Questions, Questions

Eco-tourism; ethical tourism; sustainability

What Is Really Meant By These Terms? And Can We Really Answer Them Truthfully?

It is assumed that these terms are actual concepts, material ones that, in an ideal world, everybody would adhere to, without question. 

For the Sahara Desert these cannot be done so easily.  There are too many variables - although not impossible, these higher thought-processes of fairness, protection, quality of life, and value would only ever exist if we had an Ideal World scenario.

In equal measure there is ‘responsibility’ to our fellow humans and animals, not forgetting the landscape.  Then there is honesty and truth.  On top of this, it is not simply a question of saying you are acting in everybody’s best interest; hypocrisy is rife - and best avoided if at all possible.

The Sahara Desert is one of the most impoverished ecosystems on the planet - denuded of life, water - a popular misconception and stereotype exhibited by almost everyone I’ve ever met. It is a world of extremes, some good, some bad.

When I speak of the Sahara the first question I’m asked is ‘Its dangerous out there, isn’t it? full of terrorists, and hardly any food or water’ Of course, this is also a popular misconception.

I travel there because for me it forces a re-examination of everything I’ve ever held dear. It prompts many questions on the nature of why western society has this insane ideology and pre-occupation with consumerism, and get rich quick schemes that we all seem to be tempted by.

Why? why the preponderancy to live an illusionary reality, denuded of all that we hold as human priority and god-given rights as individuals. Do we really need that brand new car? That 4 or 5 bedroomed residence? Do we really need to spend more than we actually earn?  and then we have to ask ourselves What do these pressures really do to us? I’m not here to answer these questions, and I won’t attempt to.

If I were I would say that we’ve lost something intrinsically special to us - our worlds are empty and devoid of meaning, so we fill ourselves up with whatever we can.  Our health suffers, our relationships suffers.  My mission, in some small way, is to get people to live by a few simple rules - the Ten Commandments are as good a start as any, but how can we live this way when all around us appear not to?

Here are a few Golden Rules for the desert:

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