Our Responsibility in Our Destinations

In the past, gamekeepers in Namibia had to patrol protected areas on foot, which was not particularly efficient in the fight against poaching in such a vast territory. At best they had a noisy motorbike that alerted poachers in advance of their arrival.

To make it easier for gamekeepers to stop poachers and save animals’ lives, Lernidee donated e-bikes so that they can quickly and silently approach poachers and arrest them.

Since 2005, we have supported an orphanage in Ulan Bator, where Mongolian children between the ages of three and 15 years old are provided with a loving home and vocational training. The majority of our support goes toward providing furniture and equipment for the orphanage.

Lernidee supports the Siberian city of Irkutsk by financing textbooks and Christmas gifts for a state orphanage as well as by strengthening the Lake Baikal infrastructure with improvements such as a new pier in Maritui.

In 2007, Lernidee began another project with the aim of sustainably compensating for the CO2 emissions caused by flights organized by the company. Not only do we organize our journeys following the motto “around the world and close to nature,” but we also strive to acknowledge our responsibilities and protect and preserve ecological resources in our destinations.

As a result, Lernidee has leased two large areas of rainforest along the upper Mekong River, where a dedicated staff looks after their preservation and reforestation. The leasing of these rainforest areas neutralizes Lernidee’s carbon footprint (the size of the areas is based on the amount of CO2 emitted by flights organized for our guests), provides young people with income to support their families, and prevents overexploitation, which in the medium run causes great ecological and economic damage in Laos.

Lernidee founder, Hans Engberding, a regular guest in Luang Prabang, Laos, regularly checks up on the smooth functioning of this climate protection project. Additionally, we give our guests the chance to understand the local situation as a part of their stay as well as the opportunity to contribute to climate protection with their own monetary commitment.

The interior decoration of our private trains comes from a subsistence project for women in Khayelitsha, whose husbands are unable to earn a living due to drug use.

Lernidee donations to Doctors Without Borders have made treatments for medical conditions such as malaria possible for 10,000 children in Zimbabwe.

Doctors Without Borders provide emergency medical assistance when the lives of large numbers of people are threatened in war zones or after natural disasters—regardless of national origin, religion or political persuasion.