Environment and community relations

At Karibu Ethiopia Tours we actively participate in the protection of the environment and the communities in which we carry out our activity through the following practices:

Generally:

• Before the trip, we provide our clients with information about local customs and appropriate forms of behavior in the places we visit.
• We provide our employees with adequate working conditions.
• Our people must know the Sustainable Tourism Policy and comply with it.
• We do not allow the labor exploitation of minors, nor the sexual exploration of any human being.
• Our partner companies must provide their employees with adequate working conditions, must work in accordance with our code of ethics and must be committed to sustainable tourism.
• Whenever possible, we hire accommodation owned by local residents.
• For all our services we give preference to local companies.
• We recommend visiting local businesses such as souvenir shops or restaurants to help develop the local economy.
• We mostly use local products or made with local materials.
• As a general rule on our routes, we visit different social and environmental projects (local schools, communities, agricultural projects, clinics.) And we offer our clients the opportunity to make a personal contribution to these projects.

In our offices

• We use bulk products whenever possible.
• We have drinking water tanks to avoid non-refillable plastic bottles.
• We have reduced paper consumption to a minimum by limiting the number of brochures and with an internet-only policy.
• We use recycled paper, and we have the printers configured in double-sided printing mode by default.
• We favor natural lighting and we have changed all the bulbs for other low consumption ones.
• The furniture is made with non-polluting materials, many of them recycled and from local communities.
• All personnel are aware of turning off lights and equipment when they are not in use.
• We economically encourage staff to use public transport or sustainable means of transport.
• We provide orientation, training, and regular information to all staff members on their role and responsibilities regarding internal environmental practices.

On our routes

• We invite our clients to use refillable water bottles avoiding plastic ones as much as possible.
• In all our vehicles we have containers for collection and separation of waste, so that all the places we visit are clean after our visit. Staff are especially involved in this policy.
• We properly maintain and review our motorized vehicles to reduce emissions and energy use and ensure that they comply with legal emission standards.
• We contribute to the protection and preservation of historically, archaeological, cultural and spiritually important local properties and sites without impeding access to them by local residents.
• We do not make visits to sacred places or cultural enclaves that may be negatively affected by tourism.

Marketing

• At the fairs we attend, we build stands with sustainable and reusable products, favoring the use of recycled materials.
• We minimize the use of merchandising articles and the brochures we use are made with recycled paper and if possible printed in companies that work with an adequate environmental management system.