Our Pledge
One of the most wonderful things about travelling by horse is that we can pass through a place and leave nothing but hoofprints, it’s a totally environmentally friendly way to travel. Group sizes are small and so any impact is minimal and sensitive interaction with local communities is possible. As far as we can we employ local guides and staff.
In The Saddle, together with our partners overseas and local ground handlers, is committed to an active conservation policy that respects and protects local environments and contributes to the welfare of the communities with whom we work.
In 2007 In The Saddle was awarded the AITO 2 star responsible tourism status.
We are involved with two specific community projects in South Africa and India.
Kenya - Borana
KENYA - BORANA
Borana is involved in a number of community and conservation projects. Guests pay a conservation fee per night and this money is put towards the many projects including:
HIDE & SHEEP LTD
In 1966 Will Powys, grandfather of Michael Dyer, began an ambitious project to employ the local handicapped people of the area.
He opened Hide and Sheep Ltd, which from its humble beginnings in a small wooden thatched building now employs a talented group of blind and physically disabled people from the local community, who together create an impressive variety of top quality sheep and calfskin products.
In an area where polio and other debilitating diseases are far too common, Hide and Sheep Ltd has given those affected an ideal means to express their creativity and desire for independence while also giving them a livelihood.
The tanning, using a traditional vegetable process, is performed by the blind members of the group, whilst the stitching and product design is expertly carried out by those with other physical disabilities.
The work of Hide and Sheep Ltd is complimented by an enthusiastic self-help group of Maasai women who stitch small glass beads onto several of the products, giving them their unique character and style.
Under the critical eye of their charismatic chairlady, Resiki, the women's handiwork is guaranteed to be of the highest quality.
BORANA FORESTRY PROJECT
In January 2002, Michael Nickels was asked to set up a dryland forestry project on behalf of Borana for the surrounding community of Ngare Ndare Village. The aim of the project was to convert the 25 acres of severely eroded land into a productive agro forestry project.
In April Jeff Nugent, a permaculture specialist and Michael Nickels worked with approximately 60 people hired from the local community. The project site was fenced from goats, sheep and cattle and about 5km of south wales were dug across the contour to harvest most of the rainfall.
A few hundred straw bales were also used to capture topsoil and silt eroded from uphill. Roughly 70 species (180 varieties) of multi-purpose trees (indigenous and exotics) have been planted from seed throughout the land. The focus of this project will be education.
A restoration project has been launched on the neighbouring school property. A further restoration project was initiated on Chumvi Group Ranch which is on the south-western border of Borana.
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Assam Forest School Project, India
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This is an area very new to tourism. On the Assam Ride we have been fortunate to be granted permission to visit this forest area on horseback and in return, we are supporting the local schools.
In The Saddle donates £30 per visitor to a fund which is spent on long term projects that benefit the community.
The money contributed so far is being spent directly on the school. Initially, books, footballs and teaching materials were provided, then cupboards to store these. Most recently funds provided by In The Saddle have been used to build a toilet for the school.
Our current project is to dig a tubewell for at least one village which would also supply the school. The money will also be used to improve sanitation and toilets as well as provide basic teaching materials to aid learning.
All In The Saddle riders have the option to visit the school when in the rain forest. We feel this is an important part of the holiday and helps to strengthen the relationship between visitors and locals. During the visit there is an opportunity to share something of your background and where you come from.
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In The Saddle encourages people to behave in a responsible manner when visiting environmentally sensitive areas. We include a Travellers Code leaflet in your ticket wallet which is produced by Friends of Conservation.
In addition to the above projects which In The Saddle is directly involved with there are many other local community and wildlife charities supported directly by our overseas partners.
These include:
South Africa - Wait A Little
The Daktari Bush School
This school was set up to motivate, educate and inspire underprivileged children to care for their environment through the medium of a wildlife orphanage. For full details see Daktari Bush School
Kenya - Borana
Tassia and Il N'gwesi Community Lodges
Borana and its neighbour, The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy helped build these two lodges which are wholly owned and run by the local Maasai community. Visitors to Borana have the opportunity to include a stay at either of these Maasai lodges during their riding safari. For more details see Tassia or Il N'gwesi.
Romania
The Carpathian Large Carnivore Project (CLCP)
The Carpathian Mountains are home to the largest population of bears, wolves and lynx in Europe. The area also has a significant human population. The aim of CLCP was to improve the attitudes of local people towards these animals. The project developed a comprehensive education plan, looked into the issues of predation of livestock and set up an eco-tourism programme. Visit CLCP for more information about the work of this project.
Argentina
“Uniendo Cabos”
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Our ground handlers in Argentina, Lihue Expeditions launch a new charity project to celebrate their 20th Anniversary.
In August they took the first step by financing a teaching workshop for country schoolteachers. The workshop had three modules and will last until October. The project is carried out by Fundación Ruta 40 (www.fundacionruta40.org.ar). Miriam Dahir of Clave Renglón (http://www.claverenglon.com.ar/) is doing the training in the school in La Poma (north of Cachi, in Salta) in this workshop for 25 teachers from the surrounding countryside.
The next challenge is to finance the installation of an organic community kitchen garden for a school in the Misiones jungle. If the chief of the Guarani community is in agreement, and if the Fundación Huerta Niño considers that the project is feasible after evaluating the school and community involved, then they will set out to raise the USD 5,500 necessary to carry it out. The one-year project will aim to establish a self-sustaining garden that will improve the diets of the 150 students who attend classes at the school. A better nutrition will bring better results in their studies and open the door to a more promising future for them and others, as they will pass their knowledge on to their community. If for some reason the project is not feasible at this school, Lihue and Fundación Huerta Niño will find another school at which to set up the garden, which will become another of the more than 40 such gardens successfully established by the Foundation thus far. So they are already beginning to raise funds.
Anyone who would like to help can contact www.mihuerta.org.ar and make a donation with a “Uniendo Cabos” tag. Huerta Niño will identify the funds and assign them to the project that Lihue are sponsoring with everybody’s help.
People who visit Argentina can also donate funds to this project and you will receive further details on your arrival in Buenos Aires.
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