World Expedition - Index

World Expedition - booklet - Index

responsible travel at work – examples from the field
africa
World Expeditions’ East Africa operations has been in
service since 1993 and enjoys very low employee
turnover largely due to the care given to the well-being
of employees; we pay above the market rates for staff,
both permanent and temporary. Since the work is
seasonal, we employ a policy for full time
employees that encourages them during
the off-season to either remain at home
with their families (because they can be
away from their families for up to 4-5
months in the peak season) or to take up
work with other companies. Many other
companies would prohibit them working for
another company hence limiting their
earning capacity.
We insure our full time employees with
hospital and outpatient cover. A
percentage of the company turnover
(approx 7% of the profit) is re-distributed
to the staff via a bonus scheme so that they share in
the company’s success. All staff are trained in first aid
which is updated every three years. Loans are given to
full time employees on a 0% interest basis and our staff
are multi-tribal/ethnic; with no one tribe dominant in the
ethnic makeup of the entire staff.
Our porters working in the mountains are also well cared
for. The maximum a porter is allowed to carry is 16 kgs
and each porters load is weighed before every departure.
All porters in Kenya must be members of the Mt Kenya
porters association which provides their insurance. We
issue pullovers to all porters working in the mountains
and porters are simply not allowed to work in the
mountains if they are inadequately dressed. We supply
food and shelter for the porters as well as access to
medical supplies.
We purchase food locally and will use local products over
imported items wherever possible. We ensure that our
rubbish is taken off the mountain and we use gas instead
of wood-burning fires for cooking.
Our Africa program also has a long standing policy of
camping rather than using hotels for two reasons. Firstly,
up to 90% of hotels in East Africa are owned and
operated by large corporations and the profits don’t
trickle down to the local people. Secondly, most East
African hotels do not follow true sustainability practices
- it is common for them to use firewood cut from World
Heritage areas to provide energy for tourists.