We design exclusive, immersive travel experiences that take you beyond typical tourist routes, connecting you with Ethiopia’s rich cultures and landscapes. Through long-standing relationships—especially with the Hamar tribe—we offer unique access and meaningful experiences that directly support local communities and protect the environment. Join us and help shape the future of ethical tourism in Ethiopia.
Our Mission
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Private Tours -
Off the Beaten Track
Our tours offer experiences you won’t find anywhere else, with moments so unique, you’ll be pinching yourself. Go beyond the typical tourist path and discover the hidden gems of Ethiopia, with exclusive access to the Hamar tribe that you can’t find on any other tour. We give private small group tours and even our backpacker tours never exceed 8 guests.
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We intentionally limit the number of tribes we visit to avoid turning cultures into a checklist. This gives space for more respectful, unrushed encounters and allows us to show up as thoughtful guests rather than spectators. It also helps us avoid over-tourism and gives you a far superior experience.
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Higher, Fair Pay for Local People
We’ve created unique, sustainable experiences that benefit the local community by providing fair wages. Thanks to our development of new experiences, local people earn between 3.6x and 7.5x more income compared to standard tours. This directly supports the community and ensures everyone benefits from tourism.
What Makes Us Different?
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10% to Local Charitable Projects
Unlike other tour operators, we take a hands-on approach to giving back. We directly fund and run charitable projects in the local area, addressing pressing community needs and ensuring we can monitor the positive impact of our efforts. Our close ties with the Hamar tribe help us understand exactly what they need, enabling us to provide targeted support. With 8 years of experience in the charity sector, we are deeply committed to making a difference—and as our business grows, so will our ability to support even more people. More information on our projects coming soon.
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Authentic Cultural Immersion
We’re committed to meaningful cultural exchanges—not just quick photo ops. Our tours offer you the opportunity to engage deeply with local traditions, participate in cultural activities, and develop real connections with the communities you visit. We’re especially proud of our long-standing relationships with the Hamar people, which allow us to offer rare, in-depth access to their way of life—something not available through mainstream tours. These aren’t staged moments, but genuine invitations into everyday life, made possible through trust, mutual respect, and time.
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Carbon Neutral and Low Plastic
We’re committed to protecting the environment. We offset the carbon produced by our car journeys and partner with lodges that source food locally. We plant a tree for every tour we host. We provide every guest with a LifeStraw water bottle, enabling you to safely drink local water and avoid using disposable plastic bottles, the leading cause of plastic pollution from tourism—saving up to 30 plastic bottles per person per trip. LifeStraw also provides a child in need receives access to safe water for an entire year for every bottle sold.
Meet The Team
Geta Desta
Geta will be with you throughout the trip, providing his expert insights throughout. He is there to look after all your needs on the trip. He knows everyone and can fix any issue!
Geta grew up in Turmi, alongside Hamar friends. His family have always been very integrated into the Hamar community and he was able to speak the language fluently and learn more than most people about Hamar.
He has spent a total of 7 years living in the UK, becoming fluent in English. He gained knowledge of community-based travel through traveling with his wife, Fiona, throughout East Africa, South East Asia, Europe and Mexico.
Geta realised he wanted to bring the benefits of communtiy tourism to his community in Ethiopia and show guests the real Ethiopia.
Fiona Clarke
Fiona will provide all of the support to you before your trip, from answering questions to full guides, packing lists and top tips. In-country you can also get in contact with her on the phone or Whatsapp and you'll likely meet her when you're in Turmi!
Fiona first set foot in Ethiopia in 2015 for a 3 week trip but ended up staying and living and working with Hamar for 2 years.
Fiona has spent the last decade living between the UK and Ethiopia, with her husband, Geta.
She gained a Masters degree in African Studies in 2019 and has managed charitable projects across the continent before co-founding Ethical Ethiopian Experiences with Geta.
Kuna Bita
Kuna grew up in a Hamar village and has sicne moved to Turmi town. She has had an interesting life and knows Hamar culture inside out.
You will meet Kuna while you're in Turmi as she guides our Hamar tours alongside Geta.
Kuna brings warmth and knowledge of a woman's life in Hamar to our guests.
She is the only female guide in the region and we are lucky to have been collaborating with her on various projects over the last decade.
Our Story
Ethical Ethiopian Experiences is a family-run social enterprise founded by Geta and Fiona, built on a shared vision: to offer meaningful, respectful travel that truly benefits local communities.
Geta was born and raised in Turmi, in the heart of Ethiopia’s Hamar region. He grew up going to school in the morning and herding goats with his Hamar friends in the afternoon. Attending Ethiopian Orthodox Church and coffee ceremony one day and a Hamar Bull-jumping the next. Living between these two worlds—Ethiopia's national culture and the Hamar's pastoralist traditions—he developed a deep appreciation for the richness and complexity of both. However, he saw how traditional tourism often reduced Ethiopian cultures to a photo opportunity—visitors arriving for a snapshot, then leaving with no real understanding of the people or way of life. From a young age, he dreamed of something better: travel rooted in respect, connection, and cultural dignity.
Fiona, originally from Hertfordshire, England, met Geta in 2015 while volunteering with an education program in South Omo, where Geta was working as a lead project coordinator. She quickly fell in love with Ethiopia and, captivated by its landscapes, traditions, and deep-rooted culture, cancelled her return flight and left her teaching job back home. Living and working in the Hamar region for 2 years gave her a rare window into a world most travellers never truly see. Fiona’s hope is for visitors to experience the same deep connection she feels when in Ethiopia.
Over the past decade, Geta and Fiona’s personal and professional paths intertwined as they fell in love, moved in together, married, became parents to a beautiful baby boy and began planning an impact-led business aligned with their values. While living in London and travelling across Southeast Asia, East Africa, Europe, and Mexico, they gathered ideas and studied best practices for creating meaningful, sustainable tourism experiences that benefit both people and planet.
Now living back in Ethiopia, they’ve turned that vision into reality. Together, they’ve created a new kind of travel experience—one that celebrates culture, supports local livelihoods, and leaves a positive footprint behind. Both Geta and Fiona are passionate about ensuring that local people benefit directly from tourism, not only through fair and respectful cultural exchanges, but also by using part of the profits from each tour to support charitable projects in the region.
Our mission is to transform tourism in the Omo Valley, generating lasting prosperity for the people of South Ethiopia. We are incredibly proud of the unique tours we’ve developed, which offer an authentic and immersive experience unlike any other currently available in Ethiopia. The six reasons outlined above explain how our tours stand apart from what’s on the market today.
Join us on an unforgettable journey where you’ll not only discover the beauty and culture of Ethiopia but also help make a positive impact in the lives of local communities. Together, we can create meaningful change while exploring the Omo Valley and beyond.
