Bedouin Eco-tours

A four-day journey by camel is being chosen over a two-hour ride by petrol-driven 4x4 vehicle - because travellers are determined to protect the environment. That is the positive approach which epitomises the good intentions and progress being made by ecotours of Canada.

Anthony Chamy, company co-founder, persuaded a local Bedouin chief that a change for the slower was better! “The first few times we went into the desert in our small groups we rented the 4x4s from the local Bedouin ‘mayor’ before we realised that supplies were transported between oasis camp sites either on foot or camel,” says Chamy. “So we told our contact that we wanted to come back next year – we were at the Egyptian side of the White Desert - and use camels between the two points. “He insisted that the animals would be unpleasant for our customers because they are ‘slow’ and ‘smell!’” “We persisted that we wanted to do things authentically and more ecologically sound. This allows us to minimise our impact on the environment - 4x4s pollute the desert and disturb the ecology as well as aesthetically disturb the natural sand lines for many years. “We also get to spend more time with the Bedouins and enjoy a better cultural exchange out of the whole experience.

“The chief relented and when we arrived the following year with ten clients he had 22 camels waiting with five Bedouins to help us mount, dismount, saddle up and cook. “When we reached our destination after four days, there were some 4x4 tourists already there. They left their tents to photograph us, thinking we were a Bedouin caravan arriving to trade!”

It’s the policy of ecotours to ensure that both its clients and suppliers become educated about maintaining a country or region’s natural, social and cultural environment. It promotes less travelled routes, shuns mass tourism hotels and restaurants, uses local contacts to minimise negative influences and maximise the economy.