to me actually getting on the plane.

It was time to share my commitment to this project with my friends and family. About 100 emails left my computer and 45 letters in the mail. Let the fundraising begin!

If you would like to donate to my cause, then you can visit my fundraising page here. To find out more about the amazing charity i am fundraising for, you can visit the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation here.

If you’ve been inspired by to take on your own challenge of a lifetime whilst raising money for the charity of your choice, you can visit the charity challenge website at www.charitychallenge.ca where you can find lots of amazing challenges, including the Mt Kilimanjaro summit climb challenge, the Great Wall Discovery challenge and of course the Trek to Machu Picchu Charity Challenge based in Peru!

Challenges, Inspiration

The Lord of Miracles Festival in Peru

October 26, 2012

The largest city in Peru and the ‘Gastronomic Capital of the Americas’, the city of Lima was founded nearly 500 years ago by the Spanish conquistador, Francisco Pizarro. Inspired by the occasion of the Epiphany, the city was named La Ciudad de Los Reyes (The City of Kings), in honour of the three Magi who travelled across the known world to witness the miracle birth of Christ. It seems fitting therefore that some two thousand years later, this same city should play host to one of the largest and most revered religious festivals in the Americas.The festival of El Señor de los Milagros (the Lord of Miracles) is a dazzling explosion of colour, singing and dancing that sees hundreds of thousands take to the streets to venerate a miracle of equally humble origins.

Believed to be one of the largest religious gatherings anywhere on the planet, the festival celebrates the huge image of a black Christ that was painted on a church wall by an Angolan slave nearly 400 years ago. In spite of all attempts to remove the painting, including the intervention of a massive earthquake in the 18th century that destroyed much of the city around it, the picture survived. Indeed, it survived to become the most venerated image in the city and each October it is paraded through the streets on the shoulders of an esoteric brotherhood called the cargadores. No mean feat given that the silver litter carrying the painting weighs close to a ton! Continue Reading…

Challenges, Inspiration

‘Dreams and reality collide!’ Laurie Sodomlak prepares to trek to Machu Picchu

October 22, 2012

I am one of those people who plan.  I plan holidays, craft projects, family functions, what to do on the weekend, what book to read next, etc.  I have been thinking about what big trip I was going to do the first year I retired.  I wanted it to be memorable…and after some thought I decided it would be Peru and a trek to Machu Picchu.  Then in May of this year, an email arrives in my inbox.  The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation was promoting a new venture…. a Charity Challenge program with destination Machu Picchu!  So….was someone reading my mind???

The timing was a bit off since I won’t be retired by May 2013, but all of the other pieces seem to fit.  I have volunteered, worked for and fundraised for the Foundation for many years, all through the Run for the Cure. This new fundraising challenge seemed to catch me on many different levels.

  • I want to go to Peru,
  • I could set a higher goal than I ever have before,
  • I have been spending the last year talking to many survivors about their stories and reasons for fundraising,
  • I liked the fundraising and fitness challenge aspects of this project,
  • I could take all the best practices from the fundraisers I have spoken to and use these great ideas to reach my fundraising goal.
  • And I love to be focused on a project and I love planning!

So that being said and after questioning Bryna Dilman from the Foundation I committed to being part of this amazing project.  I committed to the option of raising $4000!  I will be going to Peru in May 2013 and making the trek to the Inca Ruins at Machu Picchu!

A few weeks passed as I let the idea of this challenge settle in my mind. Then I began my planning. I needed to write something for the website….a story….words that would want to make people make a donation.  I thought about the cousin I lost to breast cancer many years ago, I thought about my first Run for the Cure and how emotional it was; I thought about the many survivors who shared their stories with me and how so many of them said, ‘You just need to put one foot in front of the other and keep going.”  After many attempts, I took those thoughts and wrote my message for my fundraising page.  No sooner was my message posted three donations came in, all from CBCF colleagues who were supporting this adventure.  I was totally in awe of that support!  I hope they know how much I appreciated that instant support.

If you would like to donate to my cause, then you can visit my fundraising page here. To find out more about the amazing charity i am fundraising for, you can visit the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation here.

If you’ve been inspired by to take on your own challenge of a lifetime whilst raising money for the charity of your choice, you can visit the charity challenge website at www.charitychallenge.ca where you can find lots of amazing challenges, including the Mt Kilimanjaro summit climb challenge, the Great Wall Discovery challenge – which takes place on China’s Great Wall! and of course the Trek to Machu Picchu Charity Challenge based in Peru!

 

Challenges, Inspiration

Canadian couple become the oldest ever challengers to reach the Summit of Mt Kilimanjaro!

October 18, 2012

If you need proof that age does not define what you can and can’t do, look no further than the inspirational exploits of Canadians Esther (84) and Martin Kafer (85), who set the world record for the oldest ever couple to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain!

Peak performers, Martin and Esther reached the summit of Kilimanjaro earlier this month, after a five-day trek, as part of the Ascent for Alzheimer’s fundraising initiative in support of the Alzheimer Society of BC, fundraising a reported CAD$310,000!

