The Hive Travel Podcast
By Tiritose Sustainable Travel
We talk to people who have travelled abroad for more than just leisure and have worked with and through communities as interns or volunteers, either as individuals or as part of a group. Our guests provide useful practical tips on how to become a sustainable traveller.
We also talk to local community leaders who receive and host international travelers and see the impact of travel through their own eyes!
Tatenda/Thank you!
The Hive Travel PodcastOct 16, 2021
Experiential Travel Stories: Curating an itinerary based on amazing food options with Folashade
Folashade (Boundless Travel) talks to Wesley about the close relationship between food and tourism. Wesley kicks off the conversation by quoting a ChiShona saying, 'hukama igasva hunozadziswa nekudya' which means that we fulfil our personal relationships by sitting together and sharing a meal. To which Folashade adds that food is a gate way, you learn the world and experience it one bite at a time.
This episode is filled with sustainable practices for hotels and how travellers can quickly and easily assess a provider prior to travel. Plenty of tips on choosing a destination and curating an itinerary that goes beyond the 'touristy' places and connect with locals, local heritage and culture.
Experiential Travel Stories: Darryl Welcomes you to Melbourne, Australia
Darryl from Welcome to Travel shares why Melbourne, Australia has won the award for 'most liveable city' in the world 7-years in a row. He even gives a tip for the best spot when you are thinking of proposing to your partner during a working holiday. From sports like F1, Cricket, UFC and football - to the coolest bars you have ever been to, with some decent craft beers, and his number 1 recommendation: four pillars shiraz gin - all of which are surrounded by quirky street art. The city as Darryl describes in this episode, is a cultural melting pot with food flavours from Indigenous Aboriginal communities as well as Greek, Italian and Chinese cuisines.
We also discussed their Welcome to Melbourne Tour, with a full itinerary of what you need to know for an epic gap year or working holiday trip. He of course let it be known that Welcome to Travel are number one ranked on TripAdvisor, and this is a result of a solid customer feedback loop.
Experiential Travel Stories: Prof Allen on study abroad trip to Zimbabwe & Tanzania
Crystal shares her passion for impacting the lives of young people and in this episode, she shares how as faculty they prepare students for the study abroad trips. Crystal highlights the internship sites they chose for the student placements and how such placements facilitate the learning they do in classrooms back in the States. There are a few stories from the trip itself that shows the group dynamics and the fun stuff that comes with being a mom, teacher, and psychologist.
Volunteering in Victoria Falls - Zimbabwe: Through the eyes of locals
Wesley chats with volunteer coordinator Doug who takes care of projects based in and around the newest city in Zimbabwe; Victoria Falls. During the chat, Doug talks about WHY folks should visit Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls. He shares the health projects and the education projects that all run by locals and how the financial strains associated with the economic decline in Zimbabwe led to the development of exchange programmes as a means to an end (resource mobilisation).
Doug also shares interesting facts about Victoria Falls: you are more likely to bump into an elephant than car traffic! The episode is jam-packed with useful insights for people who want to travel with a purpose. Find out more about accommodation, things to do and how to make an impact in Victoria Falls but more importantly, an even bigger impact on your own life.
Lisa Scriven on verifying certification standards before and after booking with a sustainable operators!
Wesley chat with Lisa, Programme Manager at Fair-Trade Tourism; a certification body for travel operators. Lisa is an expert on certification and so this episode is very insightful and has helpful information for both travellers and travel businesses. She kicks us off by stating that, 'Tourism creates better places to live and work, and better places to visit'. Lisa does not like to be bogged down by strict definitions and so she alludes to common sense being the best way to decide what is sustainable and to inform your sustainable travel choices.
Some of the points Lisa raised including, sustainable travel businesses embrace what it means to be truly local and it comes through in the experience they provide. She urges travellers and operators alike to make deliberate choices when choosing laundry service, where to buy beverages and food from. It's important to look through the entire chain to ensure even the suppliers conduct ethical practices.
Valerie Merut on the correct use of social media for sustainable travellers!
Wesley had a wonderful chat with Valerie of Valerie Merut Consulting Ltd about the best way for conscious travellers to communicate their travel stories using social media. We are inundated with tons of information and as a social media consultant, Valerie breaks down using her own travel stories as illustrations. She was so generous with information that is also helpful to operators who could be struggling with how to make the most of their social media presence.
