Aoka was born to unite living beings.

 

Our activities promote the integration of people with nature: we bring together individuals of different cultures from big cities and small villages alike to be among plants, animals and minerals in one living and evolving context.

 

This union among living things occurs through travels to richly distinct regions, visiting local communities whose traditions encourage peace and harmony with nature.

 

At Aoka, we consider a trip as much more than a superficial view of the landscape. For us, to travel means to really experience a place: immersing ourselves in a new culture, expanding our knowledge, and opening ourselves to the lessons that interacting with local people and nature can bring.

 

From these experiences, Aoka hopes that the trips will promote health and happiness, raise awareness about socio-environmental concerns, and improve the distribution of wealth among the people we serve. Thus, we ultimately move towards the betterment of the world through our holistic, innovative approach to business.

 

In order for Aoka to create a just and sustainable network, our profits are transparently divided among the communities with which we work, NGO partners, specialists and facilitators. But beyond economic return, Aoka seeks to inspire joy, healthy living, nostalgia for traditional ways of life, collective consciousness and, finally, evolution.

 

We understand that the world is in constant transition – developing at a faster and more detrimental rate than ever before – and Aoka responds by asking people to slow down, be aware of what they consume, and find green, viable ways to nurture the health of our communities and our planet. On our trips, we remind people that to be human is to be natural and so we should be at one with nature in our actions.

 

Humanity was born into nature like all other living things on this earth, but walked away from it before gaining all the wisdom that plants with roots, leaves, flowers and fruits have to offer. We isolated ourselves from contact with the realms of animals, plants and minerals. We forgot that the four fundamental elements that form the body’s unique composition are earth, water, fire and air, which form everything and all.

 

At this stage of humanity’s withdrawal from nature, much of the urban environment fails to provide well-balanced and healthy living conditions. The complexity of its technological and industrialized hold is enough to block city dwellers from feeling the biological call of their origins.

 

Even as contemporary urban life distracts us from living in the moment to the rhythm of nature, Aoka reminds us of cultures, which still retain the traditional wisdom that comes with living close to verdant terrain. Through the help of travelers with a conscience, Aoka supports these communities that persevere in remaining rooted to their ancestral lands, nurturing their ecosystems, and holding on to their age-old knowledge.

 

What can happen when an urban being meets another human being not in a city but in a pristine natural setting with protected fauna and flora along with local hosts who are ready to receive, teach, live and share moments of their living culture?

 

Unexpected, elevating, breathing experiences of life, for life!