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Introducing the Explore Foundation

Supporting projects and initiatives in the countries we visit has been part of Explore’s DNA for many years. Setting up a Foundation has been a long-held aspiration of ours, to put a structure behind that support and enable us to fulfil our ambitious goals of improving the lives of many more people.  

As a registered charity, the Explore Foundation is managed by an independent Board of Trustees, yet it benefits from Explore Worldwide’s huge community of overseas partners and contacts. Through this network, the Foundation identifies and supports projects in countries that Explore customers visit, working to deliver support where it’s most needed. Explore covers all administration costs, so 100% of donations to the Foundation go directly to supporting our chosen projects. 

The Foundation’s mission? To positively impact the lives of communities worldwide. Supporting grassroots projects that target poverty, increase access to education and healthcare, and promote conservation. And with that goal always in mind, we’re now supporting a variety of projects that will have a long-lasting impact.
Visit the Explore Foundation website

About Lehara

Lehara works with people in rural communities in Nepal to provide them with valuable skills. Whilst the trekking industry provides employment opportunities as porters, guides or sherpas to some, this is not accessible to many - particularly women in the area.

However, Lehara is using the trekking industry to help create other employment opportunities, by developing a sports massage service along the Everest Base Camp walking route. By training a core team of massage therapists, they will create economic opportunities for communities living along the route, as well as benefitting the trekkers with a valuable service. 


Lehara provides full training for people wanting to become sport massage therapists, allowing them to gain professional qualifications and take a job at Lehara's clinics that are located on the Everest Base Camp route. 

And the impact will go way beyond this - a large proportion (around 60%) of the revenue generated will be invested back into community initiatives that seek to improve education, advance healthcare and support environmental conservation across the Khumbu Valley region.


This is a real opportunity to create a sustainable business that provides a valuable service to trekkers and creates fulfilling work for locals.

Make a donation for Lehara

About Lone Buffalo

Over 70% of Laotians live on just $2 per day, and in the country’s rural areas their young people have little access to a structured education.


Laotian children face many barriers to Higher Education. There is often a lack of knowledge about the different paths available, and how to get there. Parents may also be reluctant for their children to continue in education while they could be earning a useful wage.  


Lone Buffalo is a grassroots charity that provides free English tuition and other extra-curricular growth opportunities, from leadership workshops to female development programmes.


Their Develop Together (DevTog) programs aims to give Upper Secondary students access to expert workshops and learning opportunities, all aimed at continuing their journey towards Higher Education. The program is hugely varied, offering modules on everything from financial literacy and CPR training to presentation and communication skills. 


Supporting Lone Buffalo’s integral teaching programs will help multiple young people reach their full academic potential.

Make a donation for Lone Buffalo

Watch our interview with Lone Buffalo:

About One Bike

Located at the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, One Bike is a social enterprise that uses bicycles to empower and improve the local community through education, environmental awareness and promoting sustainable tourism.

Transport is a crucial issue for most rural people in Tanzania. It’s expensive and unreliable, so people regularly walk long distances to access basic services such as school or healthcare facilities and to the market which may be the main source of income for families.


People in remote areas, and women in particular, are often limited because of their restricted mobility, being unable to reach places because of cost or logistics – but bicycles are known to be a significant tool for combatting this.


One Bike provides tools, spare parts and more to people in disadvantaged or marginalized communities. Fundraising efforts have also seen the construction of a fully equipped repair centre, plus One Bike hosts regular repair workshops which are run by trained female mechanics.


Any donations go directly to the Women on Bikes project.

Make a donation for One Bike

About Just A Drop

Just A Drop are providing access to safe drinking water in the village of Cana de Castilla, Nicaragua. Currently, access to water means long daily walks to wells, which impacts residents who might have to miss out on going to school or working, as well as dealing with water-related illnesses.


This UK-registered charity is installing water pipes to a community of 37 families and the village school, ensuring residents can access drinking and washing water throughout the day.


Funds are going towards the water tanks, pipework and hardware needed to get the water system up and running. While safe water access is vital, this project is planting 2,500 native trees which will help naturally filter rainwater and protect the soil from erosion.


Your donations will help support safe water, hygiene and sanitation facilities to local communities.

Make a donation for Just A Drop

About Women’s Artisan hub

The Pashmina Handicraft Project is a women-run cooperative in Maan Village, located at 14,000ft in Ladakh, India. This high-altitude region has limited employment opportunities, especially for women.


The area benefits from domestic tourism, and the Changthang women want to use wool from their herds to create beautiful Pashmina wool products, like traditional weaved shawls, that can be sold to visitors.


Working in conjunction with GHE, the Explore Foundation is funding the set up of a cooperative building which will include weaving equipment, training sessions and solar panel installation, so the building can run on renewable energy.


This fundraiser is now closed but further donations will be allocated where they can make the biggest impact.

Make a donation for Women's Artisan Hub

About Mahout’s Elephant Foundation

Mahouts Elephant Foundation are supporting the Karen community and giving six elephants a peaceful, protected retirement to develop community-based tourism.


The foundation is fundraising to allow a herd of six ex-working elephants to enjoy their natural habitat and co-exist with the indigenous Karen community in the heart of Thailand’s Western Forest.


The initiative will provide tools to set up community-based tourism experiences, which will provide a stable income to the Karen community who can become mahouts. These mahouts will guide tourists through the forests to see elephants in their natural habitat.


Donations cover the cost of setting up the campsite, providing equipment and training workshops, and ultimately benefitting a safe and secure future for the Karen community and their majestic elephants.


Support the co-existence of wildlife and local communities in Thailand.

Make a donation for Mahout's Elephant Foundation

About Cambodia Rural Students Trust

This project is providing reusable menstruation kits for girls in Cambodia.


Across the world, many girls have to resort to makeshift menstruation pads, using materials like banana leaves, mattress stuffing and feathers. Many Cambodian girls currently have to miss several days of school each month around their menstrual cycle.


This initiative sees the girls provided with washable menstruation kits, allowing students to attend school regardless of the time of the month. Plus, the kits are handsewn in Siem Reap from 100& cotton, and ensures women are paid a fair salary for their work.


So far, we’ve funded the creation and distribution of 200 reusable menstrual kits.


Just £12 will cover the cost of one long-lasting, washable menstrual kit.

Make a donation for Cambodia Rural Students Trust

About How Many Elephants

How Many Elephants, along with their direct-action partner, Wild Survivors, are using nature to tackle human-wildlife conflict.

 

So far, they've installed an 8.5km 'beehive fence' in the Upper Kitete Corridor in the Karatu District of Tanzania. There are 371 beehives connected by a wire which creates a boundary around the community farms.


As elephants have a natural fear of bees, it's an ingenious, nature-based solution to deter elephants from destroying vital farmland and guide them along their migratory route. We're fundraising £5,000 to install another kilometre of beehive fencing which will house an additional 1.6 million bees!

 

That's not all - the bees produce honey, which is processed and sold by the NARI Women’s Beekeeping Group. This project is a win-win-win: protecting wildlife, conserving landscapes and providing stable incomes.

 

Help us raise enough to install more beehive fencing.

Make a donation for How Many Elephants

Ways to help:

There are lots of ways to get involved with the Explore Foundation: make a recurring donation, subscribe to our newsletter or even suggest new projects we could support. We're committed to providing a lasting impact to people and places around the world: so far, we've trained three therapists in Nepal, donated over 50 bikes in Tanzania and educated over 87 students in Laos. There's plenty of projects you can help support - visit the Explore Foundation to find out more.

Visit the Explore Foundation