In the episode, Valerie takes us to Poland, England, Peru and Morocco where she encourages folks to open up and talk to people on the ground. Her experience in Japan stands out and so listen in and experience Japan through her eyes!
She was lucky to learn about travel and how to do it responsibly from her parents who would choose locally owned restaurants when they travelled. Her parents were interested in culture, history and art and these natural interests informed their travel choices. It led to Valerie looking towards travel to help open her mind and cultural exchanges.
Experiential Travel Stories: Prof Brooks (USA) on leading pre-health students on faculty-led study abroad trips
Wesley chatted with Jan on educational trips abroad for students & it turned into a two-part series. This is the second part of thrilling stories from a university professor and study abroad guru.
In this episode Jan shares all about what to pack for a study abroad trip - Advise to faculty leaders like bring gifts & business cards but don't allow students to borrow your hairdryer hahah (she actually laughs because it's based on true stories). She also talks about how to engage study abroad providers that are operating in the destination you want to take your students for short-term summer or winter trips: how to verify credibility, ethics, and their alignment with the SDGs.
With over a decade of leading groups of diverse students, Jan is the best person to share insights on what makes a good internship placement site for students & aligning the internship with the university curricula.
Importantly, Jan reminisces on the leisure activities in Zimbabwe & tells Wesley about Victoria Falls, which she describes as a once in a lifetime experience. Jan says the best hiking experiences are found in Zimbabwe & the safari experience was exceptional, something that surpassed expectations, but most important are the people you interact with and how they make you feel welcome.
Meaningful Travel Stories: Michael Hallé on Being Intentional When Making Travel Choices
Today, Wesley is joined by Michael from 10 Gates Matrix Inc - a sustainability activist and advocate for purposeful travel. Michael is very passionate about engaging with local people when travelling and highlights the importance of avoiding messing with the indigenous way of life. For Michael, it is important to listen to their story and engage in two-way communication that enriches your own as well as their experience of hosting you. Through stories in Mexico, Canada and Vietnam, Michael shares over 30-years of travel stories that will inspire you to discover authentic cultural places.
Meaningful Travel Stories: Dawn on the 40+ Black Woman Travel Experience
Today, Wesley is joined by Dawn from Pack Light Global who shares stories from journeys she has had alongside other black women around the world. Dawn is an awesome storyteller and has a bag full of stories accumulated over the years. Most importantly, her travel experiences are inspired by her academic background and Master's dissertation that focused on authentic cultural experiences. Listen to Dawn and Wesley as they go around the world in one hour.
Sustainable Travel Guide: Stephen on Finding & Connecting with Local Guides and Attractions
Today, Wesley is joined by Stephen from Kated who also hosts the daily podcast: Kated Travel Podcast. Stephen has spent the last 14 years travelling for work and leisure and he gives us a glimpse into his journey of discovering sustainability through his travels. Clicking beyond page one on Google is one of the hacks Stephen says really works well when looking to find and connect with local tour guides and attraction providers. Stephen also shares his experiences living host families in Zimbabwe among other countries around the world.
Meaningful Travel Stories: Christina on How To Travel Like a Local without The Locals
Today, Wesley is joined by Christina from The Local Way who shares her views on how you can travel to new destinations with guidance from locals, while you do not have to necessarily meet the locals. It's a very fascinating way to travel around the world for people who may not be in a position to have a local guide join them physically during their trip. Christina describes it as visiting a local buddy who happens to be on vacation during your stay.
Meaningful Travel Stories: Nikki on Inspirational Experiences incorporating the 3 sustainability pillars
Today Wesley is joined by Nikki from Trip Kinetics who has a world of knowledge on working and travelling with locals. She takes us to the canals of Venice, then to the volcanoes in Iceland among many more destinations that have operators and tour guides leading the way with authentic experiences only locals would know!
Sustainable Travel Guide: Nathalie on Hotels leading the way & setting the sustainability bar!
Today, Wesley is joined by Nathalie from Rethink.Travel who for over a decade has been working with hotels around the world. Nathalie shares her personal sustainability journey and how that has impacted the way she works, including the influence it has along the tourism ecosystem. In this episode, there is so much to learn for both accommodation providers and travellers - the sustainability criteria that Wesley Discusses with Nathalie towards the end of the episode, including some best practice examples, which should inspire you for what you should look out for when choosing your next stay!
Sustainable Travel Guide: Sarah on travel events best practices
Today, Wesley is joined by Sarah from Sosu Events who shares insights on the MICE sector. The episode is a must-listen for those attending events, meetings and conferences. Sarah shares her thoughts on why we all should care about sustainability when either thinking of attending events or when hosting ourselves.
