Interview with Jackie Kariithi, founder of Kenyan ethical travel firm, GSE Ecotours Ltd
Age: 29
Occupation: Social entrepreneur, GSE Ecotours Ltd
Profile of Jackie Kariithi, founder of GSE Ecotours
Age: 29
Occupation: Social entrepreneur, founder of GSE Ecotours Ltd
How long have been doing this? Two and half years
What is it about your job that makes it ethical?
Working with local communities in Africa to enhance their livelihoods
What’s the best bit about your job?
Organising a homestays’ visit from start to finish.
What do you do to relax?
Dancing, reading & of course travelling
Who do you live with?
With family members.
Whereabouts do you live?
Maidstone, Kent & Nairobi, Kenya
What were you doing before this?
Assistant programmes manager for an Environmental Consultancy firm.
What was your very first full-time job?
Customer service assistant in a call centre.
What advice would you give to someone wishing to embark on the same sort of work as you?
Be prepared for a lot of hard work. Also be ready to sacrifice some material comforts to get where you want.
In your view, what are the most positive aspects of Kenyan culture?
One of the most positive aspects is the richness and diversity of each of the tribes we have worked. They all have a deep sense of community spirit and have retained most of the traditional family values that are embedded in the community.
What is the most frustrating thing about Kenyan culture?
Establishing a transparent and credible rapport with the communities can be difficult at first as an outsider; it takes time to earn their trust and full cooperation despite them fully understanding the benefits that will accrue to them. This does cause some frustration for as a facilitator when trying to ensure that the project is meeting its objectives.
What’s the worst thing?
Not having a regular pay cheque at the end of every month!
What have the last 12 months been like for you?
Incredible highs and incredible lows. We have been able to increase the number of villages we are working with hence an increase in the diversity of cultures available. This is has been one of the high points of the last one year. The run up to the General Elections in Kenya created a lot of tension within the country and sparked of a wave of violence that left the tourism industry on its knees. The knock on effect for small tourism enterprises like ours was tremendous and has definitely been one of the lowest points for the past year.
Have you got any plans for the next 12 months you’d like to share with us?
Plenty, but I can only talk about one of them which is to expand our markets to the US and perhaps Asia & the Far East.
If you were Prime Minister, what’s the very first thing you would do?
Not sure…… perhaps offer tax credits against reduction of carbon footprints and emissions both by individuals and corporate organisations.
As cheap and easily available oil is expected to run out in the next couple of decades, what do you think will be the predominant form of transport in 2027?
I think it would still be the car but with cleaner fuel…. I might be very wrong on that though.
What have you done that you were most proud of?
Setting up a company with high logistical outputs but with very little financial backing.
What single issue are you most concerned about in the world at large?
War and any ongoing conflicts in world make it a very unsavoury & unsafe place for everyone from Guatemala to Guernsey Island.
Which person in the public eye do you most admire and why?
Oprah Winfrey, her consistency and dedication to her career whilst overcoming a lot of hurdles to get where she is today is inspiring and provides motivation for everyone in our generation.
What’s your website address?
www.gse-ecotours.com