Experience Nepal with D'Tours Original
Jenny Lama swims with elephants, bikes trails along the jagged hem of the Himalayas, paraglides by snowcapped peaks, kayaks down the milky green rapids of Tibet, and at the end of the day returns home to sip tea with friends and travelers while the the sun sets over the majestic mountains of Nepal.
Although Jenny’s work includes a lot of play, there’s definitely a serious mission behind the organization. Jenny and her partner Drea use only locally operated and owned businesses, local guides and leaders, and activities that bring travelers to community projects. D’Tours can take you white water rafting, rock climbing, mountain biking, bungy jumping, paragliding, and Everest base camp treks or off-the-beaten-path routes through villages nestled in the Himalayas. They can enroll you in a meditation clinic, or hook you up with the chance to scrub elephant bellies with large river rocks.
Part of the revenue from D'Tours supports a non-profit project called "A Simple Thing," dedicated to improving the lifestyle of village existence. "A Simple Thing" has helped support commercial farming initiatives by sponsoring the purchase of more cattle, and developing attractions that can provide rural villages with ongoing source of income. This stimulus has helped villagers slowly improve their houses and small community. Projects sponsored by A Simple Thing range from buying chairs for a local primary school to funding potable water infrastructure to serve three small villages in the Kavrre District.
Jenny, the co-founder of D'Tours, says, "Our approach is simple; we assist communities in quality of life and positive development by implementing ways to help communities help themselves for future generations."
Like many developing countries, tourism in Nepal is an economic engine that helps provide jobs, sustain efforts to preserve land, and support local organizations and projects that benefit local communities. As much as tourism can be a vehicle for rural economic development, it is also often the catalyst for changes that lead to the erosion of local cultures, communities, and natural resources. As the Chinese proverb goes: "Tourism is like fire. You can cook your dinner on it; or it can burn your house down."
In Jenny’s case, we’d say they’re cooking meals. D'Tours is as much about experiencing local people and supporting local communities as it is about the adventure.