Gem Legacy Launches Adventure Travel Company

RAPAPORT... Gem Legacy, a nonprofit that provides training, education and community development in East African colored-gemstone mining regions, has launched a for-profit adventure travel company.The business, called Gem Legacy Adventures, will offer guided tours of various initiatives run by the nonprofit and the areas in which it operates, it said Monday. Participants will also be taken on safaris to see animal habitats, and be immersed in East African culture.The adventures will focus on visits to several artisanal gem mines as well as exploring the surrounding culture and national parks.In addition, all travelers will take part in a service project day at one of Gem Legacy's mining initiatives, the organization noted."Travelers are not required to be members of the jewelry industry, but Gem Legacy anticipates interest from members of the [trade] who may want to visit gem mining at the source, to speak more authoritatively about it, or to address responsible gem-mining questions," the nonprofit said.Profits from the new business will be funneled into the nonprofit to cover administrative costs, it explained. The first adventure trip is scheduled for July 21 to 30 in northern Tanzania and southern Kenya.Images: A gem-cutting school, top; an elephant feeding center, right. (Gem Legacy)