“There’s a phenomenon called the ‘feminization of agriculture’ across Asia and Africa, where men go to the cities to look for work, and a lot of times, women are left with the children to tend to the crops,” explains Christine. “As a result, they are at the forefront of climate change. I realized that we could support them by strengthening their livelihoods through travel.”
Christine and her NGOs have taken women on transformative expeditions everywhere from Switzerland, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Kenya and beyond, with participant reviews ranging from “one of the most empowering experiences of my life” (Sandra, Antarctica Expedition) to “truly remarkable” (Carolina, Switzerland Expedition).
Christine runs the trips by partnering with on-the-ground operators, like Secret Compass, to help cover much of the logistics and safety. And while these partnerships help mitigate a lot of the risk, these are still real expeditions. The itinerary for the Mongolia expedition, for example, urged travelers to bring ski goggles to protect against snow blindness. Once an itinerary is confirmed, potential trip participants must apply to join an expedition, and Christine goes to great lengths to ensure her trips include a good balance of personality types, professions and backgrounds (too many Type A personalities, for example, is a dynamic worth avoiding).
