Thursday, May 29, 2008

J Kariithi - Director GSE Ecotours

How old are you?
29

What’s your occupation and who do you work for?
Social entrepreneur, GSE Ecotours Ltd


How long have been doing this?
Two and half years


What is it about your job that makes it ethical?
Working with local communities in Africa to enhance their livelihoods


What’s the best bit about your job?
Organising a homestays’ visit from start to finish.


What’s the worst thing?
Not having a regular pay check at the end of every month!


What have the last 12 months been like for you?
Incredible highs and incredible lows.


What were you doing before this?
Assistant programmes manager for an Environmental Consultancy firm.


What was your very first full-time job?
Customer service assistant in a Call Centre.


What advice would you give to someone wishing to embark on the same sort of work as you?
Be prepared for a lot of hardwork, also be ready to sacrifice some material comforts to get where you want.


Have you got any plans for the next 12 months you’d like to share with us?
Plenty, but I can only talk about one of them which is to expand our markets to the US and perhaps Asia & the Far East.


What do you do to relax?
Dancing, reading & of course travelling


Who do you live with?
With family members.


Whereabouts do you live?
Maidstone, Kent & Nairobi, Kenya


If you were Prime Minister, what’s the very first thing you would do?
Not sure…… perhaps offer tax credits against reduction of carbon footprints and emissions both by individuals and corporate organisations.


As cheap and easily available oil is expected to run out in the next couple of decades, what do you think will be the predominant form of transport in 2027?
I think it would still be the car but with cleaner fuel…. I might be very wrong on that though.


Have you got any guilty carbon secrets?
Yes…… don’t want to say.


What have you done that you were most proud of?
Setting up a company with high logistical outputs but with very little financial backing.


What single issue are you most concerned about in the world at large?
War and any ongoing conflicts in world make it a very unsavoury & unsafe place for everyone from Guatemala to Guernsey Island.


Which person in the public eye do you most admire and why?
Oprah Winfrey, her consistency and dedication to her career whilst overcoming a lot of hurdles to get where she is today is inspiring and provides motivation for everyone in our generation.


What’s your website address?
http://www.gse-ecotours.com/


What are your three favourite other websites of the moment?
http://www.travelmole.com/
http://www.scenestorm.com/
http://www.smartplanet.com/

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