Since we started Village Ways over 15 years ago, we have won numerous awards for our unique approach. Positive, sustainable tourism is in our DNA. Guest visits leave our communties better off, both economically and socially. We limit environmental impacts at every stage. We use local materials, and local labour, in the construction of new buildings, or refurbishment of existing buildings. We employ low-usage water systems in areas (like the Himalayas) increasingly vulnerable to water shortages, and use solar power for water heatings and lamps in communities that remain ‘off grid’. We encourage crop diversification so that communities grow crops for guests, at a time when failure of traditional crops due to drought is an increasing issue. Importantly, we work at a local and regional level to help communities find solutions to problems that are already happening due to the climate crisis. We use, wherever possible, rail travel rather than cars or internal flights, for guests, and Indian trains are very much a part of the overall holiday experience!

We provide ongoing training for everyone involved in the tourism enterprises, and also arrange visits to other partner communities – often, the first time villagers have traveled away from their local areas. We encourage gender equality, and the representation of minority castes and peoples on the committees that manage the enterprises.