Esther and Martin have always had a very active lifestyle, having honeymooned in the Swiss Alps and made more than 30 first ascents of British Columbia peaks. They were motivated by Martin’s sister’s rapid decline into dementia to take on an extra special challenge. Continue Reading…

Tips & Advice

Top 5 tips for getting fit for your challenge!

October 16, 2012

Some of the questions we get asked most frequently at the Charity Challenge office are “how fit do I need to be to take on this challenge?” and “do you have any advice to help me with my fitness training?” These can be difficult questions for us to answer, as different people have different levels of fitness and varying physical conditions.

We do have a preparing for your challenge – fitness training page on our website which offers some great practical advice for your fitness training, so definitely check it out.

But we do understand that the best kind of advice you can get is from people who have been there, done that and have literally got the charity challenge T-shirt. So check out below for the top 5 tried and tested tips from our charity challengers on how to get fit and ready your charity challenge!

Mix it up – Getting fit isn’t just about going to the gym, the more interesting you can make it for yourself, the more likely you are to stick with it! Join a sports team, take up a new hobby or start power-walking to work.  Recent Kilimanjaro conqueror Hanna mixed up her regime by doing a bit of running, swimming and cycling. Previous Charity Challenger Ken Menconi made his time at the gym interesting by keeping it varied – “Before the trek I worked out 6 days/week combining spinning with overall body work out, treadmill, stairclimber and yoga (for balance and centering myself).” The more varied you can make your training, the more parts of your body gets a workout and the more prepared you are to meet whatever your challenge throws at you!

Train with your kit – One if the best ways you can prepare yourself for your charity challenge is by getting used to and training with your kit. Recent Etna Challenger Neil Berridge strongly recommends spending some time in your walking boots “I was able to walk to and from work and broke them in really well…Result for me was that I had no blisters during the trek.” Fellow Etna challenger Becki Lake also can’t recommend training with your kit enough, – “Training with the actual rucksack you will be using is a must! And training with the weight you will be carrying as well!” You can do lots of walking and trekking preparation, but if you don’t get yourself used to carrying the weight of your rucksack on your back it can be a real shock to you when you begin your challenge.

Focus on the leg muscles – whether you’re cycling, trekking or sledging, you are going to be really working your leg muscles on your charity challenge, so strengthening them up is a must! Hill-walking is a great way of working your leg muscles, building up your endurance and getting used to navigating uneven terrains, as Kilimanjaro trekker Phillip Brown testifies of hill trekking, “what better way to train for climbing a mountain!”

This principle works for Cyclists as well, as Great Wall challenge cyclist Chris Hibbins says, “get lots of big steep hills practice. I say if you can cycle most the cycle routes in the lakes you will be fine”. If you don’t have the time to disappear into the hillside, there are still lots of other things a little closer to home you can do to work up your leg muscles. If you work/live a couple of floors up, forgo the lift and start taking the stairs, get off a tube/bus stop early and walk the rest of the way home. Exercise Bikes, Elliptical Cross trainers and treadmills are also great gym equipment for working the leg muscles.

Make your exercise regime work for you – As I hinted at above, not everybody has the time or inclination to put in hours and hours at the gym or take a couple of days off to walk/cycle around the countryside. If you’re one of these people, then exercise equipment hire might just be your charity challenge salvation!

We have teamed up with Hire Fitness who are the UK’s leading fitness equipment hire company.  You can hire all popular types of equipment from Hire Fitness for 4 weeks or more, which will be delivered and installed into your home or office. This way, you can get a 20 minute session on a cross trainer done before you head out to work without having to leave your home, or you can get an exercise bike installed in front of the TV and watch Charity Challenge Veteran Denise Van Outen on Strictly Come Dancing whilst pumping away. When training for her ‘Essex2India’ cycle challenge with us, having a Hire Fitness exercise bike installed in her living room was a massive part of Denise’s own training preparationss! You can visit the Hire Fitness website here, Hire Fitness offers 15% discount on all hire of 16 weeks or more for Charity challenge participants! Visit your members’ area for more details.

Sign up for a training weekend – For those who want to make sure they are on track with their training, we work with Expedition Wise to offer superb tailored training weekends for all charity treks from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. They offer both cycling and trek preparation training weekends. Sumatra Jungle Trek challenger Elizabeth Woodcroft went along to one of these weekends and found it really useful “I got to know which level I was at and what more I needed to do”.  Kilimanjaro challenger Lauren Lloyd likewise found her weekend training invaluable.

“This weekend was worth every penny…The leaders are obviously made for this kind of job and their knowledge and passion for expedition life was shared endlessly. No question was seen to be too petty and every answer was given in depth. I would thoroughly recommend that anyone intending on going on expedition should attend an Expedition Wise training weekend”

To find out more about training weekends, you can visit our website page here or go to the expedition wise website directly here.

So there you have it! Take note of these 5 rules and should be well on your way to conquering your charity challenge and having the time of your life! For more top tips, and to learn more about all our charity challenges, please visit our website at www.charitychallenge.com, and, to keep up to date on all our challenge news, subscribe to this blog by clicking on the orange RSS button, you can also enter your email address into the adjacent box to subscribe to our mailing list.