‘We want to do what we do well, make small changes that empower people.’
The Buzz of Africa
This picture is of Dom and I with our dog Shula in our second year in Malawi. In those first few years we spent a lot of time travelling, visiting communities, getting to know every inch of Malawi and surrounding countries and hand picking the best team we could find to work alongside us. This was one of our favourite views- looking down over The Lower Shire and only about 30 mins from home in Blantyre.
Some of Our Highlights
One of the greatest joys of creating your own company is getting to choose who you work with. In 2018 and 2019 we worked with Colonel Dame Kelly Holmes launching our Sport with a Purpose brand. Kelly led our first two Orbis Challenge events, running, kayaking and cycling in Southern Malawi. We raised over £30,000 in money for local initiatives and brought BBC News to Malawi raising the profile of the organisations we were championing. We even got to look after the gold olympic medals for a week- terrifying!
What Have We Learnt
• Trade Not Aid: We have learnt that in order to develop and grow as a person, community or country you need first to be empowered. We believe in local employment, business, trade and empowered giving. We chat about this on social media using #tradenotaid
• Lead by example: Always say when you have made a mistake, shout from the rooftops about what you are good at but surround yourself with people who are better at things you struggle with. Be human, others will follow.
• It is fine to be scared: Adrenaline is there to warn us, listen to your gut, speak to others who you meet on your journey but ultimately decide what is right for you, your business, your team. Harness that to turn that fear into something incredible.
• Never stop learning and listening: Our team in Malawi have taught us so much. We came with passion, education and money (comparatively) they have much much more- they are at home, we are just visiting.
Our Story
It is a story of two middle children who were itching to do something different, to be part of something that harnessed their free spirits and calmed their passionate minds.
Our names are Kate and Dom and we are the owners of Orbis Expeditions, Devon, UK and The Responsible Safari Company, Blantyre, Malawi. We took a chance and left the UK when we were 23 yrs to travel to Africa and see if we could find out what it was we wanted to do with our lives. We fell in love in Africa and with Africa. The sights, sounds, people and opportunity lit a fire in our bellies and we spent the next decade working to build our company, learning about sustainable travel and immersing ourselves in all things Malawi.
In 2005 we moved to East Africa to work managing eco-lodges before relocating to Malawi in 2007 to begin our own company. During our time in East Africa we realised the potential of tourism when it is done sustainably and the wish for travellers to give back. We also saw how easily tourism could damage and lead to dependency instead of empowerment and how good intentions from visitors can just entrench deep set feelings of a global divide. The benefits of tourism and the power of travel was what we wanted to harness…
We spent 7 years living in Malawi. Training our team and creating The Responsible Safari Company. Days were spent with Dom sitting at immigration sorting our visas and Kate visiting communities building links and listening to how local people wanted to get involved in the tourism sector. Our kitchen table became our office in our two bed flat in the hustle and bustle of Blantyre city and as our team grew we hired a carpenter to build more desks and eventually in 2012 moved into our own premises we called The Travel Barn.
In 2014 we moved back to the UK to start our family and Orbis Expeditions. We currently live in Devon with Sam (5yrs) and Emmie (4yrs). RSC is being managed by Innocent Kaliati and Dom and Kate are in daily contact with their team in Malawi. They still visit a few times a year and have brought their favourite African traditions home- open fires, sundowners and camping.
A little aside: We wanted our company and brand to be about the positive stories from Africa. The bits that shine, make you tingle and showcase the incredible resilience, passion and adaptability of the people we work with and want to introduce you too. This is why you won’t have lots of stats about poverty or how tough life can be for many Malawians- we have chosen to show you the other side…go on pass it on! #tradenotaid #bepartofsomething
“We wanted to create a business that combined travel with purpose. A company that offered local people a chance to truly benefit from tourism and experiences that made our guests tingle“
Be part of something….
We want to share our news with you and also follow what you are up to. So please join us on social media, comment, start debate, challenge the travel norms and spread the word about best practice…here is a list of hashtags we love to use.
#tradenotaid #orbischallenge #bepartofsomething #sustainabletravel #unglobalgoals #malawi #ecotourism #learningoutsidetheclassroom
