Crooked Trails

nonprofit

Address and Contact:

2115 E. Mercer St

Seatle, WA

98112

Christine Mackay (Executive Director)
chris@crookedtrails.com
206-372-4405

www.crookedtrails.org

Organization Description:

1. Crooked Trails, a nonprofit community based travel organization, was developed in 1998 to create more environmentally and culturally sensitive travel in areas where the negative impacts of tourism were threatening the cultures and environments of popular tourist destinations or fragile regions. For the past several years, Crooked Trails, in cooperation with other non-governmental organizations, has conducted a series of travel programs in support of the indigenous peoples of Thailand, Nepal, Kenya, Peru and India. Our programs allow local communities the opportunity to develop and administrate cultural exchange programs that help support their efforts to preserve and protect their environments and to confront the challenges of their rapidly changing surroundings. It is the partnerships of the in country NGOs’ and the communities we work with that is so impactful for the people as well as the program participants.

Example Project:

2. Because we have effectively partnered with NGOs and communities in several countries with significant and lasting results; for this application we will focus on the country of Nepal. Crooked Trails partnered with KEEP -The Katmandu Environmental Education Project. Over the course of 4 programs we have restored 4 schools, built latrines for another and are currently raising funds to build a school this fall. Crooked Trails relies on KEEP’s excellent relationships with the villages in which we work to determine where the need is greatest and where the help would be the most beneficial to both the community members as well as our volunteers. We have found that the Nepalese are extremely grateful not only for the physical projects but more importantly for the opportunity to have a true cultural exchange. Tourists do not visit the villages we go to and because we use homestays on all our programs the time in the community is very meaningful for both the hosts and the visitors. Although many of our clients sign up because they want to do volunteer service in another country and give back, they all return knowing that the greatest change that occurred while they were in Nepal was inside themselves. Crooked Trails founders have come to realize that time in the rural communities of underdeveloped countries of the world are astonishingly transformative for Americans.

Activities that combat poverty:

Community Development, Fair Trade

Activities that protect the environment:

Eco-tourism, Natural Disasters, Water & Sanitation

Areas of Service:

Education & Training, Capacity building, Public Awareness, Sustainable Business Operations

Nations of the World:

Africa: Mali, Kenya

Asia: Cambodia, China, India, Nepal, Thailand

Americas: United States of America, Peru, Ecuador