As traditional Mende communities, we value our cultural, historical and natural heritage, and its continuation from generation to generation. We therefore ask that you respect this when you come and visit our communities. The following tips will help you understand how you can help us to strengthen our values:

• Bring a small offering for our town chiefs and village elders (Kola Nuts are a traditional gift that we have accepted from visitors from times past)

• Make sure that you ask our community members whether they are happy for their photo to be taken; and if you can, give us the photo so that we can print and laminate it as a gift for the people you 'snapped'.

• Learn a few words of the Mende Language before you come on the journey. Your guide will be very happy to teach you a few greetings before you start your trip

• Respect the environment. Try and keep your non-biodegradable waste to a minimum when visiting us, and keep it with you until you are able to dispose of it responsibly.

• Please interact with us, but be aware that your behavior can influence the behavior of our younger generations. So when you are about to smoke for example, do so away from the most vulnerable members of our community.

• Bargain on prices, by all means, but be aware of the time and effort that arts & crafts makers, fruit & snack vendors, etc... put in to making their products. Fair trading = more opportunities.

• If you disagree with our behaviour, or the way that we treat you, we apologize. We are relatively new at this tourism concept so we are still learning, but please tell your guide about your thoughts, and he will make sure that this is fed back to the community in question.

• If you have any questions about our heritage, we will be very happy to share our knowledge with you, but please bear in mind that there are certain sensitivities around specific subjects (i.e. secret society practices). If you have any questions about those, your guide will be able to direct you in the best way to gain the knowledge.

• Please respect the cultural do's & don'ts of our region of the world such as formal greetings, not using your left hand when eating or greeting, and the respect for our elders. We are polite and will not say anything, but we could take offense. If you have any questions, your guide will help you.