In the last two years, I’ve taken four G Adventures tours, with a  fifth booked for this upcoming fall. One of the reasons I keep returning to the brand is that I appreciate their responsible travel principles.

Prior to booking a tour, I’m able to see how much of my money will go into supporting local communities by checking the Ripple Score – the company’s way of showing the impact your money has on the places you visit – and understand where my tourism dollars can make a real impact. 

Much of that impact comes from G Adventures’ partnership with Planeterra, an NGO that supports and develops community tourism enterprises to make sure local people see real, tangible benefits from tourism. 

On my trips to Southeast Asia, I’ve visited five projects where I’ve seen the commitment to supporting women-led businesses and witnessed firsthand how providing tourism and hospitality training lifts up entire communities. 

Empowering local women and youth in Siem Reap, Cambodia

After two wonderful days of exploring Angkor Wat on G Adventures’ Cambodia Experience tour (Ripple Score: 100) we arrived at the New Hope Vocational Training Restaurant. Here, local Khmer youth receive professional training in the hospitality industry, with many of them going on to work full-time in local hotels and restaurants. 

The evening began with a tuktuk ride from our hotel in Siem Reap. We were picked up by drivers from TukTuk Lady Driver, a cooperative of local women who support their families by providing transportation in Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. 

At the restaurant, the young employees welcomed us and seated us at a long table. We had a family style meal of local dishes like banana flower salad, vegetable curry, beef lok lak, and fresh fruit, all beautifully prepared and served by the young apprentice staff. 

Toward the end of the meal, our CEO (Chief Experience Officer) recognized two young women dining at another table. They were former G Adventures travellers who had returned to Siem Reap to volunteer at New Hope, which also operates a school and healthcare centre for the local community. 

Immersive cultural exchange at D’Danau Homestay

My Borneo – East Sabah Adventure tour (Ripple Score: 91) began with a night at D’Danau Homestay in Kota Belud. 

At this beautiful property in the shadow of Mount Kinabalu, we had a quick lesson in some basic local phrases before our CEO took us on a walk through the community and surrounding countryside. As we walked, we learned about native food plants and collection methods, and gathered some ingredients for our dinner. 

Back at the homestay, we learned how to grate coconut and prepare the local flowers and leaves we had gathered. Two local women shared a cooking lesson, and when it was over we dug into an exceptional meal. My favourite dish by far was the pineapple curry, made with fruit plucked from a plant just down the road. 

As evening fell and we all lingered around the table, our host brought out a bottle of traditional rice wine, which we slowly sipped while getting to know our fellow travellers. 

Community tourism and conservation on Libaran Island

Towards the end of the East Sabah Tour, we spent a night on Libaran Island, also known as Turtle Island because of the extensive rescue and research program involving the green and hawksbill turtles that nest here. 

After settling into our camp and enjoying a stroll along the beach accompanied by a litter of friendly puppies, we joined a local guide for a tour of Libaran Island Village. Planeterra provided villagers with a grant and training to help local women develop opportunities through tourism in this otherwise economically isolated area. The initiative directly employs 10 people but indirectly benefits all 1,200 members of the community. 

We got a hands-on lesson in weaving with pandan leaves, learned about a local game played with marbles, and saw an impressive array of crafts (and even structures) made from plastic bottles – in effort to reduce plastic litter on the island. 

A local living moment in Lombok, Indonesia

Planeterra projects are identified as G for Good moments on your itinerary. Other community tourism experiences may be identified as a Local Living moment or simply a community visit. 

My Classic Lombok tour in Indonesia (Ripple Score: 100) had a Local Living moment at Aranka Tempasan, a community-driven ecotourism project near Mount Rinjani. While some G Adventures tours stop here overnight, my group visited just for the afternoon. We began with lunch – which for me was a very fresh and tasty gado gado. The community members who work here take great pride in their food, and some G Adventures tours offer travellers to participate in a cooking class with the chefs. 

My group spent our time admiring the rice paddies and trekking in the countryside, which we did under spectacular light as storm clouds began to roll in. We learned from a pair of local women how to thresh the grain, and got to try our hands at the process. It’s hard, physical work, and I was still picking rice grains out of my shoes a few days later. 

As we explored the fields, the clouds burst open and rain soaked us all to the skin. We huddled for a short while under a tin-roofed hut before giving in and racing back to the shelter of the restaurant, where we were met with fluffy towels and warm tea. 

Experiencing traditional Sasak life and architecture

This community visit on the Classic Lombok tour took us to Desa Wisata Sasak Ende. Desa Wisatas (“tourist villages”) are real rural villages that have community tourism programs in place to drive economic opportunities while sharing their culture and way of life. 

Here, we learned about the traditional home-building methods using bamboo and thatched grass, with a floor made of mud and cow dung that helps keep bugs away. My partner, Colin, tried his hand at a traditional combat game with sticks and shields, and we took a lovely guided walk through the community. 

We finished our visit at Kiat Coffee Roasters, a bright and airy café at the entrance to the village, where they serve exceptional coffee from local Lombok Arabica beans. 

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