Some of the questions which are asked of us on a regular basis we can answer for you here.

• Green Issues:- Is this form of tourism sustainable?
• Gift Aid:- How do I donate through Gift Aid?

Most frequently asked questions when Fund Raising

Question: With India being the 4/5th fastest growing economy in the World why help them, can't they help themselves?
Answer: Whilst the India growth is true, it is not reaching the remote poor villagers where we work. Remember 80% of the population lives on less that $2 a day and many exist on much less.

Question: Where does all the money go? Is it not lining the pockets of your employees?
Answer: Of course not! The major proportion of our funds go to the projects themselves. We have to meet our administration costs but we are very frugal with these. We are after all a charity and have a “not for profit ethos!”

Question: Why do we not work in Africa?
Answer: We would love to but we are a small, new charity and when our business is established we will consider other countries including Africa where our chief executive has worked before. At the moment it would be a step too far.

Question: from a potential funder: What is in it for us...what are the “Bangs for my Bucks?
Answer: That is always negotiable dependent on your needs. The Project would be branded with your name, we would use your logo on our correspondence, tee shirts, fleeces, we would attempt to find publicity for you but you may have better vehicles for that than we do, we could involve your staff with fund raising and they could even come and work on the project (assuming they met our criteria), we would give you continual feed back and make a presentation to you and your staff at the completion of the project.

Question: Are you financially competitive with other companies doing this sort of thing?
Answer: We believe we are, we always try to drive down costs. We are after all a charity with a “not for profit” ethos. The projects themselves are seen as very good value for money as we work with the local builders, artisans and villagers.

Question: How do you choose your Community Projects?
Answer: In conjunction with our in country agents we visit the potential site and meet with the villagers. We ensure any project chosen is “what they want” and that it is realistic and sustainable.

Question: Are you not just having a lot of fun at the expense of your sponsors and is there not an awful lot of “Apres Ski”?
Answer: No!!! We do serious projects that offer real value to the people with whom we work.

Question: Do we involve the local people?
Answer: We most certainly do. We use local labour and encourage the children and their parents to get involved with the building works. Thus we bring finance into the local community and thus ensure real local ownership of the completed home, school or orphanage.

Question: Do you hand over money to local people to do the purchasing of building materials?
Answer: No. Where possible we use own local Indian staff to make all the purchases at local Indian prices and not inflated Western charges.

Question: Can you give us a break down of building costs?
Answer: Yes, we can make these available to you.

Question: Are you an environmentally friendly charity?
Answer: Yes. All our buildings are constructed with locally available materials to allow the villagers to do their own maintenance. All contractors are local indigenous people, and their work for us brings much needed money into the economy. Local villagers and children are encouraged to help with the construction work to encourage “ownership”. Where possible we plant trees and flowers to offset our carbon footprint. We do everything we can to minimise the risk to the environment when we are trekking or camping. All our people are encouraged to behave in a responsible manner with regard to local customs and religious beliefs.

Question: How do we ensure sustainability?
Answer: our aim is to finance the building works. On completion we then hope to hand over the project to the local villagers to manage. We would always consider some further support on a short term basis. We would, however, try to arrange a visit once a year to completed projects to reassess the value of our work.

Question: Is you management experienced in running such a charity and managing projects?
Answer: Our chief executive has been involved in this type of activity for some 18yrs. We have many other supporters who have also been involved in Community Projects