Intrepid Travel: transformative experiences that connect cultures and change lives

It’s a rare gift for travellers visiting another country to see and experience first-hand how local communities live. Eyes are opened, new bonds created and memories made that can last a lifetime. Facilitating those kinds of exchanges is vitally important for Intrepid Travel. When Sounsrors Hor, known as Srors, welcomes travellers on Intrepid trips to the not-for-profit organisation Rokhak in Siem Reap, Cambodia, she knows they’ll leave with a deeper understanding of not just the skills of local women but how they are using them to build a brighter future for their families. Based near Tonlé Sap, a lake in north Cambodia, the project works on many levels.

The water is covered in the thick green leaves of water hyacinth, an invasive weed that stops sunlight getting into the water, depriving fish of oxygen. Local women have found a way to clear the water of the virulent pest, helping the ecosystem thrive, while providing employment. Srors runs Rokhak, training women to collect the plant stems, dry them and put them to a new use as the material for handwoven baskets, bags and rugs. “We show visitors how to weave the water hyacinth to make a basket. They have a real connection with our weavers and at the same time learn to appreciate the value of a handmade product,” explains Srors. “Importantly, they’re also learning about the impact weaving the water hyacinth has on the women in the community.

In the past, these women stayed at home, took care of the children and cleaned the house. But money is power and now they are more independent. Young women get married at 16 or 17 and if they’re a housewife they don’t learn any skills. They might get divorced or split up from their husband, then they have nothing and no skills to earn money. We’re giving them a skill, which gives them the money to look after their children. It’s life changing.” She adds: “I want to encourage tourists to find out more about local culture and the social impact of their trip. With their support, we will keep developing. By introducing travellers to projects like Rokhak, Intrepid is a role model for other travel companies.”

Intrepid’s small group adventures bring together like-minded people with a locally based leader. The simplest of experiences can leave a lasting mark on travellers. It’s a rare opportunity to take time to slow down and be more mindful of our surroundings and the people in it. Spending time with the Huilloc community in Peru does just that. Living 3,600 metres above sea level in the Andes, the Huilloc community members are farmers and weavers. Now 15 families, mainly women, work with Intrepid to show visitors their lives. “I teach visitors a few words in Quechua, the Incan language,” says Intrepid leader Alejandrina Vega. “The local people love this. They are impressed that visitors can say a few words in their language. Then I interpret as the conversation starts. The local people will sometimes ask questions. If one of the travellers is a single 30-year-old, they’ll ask, why are you not married, why don’t you have children and who is going to look after you when you are old?” Villagers give a weaving demonstration and then visitors can have a go themselves, to make a bracelet. Everyone has the chance to bond over lunch – pachamanca – cooked in the traditional style in an underground oven. “The travellers help to dig up the buried meat and vegetables, all grown locally, once it is cooked,” says Alejandrina. “I feel so privileged to be this link between travellers and my people and culture. I have a chance to make my cultural identity stronger than before and also to help my people. That’s very important for me.”

At Aït Benhaddou in the Ouarzazate region of Morocco, We Speak Citizen, an NGO, gave training and funding to a group of women to set up a restaurant, Tawesna. Within six months they made enough money to extend the kitchen, and five years later they rebuilt with a much bigger restaurant. Intrepid travellers stop at the restaurant to eat tafarnout bread, baked in a wood oven, and delicious tagines. They can then spend the day learning how to cook traditional Amazigh dishes. “The restaurant is run by the woman of the village who were previously excluded from all the local economic work. After they opened Tawesna, no man is there to tell them what to do,” says Loubna Mouna, executive director of We Speak Citizen. “Tawesna is not only a place where local women provide food, it’s a place where they are totally free. Visitors love sitting with the women and speaking to them. In the past the women could only speak Amazigh, but now they have some words in English and French. Visitors want to learn more about how they live. Sometimes they become friends and stay in touch after they go home.”

Travel trends

Protests about over tourism in some parts of the world are the big talking point. Intrepid is asking travellers to minimise overtourism, for example, travelling out of peak times and looking for lesser-known destinations, such as swapping the Italian Riviera for the Albanian Riviera.

People are opting to take ‘coolcations’: travelling in the winter months as opposed to summer. A lot of this is a response to rising temperatures, but also destinations have fewer tourists and space to explore.

There has been a big conversation around multigenerational travel – travelling with parents and grandparents. Intrepid is seeing a rise in people from across the generations connecting through travel and adventures.

Gen Z are opting less for hedonistic party holidays and trending towards more cultural experiences. This may reflect the younger generations being more planet-conscious.

When travel changes your life

It’s many months since Canadian Derek Friday was in Japan but the memories are still with him.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be able to travel a lot in my life. However, this was perhaps the most profound trip,” he says.

Going from the sprawling megalopolis of Tokyo to the former imperial capital Kyoto and frenetic Osaka, Derek visited ancient shrines, travelled on the bullet train and sampled street food. It’s the night he spent in a rural homestay that meant so much to him.

Derek travelled around Japan in a small group with Intrepid Travel. Staying at Hananeko House in the leafy town of Kawanehon-cho, overlooked by Mount Fiji, Derek was immersed in country living.

