Himmapaan Foundation

Vision

Sustainable and eco-friendly tourism that allows travellers to experience and learn about the diverse cultures of indigenous communities with the least possible negative impact on their ways of life and their surroundings

Mission

Himmapaan Foundation is a network of organizations, individuals and companies in the travel-related industry working together to support sustainable tourism in areas of Thailand where tourism has had a negative impact on the environment and local traditions. It strives to encourage travellers and the travel industry to take part in activities to restore or improve the quality of life of local people in their communities and their surroundings and support other environmental protection projects in need.

Who we are

Named after an ancient mythical forest and likened to a Garden of Eden for its bounties of nature, Himmapaan was founded in 2007 by East West Siam and its industry partners; Asian Oasis, Gebeco and Travel Indochina.

Himmapaan Foundation works to encourage collaboration among local communities, associate partners, organizations and specialists in the field to find the best possible sustainable solutions for areas affected by tourism.

What we do

The foundation supports community-based projects that encourage local people to help restore or preserve their cultures and surroundings. Moreover, they will receive some revenue from their participation. It seeks to restore the affected environment covering a wide range of subjects from Mangrove Forest Restoration to Beach and River Clean-Up. The selected sites of the projects also serve as educational attractions for visitors.

Pilot project

The Himmapaan Forest Restoration is our pilot project, and it involves planting trees in a vast area (113,600 square metres) of degraded forests in several districts of Chiang Mai province. In this programme, we work with the Forest Restoration Research Unit (FORRU) to plant indigenous trees that will help accelerate natural forest regeneration and biodiversity recovery. The programme will take at least six years to produce results.

What you can do

-    Donate

• Individuals – online donation (www.himmapaan.com)
• Organizations – yearly donation, regular giving etc.
• Visitors – travel to the sites to see firsthand and learn about the programmes and lives of native people in the areas

-    Volunteer

Disseminate the information about the Foundation or publish the Himmapaan programmes in brochures, websites or any communication tools to create public awareness.

However you choose to support the programmes, you will be playing a crucial role helping to protect the environment at risk while saving local traditions from dying out.