You can reach Sarah on her IG: @sarahsharingtravels.
Sustainable Travel Guide: Anca (Romania-USA) on responsible acts operators & travellers can look out for!
Wesley speaks with Anca, a sustainability leader and avid traveller from Eco-Coach Inc. Anca has travelled to more than 50 countries and continues to travel deeper. She shares tips to help tourism businesses become more sustainable in their operations so that they can meet traveller demand for more sustainable options. Anca, through her own travel stories to places such as:
- Croatia (where she connected with nature)
- Romania (where she enjoyed handcrafts from old ladies in the villages)
- Tanzania (where she struggled to find local providers for a long time but eventually climbed Kili)
- Denmark (where she first encountered the public bike system)
She walks travellers through sustainability elements they should be on the look out for when choosing travel providers. It's a jam-packed episode!
Sustainable Travel Guide: Chris Christensen on storytelling being the best way to promote meaningful travel
On this episode, Wesley talks to travel podcast guru Chris from Amateur Traveler who has a gift for storytelling & relies on his travel stories to inspire his listeners, friends and family to travel more sustainably. It's a jam packed episode with amazing stories from diverse destinations, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, Tanzania, Jordan and Ecuador among others.
Sustainable Destinations: Graeme (South Africa) on eco-trip itineraries & post-covid travel
Graeme provides ideas on itineraries that have a massive impact on local communities, whilst ensuring travellers have an enhanced experience in South Africa. We talk about the different age groups and the things each demographic can do and see in the 10 provinces of South Africa. If you are looking for South African highlights that you can visit responsibly, this is an episode for you!
Find out more about Graeme's company by following this link.
Experiential Travel Guide: Jan (USA) creating & leading educational trip abroad integrated with SGDs
Hear from Jan, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who has been leading groups of pre-health students on educational tours for over 10-years. She provides advice on how to engage the university study abroad department as faculty to establish a faculty-led study abroad programme & how to work with third-party providers based in the destinations.
There are lessons for students and parents alike on how to prepare; including when to apply for a passport & ethical responsibility while travelling as well as how students can talk about their time abroad, so that they can differentiate themselves in gad school and job applications.
Jan also shares a few hilarious stories about some of her trips leading students abroad in this episode. You can watch Jan's testimonial video on YouTube.
Meaningful Travel Stories: Sola (USA) making the most of your time travelling abroad
Hear from Sola, an alumna on the Tiritose Sustainable Travel global health clinical rotation internship in Zimbabwe! She shares with Wesley stories on why she chose to go abroad for an internship & how she navigated the diversity of culture and way of doing things, which was different from er own.
Sola talks about a typical day in the life of an intern in a rural hospital, the food and accommodation as well as leisure activities, including dancing to Nigerian music.
Meaningful Travel Stories: Ken (USA) on going abroad - learning & doing the unexpected
Today Wesley is joined by Ken, who as a medical student came to Zimbabwe for a global health clinical rotation internship; spending time at city and rural hospitals and then some adrenaline leisure activities.
Ken shares tips on what to pack, making the most of your time abroad by arriving with an open mind and doing things the local way!
Meaningful Travel Stories: Adam (England) on preparing for a volunteer trip abroad & making an impact
Hear from Adam, who has been to Zimbabwe several times to volunteer & making an impact on local communities and an even bigger impact on his own life.
Watch a testimonial from Adam on YouTube.
Meaningful Travel Stories: Ralf (SAP Germany) reflecting on Corporate Volunteering & two-way positive impact of the experience
Ralf talks to Wesley about the experience he & 11 other colleagues had volunteering their time & skills in Zimbabwe as part of their social sabatical sponsored by their company SAP. Most of all, Ralf is grateful for the new friends he was able to make because of this trip and how impactful his time in Zimbabwe was on his perspective, which has made him more critical of the way German news portrays other destinations.
Ralf recommends folks travel slow & travel deeper into the destination so that you can see and explore areas outside of the usual tourist spots. He went to an authentic, traditional Shona sculpture village & a hike overlooking the mighty Zambezi River in Mavuradona.
Hear from Caterina, who was part of the same cohort of SAP top talent that travelled to Zimbabwe.