So much more than a traditional guided tour, Intrepid trips give travellers the chance to not just see the world – but to experience it too.

“It was incredible. It really did change the experience of being in Japan – getting out of the bustling city. It was a wonderful opportunity to take a breath. It was a lovely break and at the same time very educational,” he says.

“The couple I stayed with – Natsuo Muramatsu and his wife – I got to be a part of their life for the day. I picked vegetables from the garden. In the kitchen I learned how to make tempura and I’ve taken that home to Toronto.”

“The homestay brought a really deep sense of soul and heart to the trip, more so than if we didn’t have that moment with these people. They were so gracious and welcoming. They said, ‘You’re our son while you’re here’.”

These local experiences are pivotal to Intrepid’s style of travel and Derek believes it added a deeper connection to the country. From making mochi rice cakes at Hananeko House to attending a traditional tea ceremony, Derek says he experienced so much more than he would have by travelling on his own.

These views are echoed by Susan Portnoy from New York who went on a walk around a farm at Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda and had the opportunity to visit a homestead, learning from the owner how he tackles human-wildlife conflict with his anti-crop raiding techniques.

“I loved learning about the innovative ways the farmer kept elephants off his land, without doing anything aggressive or harmful. He was like MacGyver, the way he was able to take the things around him and build something that would work,” she says.

“That was a special moment: the ingenuity and desire on his part to want to find a way to work in tandem with the animals, as opposed to hunting and killing them. It was an intimate enough experience that I don’t know I would have found on my own.”

On Intrepid’s Rwanda Gorilla Naming Ceremony and Uganda trip, Susan had the chance to dig deeper and find harder-to-reach spots. Her group had the freedom to explore, but with a local leader to hand.

Starting in the Rwandan capital Kigali, they went across the border to the Queen Elizabeth National Park and on to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Uganda for a mountain trek to catch sight of gorillas.

One of the highlights for Susan was the night before the trek, when her group met Dr Ricky Okwir Okello and Dr Nelson Bukamba, veterinarians at Gorilla Doctors, an Intrepid Foundation partner working to protect endangered gorillas.

“I was thrilled to learn how they take care of the gorillas, and the meticulous process they go through to make sure the gorillas are habituated in a way that will keep guests and the gorillas safe. Also, the amount of energy and time it takes to be a gorilla doctor,” she says. “Having that prior to our hike gave me so much more to think about and a much richer context for it all because I could get a sense doing the trek of what the doctors were dealing with.”

The extraordinary experiences that make an Intrepid trip so special are recounted countless times by travellers. But maybe none are as striking as Wadzi Nenzou’s time in India.

Wadzi has been on three trips with Intrepid, visiting Vietnam, Morocco and India. It was on that most recent trip in India that she had a truly unforgettable experience, bringing her face to face with a woman she’d first seen in a documentary at home in Melbourne, Australia, two years earlier.

Geeta Mahor and her daughters were sleeping when Geeta’s husband threw acid on them, killing the youngest child and severely injuring the others. He said it was because Geeta only gave him daughters.

Now Geeta and her daughter Neetu live in Agra and are members of activist movement Stop Acid Attacks, which created Sheroes Hangout Cafe. The world’s first cafe run by acid attack survivors, its aim is to create lasting societal change regarding gender-based violence in a male-dominated culture. The women who run it help survivors rehabilitate and provide jobs.

“It was an unexpected and amazing surprise to get the chance to visit Sheroes Hangout Cafe,” says Wadzi. “As I walked through the cafe doors… my heart swelled when I spotted beautiful Geeta.

“Here was this amazing woman who had gone to hell and back and taken back her power in the most amazing way. We had a conversation and when I asked for a photo, she said I was now her daughter. I was deeply touched.”

Wadzi’s trip to India followed the recent death of her much-loved father. She says it provided a source of joy at a time when she needed it most.

“The Sheroes ladies showed me that you can get up and move forward and I will be forever grateful to them for giving me this gift at the hardest moment in my life.”

Three Intrepid experiences that get you closer to a destination

Camp with Black Mambas, South Africa

Join the Black Mambas for a memorable experience on the Kruger National Park to Victoria Falls trip. Walk with them as they search for poacher snares and then gather around a campfire to learn how these women are shaking up a male-dominated field to safeguard wildlife.

Cooperativo Corragio, Italy

In the outskirts of Rome, Italy, this Intrepid Foundation partner and experience on selected Intrepid trips addresses the various social and environmental needs of Italian communities by regenerating unused public lands with organic, sustainable agriculture. Learn more about the project and watch a short cooking demonstration using fresh, locally harvested products that you’ll then sit down and enjoy for lunch.

Visit Okavango Craft Brewery

Searching for wildlife is thirsty work and a well-deserved drink is the way to go. If craft beer is your preference, you’ll love touring, tasting and learning about beer-related things at Northern Botswana’s first licensed microbrewery. Okavango Craft Brewery is on a journey to brew for conservation. They craft their beer with millet grown by small-scale farmers to support local efforts to coexist with elephants. Not only does this promote sustainable farming practices, but it also contributes to the region’s wildlife economy.

To find out more about these trips visit intrepidtravel.com