About Visit Natives

Our mission

Support tourism that benefits indigenous peoples

In general most of tourism don't benefit indigenous people. Our economic aim is focused on supporting local indigenous families and communities.

Sustainable and fair tourism allows them to enjoy greater economic benefits instead of moving to towns and cities to search for more financial opportunities.

Preserve indigenous cultures

Like most of the indigenous peoples, the Sami and the Maasai, are facing many threats to maintain their traditional lifestyle.

Sustainable tourism helps them to maintain their cultural heritage and customs and to preserve their traditional livelihood and knowledge to the future generations.

Hold back climate change

Our mission is to make tourism sustainable. Climate change brings new challenges for the indigenous peoples who live from nature.

The indigenous peoples have an ethical relationship with nature; a respect for the environment that also has a spiritual side that we all can learn something from it. We reconnect travelers with nature.

Our Concept

We bring positive change in the world because it matters how we travel. Our cause is to help indigenous people to maintain their culture and traditional livelihood through sustainable tourism. We support and embrace indigenous languages, cultures, beliefs and knowledge systems.

Indigenous peoples represent 5 percent of the world’s population, but they also represent 15 percent of the world’s poorest people. Sustainable tourism is a great tool for poverty alleviation and we give back directly to the indigenous hosts and communities. You can travel with purpose with us.

We make

a positive impact

Lands inhabited by the indigenous peoples contain 80 percent of the earth’s biodiversity. Indigenous peoples are effective stewards of these areas.

Sustainable indigenous tourism is a way to support the survival of their unique cultures, traditional knowledge, and their right to their native lands.

Book your trip with Visit Natives, and you become part of an effort to preserve indigenous cultures, improve their socio-economic conditions, and to protect the fragile nature.

See below how we share profits

from every trip booked with us

Our story

My name is Anniina. The story of the Visit Natives started in Africa, in a very hot and dry savannah many years ago while I was a student at the Helsinki University in Finland. I studied African studies and Anthropology, and before graduating, I wanted to learn more about the Maasai pastoralists' culture and their language. The famous tribe in East Africa.

I traveled to Tanzania, and I lived for nine months with the Maasai while conducting my fieldwork for the Thesis. I observed and participated in Maasai's daily life, fetched water, participated in feasts, and drank cow's blood straight from the vein. Just to name some highlights. That was one of my best experience ever that changed my life.

Ever since I have missed similar experiences when I travel.Something more special, where one could have a chance to live with the native people and learn from the culture and the nature around them as many indigenous people live in such a beautiful balance with nature. I felt I have to go back as their culture and way of life is fascinating and unique. Moreover, I missed my Maasai family and friends, who treated me like their daughter and one of them.

Years went by, and I tried to figure out what I want to do in my life. With the passion for traveling, encountering indigenous cultures and sustainability, I created my dream job, Visit Natives, which enables to do good while traveling and support indigenous cultures like the Maasai.

Let's travel together for good!

Meet our team

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Anniina is the founder of the Visit Natives. She has an MA in African Studies from the University of Helsinki. Her expertise is intercultural communication, indigenous cultures, and ethnography. She founded Visit Natives because she wanted to create her dream job where she can work with and help the indigenous peoples.

Anniina Sandberg

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Olopiro is a native Maasai warrior born and raised in Ngorongoro Conservation Area which is his home. He has more than ten years of experience on nature conservation and tourism as he has previously worked as a safari guide. He coordinates all the Maasai homestays in Tanzania, and he makes sure that the voices of the Maasai are heard in the areas where Visit Natives operates.

Olopiro Lulungen

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We believe in the power of women to change their lives and the world around them for the better. Noondyetian is a Maasai woman from Mto Wa Mbu, Tanzania. She works closely with the Maasai women, so their perspectives and solutions are heard loud in our work to empower women through sustainable indigenous tourism. Noondyetian hosts guests in her home, in a Maasai boma too.

Noondyetian Laizer

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Nils is a native Sami reindeer herder from Kautokeino, Norway. He manages all the homestays in Norway and he welcomes guests to his home too. Nils has dreamed about sustainable indigenous tourism for a long time. He is very passionate about his work and he makes sure that all the homestays are made of high quality.

Nils Sara

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Oddbjorg is Nils's wife and she is also a native Sami from Kautokeino, Norway. Besides her own day job as a teacher, Oddbjorg gives Visit Natives consultancy on issues involving the indigenous peoples and she is also our databank. If you don't know something, ask Oddbjorg!