Our Ethos
Explore Cape Verde is a family run eco-tourism business, which was established in 2015 by Jonathan and Alison Jones. Jonathan has a Master’s degree in Marine Biology and is passionate about wildlife conservation, education and sustainability. Jonathan and Alison have spent over 10 years as a teachers in the UK, before moving to Sal with their son. Both Jonathan and Alison worked in a turtle conservation project in Sal before setting up ‘Explore Cape Verde’, with the aim of providing high quality, professional and eco-conscious excursions to guests of Sal Island.
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As a fully licensed company and a protected species license holder, Explore Cape Verde is committed to promoting a sustainable form of eco-tourism, highlighting the natural beauty of Sal and its amazing wildlife. At Explore Cape Verde we are passionate about eco-tourism, nature and sustainability and our carefully selected team of guides reflect this. Our team is made up of marine biologists and conservationists with a wealth of knowledge and experience of working with nature. Many of our guides have previously worked in conservation projects, both in Cape Verde and worldwide. This shared commitment to eco-tourism, animal welfare and conservation means that you can rest assured that all our excursions are respectful of the wildlife we encounter at all times. We love bringing people closer to the wildlife, history and culture of Sal and we strive to ensure that our passion and knowledge comes through in the quality of the excursions we deliver.
Explore Cape Verde is proud to be the leading example in sustainable eco-tourism on Sal. We firmly believe eco-tourism should support conservation efforts and we are the only excursion company to donate a percentage of every excursion directly to the conservation charity Project Biodiversity, to help support conservation efforts on Sal Island. To date, we have donated over €15,000 towards the protection of the endangered loggerhead turtles and other animals; helping to preserve Sal’s wildlife for future generations.
Project Biodiversity works to protect Sal’s native flora and fauna. The project works to protect the endangered nesting loggerhead turtle, red-billed tropic bird and osprey as well as protecting their natural habitat. Jonathan’s son, Elijah can often be found volunteering with Project Biodiversity at the turtle hatchery during the turtle nesting season, and is proud to be their youngest volunteer at 8 years old.
We also support Nakawe Project, a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping save the world’s dwindling shark populations. Nakawe Project are working to bring about a worldwide ban on the barbaric practice of shark finning, a cause which is close to our hearts. Most recently, we donated to their ‘Game Over Fishing’ campaign, a feature length documentary designed to raise awareness and highlight the devastating effects of illegal over fishing of our oceans.
If you would like to learn more about Explore Cape Verde, you can check us out on Facebook or Instagram by searching for ‘explorecapeverde’. To find out more about Project Biodiversity and the fantastic work they do, you can visit them at www.projectbiodiversity.org, to read more about Nakawe Project please visit www.nakaweproject.org.
