Cape Verde

Group trip to the island of Santiago + responsible tourism

The dates available for 2025 are:

• Easter: 11-20 April
• May long weekend: 25 April - 4 May
• July: 5-14 July
• August: 14-23 August

Join our responsible tourism trip!

Discover Cape Verde

Cape Verde captivated us 100%, so much so that we came for 2 months to evaluate projects and we have stayed here. Marina is the colleague who has evaluated them and this is her reflection: "It is a country with a harmony and a very special dynamic, with social codes that you discover after spending a few days sharing its culture. They enjoy a sense of community that surrounds you at all times, Cape Verde embraces you and you get caught up in its embrace".

Family breakdown, poor food variety, social inequalities, a government that does not focus its development objectives on supporting and promoting sustainable tourism and instead focuses on unethical mass tourism (cruise ships and corporations) and sets a very bad example to the most vulnerable communities who witness drugs, prostitution and alcohol from tourists.

Cape Verde is a country with great potential, and political stability where there has never been a civil war. It also has very good international relations which, -if brought to fruition and developed in a sustainable and appropriate way-, could bear many positive outcomes in the coming years improving the economic situation of many families and of the country itself.

Praia, the capital, is the most populated place in the country, it is very busy and where the majority of jobs are in a country with high unemployment rates. Many families in Praia and in Cape Verde itself live on remittances from relatives abroad. Currently, Cape Verde still has some social problems, but it is considered a very safe and peaceful country if you take the right precautions relating to the time of day and the neighborhoods you stay.

In Cape Verde there is a lack of animal education, so animals are not cared for or respected. Dogs, until recently, have suffered many atrocities such as being set on fire to get rid of them. We therefore collaborate with an association that works to care for animals in general and educates Cape Verdean society to respect them.

Being a child is not easy in Cape Verde. Families break up very early and women become pregnant at the age of 14-15. There are many women who have 5, 6 and 7 children by the age of 30, alone and without the help of their parents or husbands. Cape Verde is one of the countries in the world with the least family structure. Families do not stay together very long and men have several wives, often abandoning their wives and children. In most cases, women are left to fend for themselves. 

Many disadvantaged neighbourhoods also have problems with drugs, alcohol and violence among young people, not to mention the lack of job opportunities and education on the islands. Father-child relationships are often difficult, as it is customary for the father not to listen to his son until he is 14-15 years old, and also because of the absence of the father. In many cases, fathers have already created other families and forget the previous one. 

These situations hinder the well-being and balanced development of many young people.

We are currently collaborating with these projects:

In Santiago (Praia)

• Community development project:: This centre provides support to young people and adults at risk of social exclusion and has art, culture and after-school support workshops. It works to improve the lives of people in the community and to improve the infrastructure and conditions in the Achada Grande neighbourhood. 

In Sao Vicente

• Circular economy project:: Empowerment of women and community by recycling fishermen's nets. Transforming products such as fishermen's nets into beautiful bags and selling them in a small Fair Trade shop.
• Dog and cat rescue and fostering centre:The project supports the animal welfare of the whole island. It currently houses around 100 dogs and more than twenty cats near the city of Mindelo.