Explore More Sustainably with Large Minority

Julian Carnall and Juan Paredes, co-founders and directors of Large Minority and Travel Massive London and Miami members, help travellers to discover life changing adventures through various travel adventure challenges.

Large Minority allows people to immerse themselves in a culture by traveling on local transport and setting challenges along the way, encouraging social interaction while pushing them out side of their comfort zones.

Who is your startup for?

Everyone. Well almost. You do need a drivers license on some of our challenges.

What inspired you to create this startup?

We were inspired by our own travel experiences and motivated by our desire to promote adventure trips which had a direct, positive impact on the local communities. These are types of trips which are ‘hands-on’ and allow for complete local immersion through authentic travel experiences.

We wanted to focus away from package holidays, regular tours, beach holidays. 

Who does Large Minority help?

Our Challenges are charity events designed to benefit the countries we visit. We donate 10% of participant registration fees towards charitable projects which we visit along the way. 

From driving rickshaws across Sri Lanka and Cambodia to surviving Colombia’s Amazon Rainforest and sailing in the Philippines, we make the surreal, real.

How is your initiative financed? Where do donations go or how are they used?

Our responsible travel initiative is funded from participant registration fees and additional funds raised by themselves through fundraising efforts. We work with local charities and NGO’s at each destination and focus primarily on low investment/high impact social and environmental projects, which include tree planting campaigns at local schools.

What has been your biggest success or accomplishment?

Since 2009, Large minority has changed the lives of more than 350 travelers whilst raising over $126,000 (directly and indirectly) for charitable causes in truly amazing destinations.

What makes your startup different from other similar startups out there?

There are very few other trips like ours out there. I think nowadays people are looking for trips and adventures that are just different. Away form the “norm”. At the same time people are really paying attention to looking after our planet and becoming more aware that its not just about taking but also giving back. Our adventures really encourage this type of travel and were all about giving back to the destinations we visit.

What do you hope your initiative will accomplish in the next 2-5 years?

We hope to expand, launch new destinations and increase our capacity whilst staying true to our roots and identity. We also hope to continue growing our charity efforts and bringing positive change to the local communities.

How is your startup changing the future of the industry or helping to make travel better?

Well we always say, if every travel company or tour company gave back like we did, social and economic troubles in the destinations we visit would soon disappear. Unfortunately, the world we live in does not always allow for this and because of shareholders in large organizations, it’s not always possible to give away a percentage to charitable causes. That’s not how we look at it. We include a 10% charitable donation on all of our experiences meaning form the off set people are making a huge difference and some of them don’t even realize it.

Do you have any tips for aspiring do-gooders who want to give back or start their own social project?

The most important tip is to make sure you’re passionate about what you do. The world is a wonder, and as long as you truly believe in what you do, things will come together. Working with local communities is challenging but very rewarding.

How can someone help or get involved?

They can join one of our challenges by visiting our website, volunteer as crew, or raise funds for our projects. They can also join Travel Massive and connect with us and other likeminded travelers. You should check out some of the awesome Cambo Challenge Travel Massive story-series.  

Travel Start-Up is a monthly series that profiles unique online travel start-ups in the Travel Massive community around the world. Connect with Julian and Juan on Travel Massive, Facebook and Twitter.