UnTours Foundation

Why Oprah Winfrey, The New York Times, B Lab, and the UnTours Foundation all love Yellow Leaf Hammocks: Yellow Leaf Hammocks is more than just a hammock company. It’s a social enterprise that empowers the Mlabri people of Thailand, also known as the “People of the Yellow Leaves.” This marginalized indigenous community has historically faced poverty. But by weaving hammocks for Yellow Leaf, they’ve secured a significant income boost, escaping poverty and building a brighter future. This newfound stability is transformative. Weaver’s children now have access to education thanks to newly built schools.The economic security Yellow Leaf provides is also believed to have played a role in the Mlabri’s successful fight for Thai citizenship and civil rights in 2001. But Yellow Leaf’s impact goes beyond social good. Their hammocks, handcrafted using traditional techniques, are renowned for their beautiful craftsmanship and durability. This dual commitment to quality and social impact is what caught the eye of tastemakers like Oprah and The New York Times, and our team at the UnTours Foundation who invested in Yellow Leaf Hammocks. If you are a community-changing business like Yellow Leaf Hammocks seeking investment, visit the link in our profile to find out more about our funds and how we help businesses just like yours.

We're thrilled to announce that our Reset Tourism Fund has surpassed its Phase One fundraising goal, raising $1.5 million from a coalition of key funding partners in the travel industry to support changemaking small tourism businesses around the world. Together, these funding partners enable the Reset Tourism Fund to provide access to the kind of flexible and affordable capital that innovative entrepreneurs need to grow and expand their positive impact in communities across the world. This milestone demonstrates a collective commitment among travel industry leaders to build a more inclusive and sustainable future for tourism. Surpassing this goal would not have been possible without the support of the Reset Tourism Fund’s visionary community of industry-leading funding partners, whose contributions have had a major impact on small tourism businesses around the world: ✅ Expedia Group ✅ TUI Care Foundation ✅ EXO Travel ✅ Skyscanner ✅ MaCher USA, UK and Switzerland Partners like Expedia Group have supported the Reset Tourism Fund as part of their broader leadership in the travel industry around critical topics. Aditi Mohapatra (Vice President, Global Social Impact & Sustainability at Expedia Group) says, “Creating inclusive travel experiences is critical for the travel industry and requires collective action. Expedia Group is committed to supporting an improved and equitable experience, and our partnership with the Reset Tourism Fund enables us to support numerous local travel providers innovating to offer more inclusive opportunities.” Investments from the Reset Tourism Fund have ranged from supporting the growth of sustainability-focused study abroad programs for students and young professionals (The GREEN Program), investing in the first Black-owned hostel in the United States (Wanderstay Hospitality Group), helping finance the rebuild of an ecolodge in Zambia that burned down in a fire (Taita Falcon Lodge), funding a community-based ecotourism enterprise in Rwanda (Red Rocks Rwanda), and a regenerative tourism trekking initiative in Bali (Astungkara Way).

At the UnTours Foundation, we’re proud to support organizations like First Step Staffing, where every day is dedicated to transforming lives through employment opportunities. First Step Staffing isn’t just a staffing agency—it’s a lifeline for individuals facing barriers to traditional employment. By providing meaningful job placements, they empower people to rebuild their lives and regain their independence. Whether it’s helping someone transition out of homelessness or assisting veterans reintegrate into civilian life, First Step Staffing’s impact is profound and far-reaching. Visit First Step Staffing’s website if you’re looking to make a difference by hiring new employees or to learn more about how you can support their mission through donations to the UnTours Foundation.