Sustainable Travel Guide: Håvard (Norway) on the meaning of sustainability in tourism
Today, Wesley is joined by Håvard from the Travel Development Company (Travelopment) who trained at the SDG Academy & is a strong advocate of integrating the principle of "leave no one behind" when we travel or plan itineraries on behalf of others. Håvard talks through how travellers and travel providers can integrate the SDGs in they travel plans. This is an episode that helps you come closer to defining what sustainability in travel means to you & the steps you can take to help achieve Agenda 2030, while having the most amazing travel experiences.
Meaningful Travel Stories: Crystal (USA) insights from leading pre-vet students abroad
Crystal walks us through her trips to Tanzania and Zimbabwe, sharing valuable insights on how to setup a faculty-led study abroad programme, running it in-country and dealing with challenging situations that come with leading a group of students. Crystal shares helpful information for professors who are looking to put together a faculty-led programme and some of the things they can do or avoid before, during and after the trip. Students as well as parents will find this episode valuable if you are considering going abroad for the summer or winter break.
Testimonial from some of the students Crystal brought to Zimbabwe.
Sustainable Travel Guide: Michael (Stand For Trees) how travellers can help reduce deforestation & offset carbon footprint
Hear from Michael as he walks us through the Redd+ programme that his company Stand For Trees administers. In this episode, we talk about carbon offsets, purchasing legitimate certificates that avoid double or triple allocation. We also talk about the Kariba, Zimbabwe programme that covers more than a million hectares, helping local communities with conservation farming methods, building health centres among other initiatives as a result of the offsetting programme.
For travellers and operators alike, this is an episode that provides valuable insights in greenwashing, and how to know a legit programme from a fraudulent one. If you are interested in contributing towards reducing deforestation and then offsetting your carbon footprint, this is a must-listen episode.
You can find out more about Stand For Trees by following this link.
Meaningful Travel Stories: Amanda (UK) on combining travel with volunteering
Amanda who travelled to Zimbabwe as a gift to herself for her 50th talks about how she worked on the frontlines of establishing the first outpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre in Zimbabwe. She felt privileged to live with a host family and the invaluable experience of seeing life through the eyes of locals. Amanda loved travelling and volunteering so much that she returned for a second time, bringing her husband along this time.
In this episode, she shares her challenges settling in as a Brit and tips on how she got over culture shock and how to avail yourself to receiving help from locals. It's an excellent episode for skilled volunteers who want to travel whilst making an impact on local communities and an even bigger impact on their own lives.
Meaningful Travel Stories: Roma (Germany) on long haul solo travel in Zimbabwe
Hear about Roma's experience travelling to Zimbabwe and other Southern African countries lasting 3-years! We talk about pre-departure preparation, settling into new environment, safety and security as a female solo traveller and elements of reverse culture shock when she returns to Germany. It's an excellent episode for the ins and outs of slow travel.
Check out Roma's own podcast #ZimLove: Apple podcasts & Spotify
Meaningful Travel Stories: Caterina (Italy) from SAP on Corporate Volunteering
Caterina talks to Wesley about her month-long trip to Zimbabwe as part of the SAP top talent that travelled and volunteered at various social enterprises in Zimbabwe. She shares her pre-travel rituals, in-country experiences with local transportation, accommodation and interactions with local communities.
The Hive Travel Podcast - Trailer
Mauya, Welcome to The Hive Travel Podcast from Tiritose Sustainable Travel. Each episode shares a meaningful travel story and helps you travel slower and travel better!
Tiritose means ‘we are together’ in the Zimbabwean language, Shona. We build together by connecting people of all backgrounds and walks of life to share ideas, knowledge, experience, and skills. Our beehive logo represents collaboration and embodies the spirit of ‘mushandirapamwe’, which means ‘teamwork’, as well as strength of character exhibited by the honeybee – our mascot. The name of this podcast brings all these elements together and demonstrates our ethos as a brand and how we work alongside our travel partners.
With each episode we talk to people who have travelled abroad for more than just leisure and have worked with and through communities as interns or volunteers, either as individuals or as part of a group.
On The Hive Travel Podcast, we talk to local community leaders, including conservancy managers, homestay parents, hospital administrators, local business owners who receive and host international travellers and see the impact of travel through their own eyes!
Also on the show, we will answer your questions, respond to your comments, and invite our guests to provide insights into how we all can become conscious travellers.
We hope our show inspires you to explore and travel with purpose. Join our community of conscious travellers on social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube. And please do subscribe so that you receive notifications whenever we have a new episode,
Tatenda, Thank you!