ETHICAL TRAVELLER:I HAVE always had a bit of an inferiority complex when it comes to the French. I lived there for almost three years as a student, and looked in awe at the women, with their perfect skin, toned muscles, and "born to wear tight jeans" bottoms. I tried hard to keep up but I didn't ski, couldn't talk philosophy and didn't know an aperitif from a digestif. Years later they still manage to seduce me, which is why I am not surprised when it's a small, family-run French company that wins my personal Palme D'Or for all things ethical in travel this year.
Itinerance Trekking (www.itinerance.net) runs walking holidays in the Mercantour National Park, in the Alpes Maritimes region, just north of Nice. Set up by Christine and Gerard Kieffer, both expert mountain guides who live and breathe the Alps, it offers the perfect responsible-tourism product – walking holidays in the Alps, following carefully managed routes and supporting small, locally owned accommodation along the way. Visitors are encouraged to come by train and are given detailed information on all flora and fauna, as well as how to protect it en route. Itinerance also works closely with its network of accommodation providers to offer high-quality home-made and locally sourced food.
What makes Itinerance and the Kieffers stand out is that they know the future of the Alps lies in the hands of our children. That is why they have created a family-friendly organisation. And the secret of their success is simple. Donkeys. They have become expert donkey breeders, enabling families to take off for a week at a time, following detailed itineraries over mountains, along rivers and around lakes, while a donkey carries bags to their next bed for the night. It is inspired. The children are given detailed instructions on how to lead the donkey and care for him. Not only does this teach the children so much, it also encourages them along the tougher uphill stretches.
The Kieffers also offer the chance to go wild camping in the mountains. Their sons are the expert guides who lead you up to heights of 1,000m-3,000m, with donkeys and horses to carry bags, and then set up tents and campfires to cook and share bush skills for the week.
The Kieffers are also active conservationists and have recently taken on one local council at Valberg for irresponsible disposal of building materials after the ski season. Some of the walking-path signposts disappeared during construction work, and walkers weren’t being given quite the same welcome as the huge numbers of skiers who arrive every year. They are right to complain, too, as this resort has won awards for its responsible practices.
But the Kieffers are not just seeking to preach and convert. They have created, first and foremost, a superb tourism product to appeal to everyone. They are steadily bringing around many others in the region to their way of thinking – from the small community-run auberge in Sauze, which used to offer basic accommodation and food and now serves home-made ravioli, stuffed with locally grown pumpkin and wild spinach, to the small hotelier in Peone whose picnic looks as if he has raided the best organic farmers’ market you can imagine.
When I was there, my various hosts talked adoringly of the Kieffers, the business they were generating for the area, their commitment to the region, and their pure and honest goodness. They may not all have yurts, compost loos, and environmentally friendly products, like at base camp Kieffer, but they are doing their best to change their ways.
So the French still do things with class, style and passion. I should hate them, but I don’t. I just keep going back for more.
www.ethicaltraveller.co.uk