When you book a sojourn at Himalayan Ark homestay, or trek with one of their guides, you support a community in its efforts to protect the environment, as well as maintain a sustainable way of life. 

Himalayan Ark’s homestay hosts keep 80 per cent of the revenue, and voluntarily contribute 5 per cent towards community development — 2 per cent goes to the van panchayat, while 3 per cent goes to a fund that offers interest-free loans for community members to upgrade their homestays. In 2019, tourism brought in over 50 lakhs (US$75,000) to the community.

If travel is not an option, you can also support Himalayan Ark by purchasing their crafts through their community-run Instagram page, @voicesofmunsiari. 

All Sekeping properties are built to minimise waste and maximise efficiency, with an emphasis on using local and recycled materials, and not disrupting the environment. 

You lower the carbon footprint of your travels by staying this low-impact hotel, and support a more sustainable way of building.

Read our Weekend of Good guide to Kuala Lumpur for more travel tips and ideas.

All Sekeping properties are built to minimise waste and maximise efficiency, with an emphasis on using local and recycled materials, and not disrupting the environment. 

You lower the carbon footprint of your travels by staying this low-impact hotel, and support a more sustainable way of building.

Read our Weekend of Good guide to Kuala Lumpur for more travel tips and ideas.

Meticulously restored from a derelict former Chinese medicinal shophouse, Ren i Tang is helping to revitalise its community and helping Penang's historic heart preserve its heritage. It serves guests food purchased from surrounding coffeeshops to support local businesses, and its rooms are stocked with eco-friendly soap made by people with disabilities. A stay at Ren i Tang enables it to keep supporting the local community. 

Read our Weekend of Good guide to Penang for more travel tips and ideas!

Meticulously restored from a derelict former Chinese medicinal shophouse, Ren i Tang is helping to revitalise its community and helping Penang's historic heart preserve its heritage. It serves guests food purchased from surrounding coffeeshops to support local businesses, and its rooms are stocked with eco-friendly soap made by people with disabilities. A stay at Ren i Tang enables it to keep supporting the local community. 

Read our Weekend of Good guide to Penang for more travel tips and ideas!

Small touches make the hotel stand out in a big way. The hotel’s car service is run mostly by women that are single mothers, and Abode helps them own their cars if possible, to enhance their financial independence. The cafe uses locally-grown ingredients wherever possible, while plus the rooms are design to use energy efficiently, such as the cement and tile floors that absorb heat in the day. It also works with a school for the blind to employ its students as massage therapists, helping them develop livelihoods.

When you stay at Abode, you support its initiatives to lift communities. 

Read our Weekend of Good guide to Mumbai for more travel tips and ideas!

Be it antique beds from Kerala, or Portuguese tables from Goa, this family-run boutique guesthouse has carefully sourced furniture from old heritage properties. Even the timbers on the gates have a story – old train tracks from Indian Railways. Stay there and support their efforts to preserve and share their heritage. 

Read our Weekend of Good guide to Bangalore for more travel tips and ideas!

Be it antique beds from Kerala, or Portuguese tables from Goa, this family-run boutique guesthouse has carefully sourced furniture from old heritage properties. Even the timbers on the gates have a story – old train tracks from Indian Railways. Stay there and support their efforts to preserve and share their heritage. 

Read our Weekend of Good guide to Bangalore for more travel tips and ideas!

Hacra Dhani is a community-based responsible travel initiative, started and managed by a self-taught local with a small team. 

Your experience at this “living desert” ensures that every penny spent goes directly to the locals whose livelihood is being supported by Hacra (like the camel herders) or who now have an alternative source of seasonal income (like the guides and kitchen-help)

The stay arrangement at a minimalist-yet-comfortable jhumpa (mud huts) with meals cooked from locally-produced-and-sourced ingredients ensures a low carbon footprint.

Supporting local artisans, helping bridge the rural-urban divide and raising awareness for the preservation of the environment are some of the positive outcomes from your visit.

All the talks, workshops and stalls are organised with positive ecological, social and economic impact in mind - the result of painstaking effort by volunteers who have dedicated themselves to the movement. 

Read our Weekend of Good guide to Bangalore for more travel tips and ideas!

Beautifully-woven products lovingly-grown produce is only the start. Ragi Kana is a movement advocating sustainability and rural traditions through talks and workshops.

Supporting local artisans, helping bridge the rural-urban divide and raising awareness for the preservation of the environment are some of the positive outcomes from your visit.

All the talks, workshops and stalls are organised with positive ecological, social and economic impact in mind - the result of painstaking effort by volunteers who have dedicated themselves to the movement. 

Read our Weekend of Good guide to Bangalore for more travel tips and ideas!

Terrapuri Heritage Village is more than just a resort — it is a conservation and restoration project breathing new life into centuries-old Terengganu houses that otherwise would have been demolished or would have fallen into ruin. Saving the architecture means preserving the cultural motifs, history, folk tales and values behind it.By booking a stay at Terrapuri, you promote heritage conservation and cultural stewardship of traditional Terengganu architecture. You also provide additional stable income for the local community. 

Amid COVID-19, you can make advance bookings to help Terrapuri to continue its projects and keep its staff employed, and enjoy your stay when travel restrictions are lifted. 

Or consider bringing a taste of Terengganu culture to your homes — shop local crafts and snacks via Terrapuri’s online stores on Shopee and Lazada (Malaysia only).

A stay with the warm and friendly hosts of Friends of Orchha helps them earn a sustainable income to support their families. 

The revenue from providing accommodation is shared between Friends of Orchha and the families, while the families keep everything earned from providing meals and other services.

Orchha is a laid-back town rich in royal history and monuments. Through Friends of Orchha, you can explore its majestic past, and help rural communities nearby build fresh livelihoods through tourism.

A stay with the warm and friendly hosts of Friends of Orchha helps them earn a sustainable income to support their families. 

The revenue from providing accommodation is shared between Friends of Orchha and the families, while the families keep everything earned from providing meals and other services.

Be a guest at Batu Batu Resort – a stay supports important conservation work on the island. In 2019, about 10 per cent of Batu Batu’s profits went towards funding Tengah Island Conservation, which has a team of five full-time marine biologists and environmental scientists stationed on the island.

Alternatively, adopt a turtle nest, or make a donation to Tengah Island Conservation.

Batu Batu also practices and champions sustainable tourism practices:

• Low-density development (just 22 villas) to limit human population on the island

• No disposable toiletries/single-use items (shower gel, shampoo, conditioner are in large refillable bottles; no toothbrush, shower cap, cotton buds)

• No single-use plastics (no plastic bottles; glass bottles and glasses provided)

• Solar panels that will fulfil 30 per cent of the resort’s energy needs 

• Water treatment systems to treat sewage (so no dirty water is discharged into the sea)

• Weekly recycling – all recyclable items are sent by boat to Mersing’s Clean & Happy Recycling 

• An organic garden that supports guest and staff kitchens

The team has also opened KakakTua in Mersing town. KakakTua is a guesthouse, cafe and community space that aims to grow local appreciation for the town’s unique heritage, and eventually encourage them to develop initiatives to help Mersing’s tourism scene thrive.

Meet Cher and Zam of Batu Batu, and Poo Ker of Clean & Happy Recycling

As the only resort on Tengah island off the coast of Johor, Batu Batu’s wooden villas and eight private beaches are a sunseeker’s dream.

But this isn’t just another good-looking holiday destination. This pristine piece of paradise in the South China Sea also serves as a refuge for endangered Green and Hawksbill turtles, a centre for environmental conservation and a model of responsible tourism.