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. 

Echoes hires its staff through local non-governmental organisations. When you dine at Echoes, you help sustain the enterprise, which in turns empowers and encourages its staff, who have trouble finding jobs because of the discrimination against people with disabilities. 

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

Warm and earthy in vibe, Echoes hires people with speech and hearing disabilities to provide them with dignified livelihoods, and promote greater inclusion and understanding of people living with disabilities. Eat well and do good. 

Echoes hires its staff through local non-governmental organisations. When you dine at Echoes, you help sustain the enterprise, which in turns empowers and encourages its staff, who have trouble finding jobs because of the discrimination against people with disabilities. 

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

Visiting the market is a glimpse into how small businesses in Bangalore make a living, and any purchase you make improves the income of the vendor.

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

Renowned for its huge flower market, KR Market is a visual treat for those who enjoy observing a city’s underbelly. It sits on a site that was once the battleground for the Anglo-Mysore wars, and now occupies several floors selling anything from produce to dried goods to electronics.  

Visiting the market is a glimpse into how small businesses in Bangalore make a living, and any purchase you make improves the income of the vendor.

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

You support local farms that practice environmentally-friendly, non-GMO and pesticide-free farming and fair trade. This helps keep the carbon footprint low. 

Go Native only works with organisations that ensure farmers and artisans are paid fair wages. Your purchase strengthens this practice.

Redesigned from an old residential building, Go Native has upcycled as much of the old house as possible. They use solar back-up power, harvest the rain, reduce plastic and compost kitchen waste. Giving them your business means helping preserve the environment. 

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

Dining at JustBe doesn’t just provide you with a delicious experience, but you also help in preserving the environment. The kitchen waste goes into composting and the cafe chooses eco-friendly bagasse (sugar cane pulp) packaging. The food is kind to your body, and kind to the environment too. 

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

Eighty per cent of the profits earned from the tours are channeled back into the community, to provide education and secure a better future for the children and their families.

The social enterprise also hires guides from the local communities they hold tours in, to empower them with the platform to share their perspective, as well as earn a sustainable livelihood. 

Read our Weekend of Good guide to Mumbai for more travel tips.

Meet Jitu, a RTT guide and learn about his dreams for Dharavi. 

Through working at Mirchi & Mime, its staff have not only found a sustained livelihood, they've also found a community that cares. When you dine at the restaurant, you help support those that previously found it hard to find work, and help them build a better future.

Read our Weekend of Good in Mumbai guide for more travel tips.

Meet Prashant, co-founder of Mirchi & Mime and find out how it all began. 

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!

You support the efforts of employment and dignity to the visually impaired, and help them build a sustainable future.

Read our Weekend of Good guide to Mumbai for more travel tips.

Meet Joanita, founder of Mettaa Reflexology, and find out how her staff inspire her. 

By visiting the centre, you not only learn more about regional art, but help the efforts to preserve and spread awareness about the local history, folklore, and support budding artists. The centre also sells crafts created by artisans from rural parts of the region, providing a platform for them to earn a sustained income. 

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

A visual feast of Indian folk and contemporary art, visit this arts campus for the museum, the buzzing market and enriching workshops.

By visiting the centre, you not only learn more about regional art, but help the efforts to preserve and spread awareness about the local history, folklore, and support budding artists. The centre also sells crafts created by artisans from rural parts of the region, providing a platform for them to earn a sustained income. 

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