How do you determine whether a local ecotour program is appropriate to be listed by EarthFoot? The program should be...

• non-destructive
  • no killing of any kind
  • no marking trees or machete hacking
  • no approaching wild animals so close that they are disturbed
  • no walking off of trails
  • no trash or pollution left behind

• respectful of local people and culture
  • not allowing  photographing of local people without  permission
  • no crossing private or communal property without permission
  • no behavior upsetting or annoying to local people

• economically advantageous to local people
  • If your guide accompanies you through a traditional community, he or she should be part of that community, not someone who at the end of the day returns to the big city. This assures that money you pay the guide will circulate in the local community where it is needed, and will encourage the local people to preserve the attractions you wanted to see or experience in the first place.

• rewarding to you
  • you should learn things important to you
  • you should gain new insights into nature and/or humanity
  • you should come away feeling in some degree spiritually enlarged

For the host's program to fit EarthFoot's format, the following should be true:

• The host should be willing to receive at least as few as four visitors at a time, and deal with them on a one-on-one basis, not just add them to pre-existing packages to "round out the numbers.

• The host should have at least indirect access to e-mail, even if it is only a weekly visit to a cybercafe, or the offices of a local NGO agreeing to relay messages..

If all the above are true, then please invite the potential host to contact EarthFoot.

• On the Web, go to EarthFoot's Ecotour Posterboard at http://www.earthfoot.org, where the link "info for prospective hosts" at the bottom of the welcome page explains how to submit a program.

• Via e-mail, send a message to EarthFoot at info@earthfoot.org.