We’re excited to share Expedia Group's Study on Inclusion in Travel, which highlights the challenges faced by underserved travelers across the United States and identifies gaps that need attention from the travel industry. With the support of Expedia Group's 'Made To Travel Fund', the Reset Tourism Fund has been investing in innovative tourism businesses that are meeting these challenges and filling these gaps. ✅ Access Trax: Access Trax designs portable, foldable pathways that enable individuals with mobility challenges to access outdoor environments. ✅ Advenchair: Advenchair is a rugged, self-propelled wheelchair designed for challenging terrains, enabling users to independently explore outdoor adventures that are typically inaccessible, from mountain trails to destinations like Machu Picchu and the Grand Canyon. ✅ Adventure Tours UK: A Certified B Corporation tour operator offering sustainable adventures and nature retreats in the UK, focusing on getting underrepresented travelers outdoors. ✅ Black Travel Summit: A platform dedicated to supporting the Black travel community through in-person events and conferences, bridging the gaps between Black travel businesses, entrepreneurs, influencers, and industry players across the tourism supply chain. ✅ Greether: A travel platform connecting solo women travelers to verified local female “Greeters” for safe and personalized travel experiences. ✅ Green Book Global: The first Black travel review site, empowering Black travelers to explore the world safely. They earn commissions from bookings and share them with users. ✅ iAccess Life: A platform that empowers travelers with mobility impairments to rate and review the accessibility of establishments, helping others make informed decisions on accessible travel options. ✅ Pink Coconuts: A travel platform that connects LGBTQ travelers to vetted LGBTQ-friendly travel companies, focusing on tropical and emerging destinations. ✅ Stay Pittsburgh: An independently-owned hotel in downtown Pittsburgh that aims to provide housing for individuals experiencing housing instability. ✅ The GREEN Program: Offers immersive, short-term sustainability study abroad programs that provides students with hands-on experiences in cutting-edge environmental practices and sustainable innovations. ✅ Travengers AU: Provides travel opportunities for neurodivergent young people, offering them unique experiences that help build social networks and develop life skills. ✅ Vamos Expeditions, a certified B-Corp: A Certified B Corporation offering personalized travel experiences in South America including a focus on travelers with mobility challenges. ✅ Wanderstay Hospitality Group: A multi-concept hospitality brand founded by Deidre Mathis, the first and only Black woman to own a hostel in the United States, with a nonprofit arm dedicated to helping underserved students experience travel abroad.

Clean laundry. Clean planet. Clean slates. This is the motto of Wash Cycle Laundry — a forward-thinking, eco-friendly laundry service in which the UnTours Foundation is a proud investor of. Founded in 2010 in Philadelphia, Wash Cycle Laundry provides eco-smart laundry and linen rental services primarily to hotels and businesses often underserved by large laundries. What makes them unique? They handle pickups and deliveries exclusively by bike, pioneering sustainable urban transport. Beyond laundry, Wash Cycle Laundry champions social impact by employing individuals overcoming incarceration, homelessness, and other barriers, providing hundreds with new opportunities for stability. As the first external investor, the UnTours Foundation helped Wash Cycle Laundry expand beyond Philadelphia, enabling them to set up operations in multiple destinations across the United States. Visit their website to find a Wash Cycle Laundry near you or go to the UnTours Foundation website to discover more world-changing businesses just like this one! 

Empowering 3,500+ Mexican farmers, one bean at a time: How RicinoMex is reviving a local industry and creating a stable income source. RicinoMex isn’t your average industrial giant. This Mexican company is on a mission to breathe new life into Oaxaca’s castor oil industry, and at the heart of their success lies a unique partnership with over 3,500 small-holder farmers. Here’s how it works: ✅ Guaranteed market: RicinoMex pledges to buy all the castor beans these farmers harvest. This eliminates the risk of a volatile market and provides a reliable source of income. No more worrying if their crops will sell – RicinoMex has their backs. ✅ Focus on smallholders: By working with smaller farms, RicinoMex distributes the benefits more widely. This empowers individual farmers and injects financial stability into rural communities. ✅ Revitalizing a legacy: Castor oil production was once a cornerstone of Oaxaca’s economy. RicinoMex's commitment to smallholders is reviving this local industry, fostering a sense of pride and reconnecting with the region’s agricultural heritage. The result? A win-win for everyone. Farmers have a stable income, RicinoMex gets a reliable supply of castor beans, and Oaxaca reclaims its position as a major player in the global castor oil market. It’s a powerful example of how empowering small-scale producers can lead to a thriving and sustainable industry.

