Basic information
Country: The Gambia
Price: From £1,085 (4 weeks) based on self catering accommodation. Each additional week £145.
Description: Enable Gambian people to build better livelihoods with pratical help, business skills or community work. Work with an internationally recognized local association to help create local wealth – through trade not aid.

Included in the price: self-catering accommodation, airport transfers, full local orientation, city tour, social event, weekend hike, local SIM card, project & placement liaison. For an additional cost we can also arrange for you to stay in a small award winning hotel.

Your project donation will be used for the purchase of essential equipment and teaching aids. Previous donations have been used to purchase maths eqipment and internet lessons and connection for pupils.

How your money is spent based on 4 weeks
£365 - direct costs in The Gambia (airport transfers, accommodation, orientation, information packs)
£320 - project management & supervision in The Gambia
£200 - project donation in The Gambia
£200 - recruitment, matching & project development in UK

Not included: flights, insurance, visa costs, daily travel if needed, personal expenses such as phone calls, medical expenses, etc.

What will I be doing on this project?
Depending on your skills and the nature of the work you would prefer to do you could work with the Association of Small Scale Enterprises in Tourism (ASSET) itself to build the strength of the association or you could work with one or more of its members…from  book keeping to bee keeping, - from market gardening to marketing, - from computer literacy to English literacy – your skills are needed to help make tourism an even greater force for good in The Gambia – one of the poorest but also one of the friendliest countries in Africa.

What is this project all about?
Tourism offers much-needed income to poor countries. But who gets the holiday money? This project supports an award winning NGO that helps small tourism operators gain a livelihood through training and promotion.

ASSET (The Association of Small Scale Enterprises in Tourism) was established in 2000 in order to bring together, advocate for, and promote a large number of small enterprises that were active in the tourism industry in The Gambia. These enterprises  include craft market vendors, official tourist guides, juice pressers and fruit sellers , eco camps, horticulture initiatives , guest houses, small hotels and  community associations – ASSET is now supporting training and representing over 80 members – either individuals, small businesses or community organizations.

ASSET gives individuals and small scale tourism providers a voice. Helping them achieve a living through tourism – campaigning to ensure that a fair chunk of the tourism dollar reaches the local economy and the local community. ASSET also works at government and international level to ensure that the adverse impacts of tourism are minimised and that maximum benefits are gained by local people and their communities. ASSET’s poverty alleviation work has been recognised by the responsible tourism awards.

How does this project make a difference?
Giving back to the destination
80% of your fee reaches the host country! Each project is costed individually, you can find the details at the top of this page. the project will show not only how your money is spent, but also where it is spent – which is perhaps even more important. This project assumes that you want the vast majority of your money to be spent with your hosts, not in the UK!

Furthermore, we give you the opportunity to give straight back to community projects in the destination through our partner, TravelPledge. This means that whatever you wish to donate to specific projects in the destination will go directly there.

Socioeconomic benefits
ASSET's aim is to assist and support small-scale enterprises in tourism to trade fairly and pursue sustainable development, which contributes to the conservation of the physical environment and the social and economic welfare of the community in The Gambia. ASSETs goals are to:
•  Contribute to improving the tourism product in The Gambia and help to bring development for the country
•  Provide assistance to members with product development, marketing, training, quality control and access to finance
•  Work collaboratively, promote networking and joint activities amongst members
•  Develop partnerships with government, other institutions and external organisations where appropriate
•  Contribute to sustainable development within the Gambian Tourism Industry using principles and practice of Fair Trade in Tourism
•  Identify appropriate quality standards for members
•  The protection of small-scale business interests in the mass market tourist industry English for business

Empowerement
To work effectively for local communities, this project works with local people – they work in full and open partnership with responsible and professional teams who have close links to their own communities. You will be working with local people not replacing local labour to help them build the future they want for themselves.

Where is it?