We’re proud to share that our Steppes Fund for Female Guides has won the Most OutThere Initiative in Community, Conservation and Sustainability award at the OutThere Experientialist Awards.
We’re grateful for the recognition, but more importantly, we hope it draws attention to the wider impact of funding female guides. Supporting women into guiding roles can help create skilled employment, strengthen community resilience and shift who benefits from tourism. In turn, that can support better outcomes for families, local economies and the long-term protection of natural environments.
Read on for an update on some of the women and organisations the fund has supported and the progress they’ve made.
Sonali and Nature Guide’s Academy
In Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh, Steppes partnered with the Nature Guides Academy to support Sonali, an aspiring guide undertaking a 35-day professional training course. This year’s cohort included 18 participants from low income communities, four of whom were female. The course began with orientation and a two-and-a-half-day Wilderness First Aid module covering CPR, patient assessment and injury management. Sonali and her peers developed core guiding skills, from observation techniques and bird identification to communication and guest engagement, followed by natural history modules led by visiting specialists.
Course leaders reported strong cohesion and high morale, with Sonali progressing well. Participants described the experience as exceeding expectations, with many expressing pride in their development and new confidence as naturalists and guides. We were delighted to hear that Sonali has successfully completed her course, along with this fantastic photograph of the cohort with their certificates.
Prathini and Teardrop
Teardrop Hotels have created a framework to support women entering guiding roles. In Galle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Sri Lanka’s southwest coast, Steppes Fund For Female Guides funded Prathini, who completed a six-month training programme to become a guide. Her four day-a-week course combined English lessons, Galle Fort walk training and mock tours. Feedback from her practice tours was encouraging, with her main area for development being the strengthening of projection and delivery.
Upon completing the course, we were delighted to hear that Prathini signed an agreement with Fort Bazaar (a Teardrop hotel) to start walking tours for its guests as well as hosting private walks for Teardop Journeys travel company in Lununganga, Kumu Beach and Wallawwa.
Liz and Coltur
In collaboration with our partners at Coltur, we have continued to support Liz, one of our sponsored female guide trainees in Cusco, Peru. Her progress at CENFOTUR (Peru’s government-run training institution for the hospitality and tourism industry) has been encouraging: she is completing her second year with an average grade of over 80% and attends classes with almost no absences.
The Cusco office is now exploring internship opportunities for the start of her third year. Liz hopes to gain experience as a transfer assistant, while she builds on her language skills.
Fernanda and Colombian Journeys
Through the Steppes Fund for Female Guides and in partnership with Colombian Journeys, we continue to support Fernanda as she transitions her early aspiration to be a guide into a new career focused on marketing and sustainability within the tourism sector. Fernanda is originally from San José del Guaviare, a town gradually appearing on the tourist map yet still affected by guerrilla activity, making her determination to build a future in travel all the more noteworthy.
Fernanda has already achieved a B2 level in English, an important milestone that strengthens her professional prospects. Building on this progress, she has enrolled in a Strategic Sustainability Training programme offered by Latin America Travel Association, where all sessions are held in English. Participating in these workshops has allowed her to practise speaking, present her ideas and develop greater confidence in professional settings.
Climate and conservation challenges are never solved by one action alone, but investing in people, particularly women with deep local knowledge, is one meaningful step towards lasting change.
If you’d like to learn more about the different initiatives supported by our Steppes Fund for Change, have a read of our 2024/25 Positive Impact Report.
