The story of our journeys and our interest in “responsible travel in Iran” go back to 2004 when we began our expedition to all around Iran. First, the classic route and then to less known areas. Why? Because our sense of adventure craved more and more. The more we saw, the more we wished to discover. For years, we were both studying and exploring. We wanted to discover the hidden gems; the mighty mountains, majestic valleys, historic villages, truly pristine nature, the indigenous people, etc. Back then, we were just adventure seekers who wished to make our dreams come true. We traveled everywhere because ‘they were there’.[George Mallory; ‘why did you want to climb Mount Everest?’ ‘Because it’s there’]
After a while, we found locals and their singular culture even more appealing. For the following years, we were mostly in villages among the locals. At first, everything was going fine; we were running the development projects, and the locals were helping us. But, when we stayed more with them, the fantasy world we had in mind faded way, and the grim reality emerged. We noticed how sometimes some well-intended efforts might turn out to have negative effects on local people’s life. More important, how locals are being affected by the inattentive behaviors of visitors and tourists. That was an epiphanic moment for us. We noticed how a tourist’s seemingly neutral talk of her wedding party from a developed country could be thoroughly damaging to a young local girl who has been in a small village since she was born.
So, it was like a wake-up call. This and some other concerns helped us make our mindset. Although at first, we just wished to live up to our adventurous creed, now we wanted something more as well. After years of knowing the locals, travelers, and their mutual interactions, we gradually came up with some simple but important principles for our trips.
- Not just visiting, but living with locals.
- Having the least effects on communities.
- Preservation of the indigenous people & their cultures.
- Preservation of the Mother Earth.
- Last but not least, locals have a say in the decision-making process. Plus, they must have a fair share of everything.