For many refugees, finding stable and dignified employment in a new country can be incredibly challenging. Language barriers, cultural differences, and the trauma of displacement often hinder their ability to secure jobs that match their skills and qualifications. Enter Jeremy Priest and Mark Johnson, who saw a chance to make a difference by creating Knotty Tie Co., a business that would not only produce beautiful, custom-designed neckties, bowties, pocket squares, and scarves but also embrace the talents of refugees, helping them rebuild their lives and integrating into their new communities. To turn their vision into reality, Jeremy and Mark partnered with “We Made This,” a Denver non-profit training program providing comprehensive training and support and preparing refugees for meaningful employment at Knotty Tie Co.. Knotty Tie Co.’s mission is a testament to the power of business to drive positive social change. By creating employment opportunities for resettled refugees, the company not only helps individuals rebuild their lives but also enriches the community with diverse talents and perspectives. 

We are excited to announce that Pachamama Coffee, an investee of the UnTours Foundation, has won the International Sustainability Pioneer Award at the 2024 Sustainable Food Awards in Amsterdam which recognizes trailblazers advancing sustainability in the food industry. For nearly two decades, Pachamama Coffee has set the gold standard for sustainability in coffee with its smallholder, farmer-owned business model. As the leading farmer-owned coffee company in the U.S., Pachamama Coffee is organized as a Global Cooperative of Farmers (GCF) and is wholly owned by smallholder producers in Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, and Ethiopia. This structure allows farmers to set their prices, control the supply chain, and hold every vote in the boardroom, making Pachamama Coffee the only vertically integrated coffee roaster from the global South to North America. This well-deserved award highlights Pachamama Coffee’s commitment to sustainability and the empowerment of smallholder farmers, prioritizing ownership, economic stability, and environmental stewardship. Learn more about Pachamama Coffee and explore other fair trade businesses the UnTours Foundation has invested in on our website: https://lnkd.in/et67BPqp

The UnTours Foundation is excited to highlight the launch of a groundbreaking tea factory in the Himalayas by one of our investees, Young Mountain Tea, in partnership with smallholder farmers from the Kumaon Tea Farmers Trust in the Kumaon region of the Indian Himalayas. As investors in Young Mountain Tea, we are proud to see them launch this innovative new fair trade initiative with their local partners, shifting the ownership of tea factories from large entities to rural, smallholder farmers which promotes economic justice, farmer equity, and regenerative agricultural practices. Historically, tea farmers have lacked the capital, technical expertise, and market access to launch their own factories. As the global market for specialty tea increases, there is an opportunity for farmers to earn more through better quality teas, if they can own the factories. This state-of-the-art, farmer-owned tea factory marks a significant departure from the tea industry’s colonial legacy. The farmers, 90% of whom are women, will be earning five times the commodity rates and benefiting from collective ownership. They are also trained in regenerative farming, ensuring the sustainability of the region’s agriculture for generations. The high-elevation tea gardens produce four premium organic teas with unique, complex flavors that rival the best from Darjeeling. Stay on the lookout for Young Mountain Tea and Kumaon Tea’s first batch of sustainably grown teas arriving this September!

More than a grocery store, the South Philly Food Co-op uses food as a force for good – at your tables, in your community, and for the planet! It is community-owned and operated, ensuring the store reflects the needs of its neighbors. The store offers fresh, local, and additive-free and chemical-free groceries at fair prices, making healthy eating accessible to more people. Plus, it’s a vibrant community hub, actively contributing to the community by collecting donations at its registers and organizing food drives for local pantries and community fridges. ✅ Membership: The Co-op is owned by over 1,300 member-owners who each have a say in how the store is run, ensuring it truly represents the community it serves. ✅ Local Partnerships: They partner with over 50 local farmers, producers, and vendors to provide a diverse selection of fresh and sustainable products. ✅ Community Impact: In the past year alone, they have donated over 2,000 pounds of food to local pantries and community fridges, helping to combat food insecurity in South Philadelphia. We were thrilled to provide working capital to help the South Philly Food Co-op open its doors, and we couldn’t be prouder of its success! Live in South Philly? Visit the store at 2031 S. Juniper Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148, and shop for a cause!