Ten Years of The Slow Cyclist

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Romania

ARTTA is a UK charity founded by author William Blacker and Billy Heathcoat-Amory. They work to restore and conserve Romania’s built heritage, encouraging traditional craftsmanship and materials. They provide training for local people who benefit from the guidance and knowledge of expert craftspeople, developing skills from roofing to lime plastering. We are thrilled that our donation will be split between the continued uncovering of extraordinary 14th century frescoes in the village of Roades, southern Transylvania, and the restoration of a medieval church near the town of Bistrița.

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_{*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.}

COMMUNITY

Armenia

Through a wide range of education, healthcare and social projects, COAF is making a huge difference to the lives of children and adults across 82 communities in Armenia. They help those in rural communities who need it most. Our donation will go towards COAF’s beekeeping and lavender garden initiatives, educating and empowering communities to produce natural products and generate revenue to be reinvested in development programmes.

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_{*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.}

EDUCATION

Oxfordshire & Gloucestershire, UK

CATS delivers art, music, drama, dance and oracy experiences into state primary schools in the North Cotswolds, where The Slow Cyclist is based. As arts teaching has generally declined, CATS is focused on creating arts-rich learning environments for local children. We have experienced their orogrammes first-hand and witnessed their extraordinary impact. They currently work with 50 schools and 8,000 children and will use our donation to work with several new schools, expanding their impact in the area.

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_{*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.}

NATURE & WILDLIFE

The Côa Valley, Portugal

Faia Brava was founded twenty-five years ago with the aim of conserving endangered species of fauna and flora in Portugal’s Côa Valley. The area is blessed with unusually rich biodiversity, but was threatened by landscape degradation and extinction of larger species. Faia Brava acquired land from across the region to create Portugal’s first private protected area. Faia Brava now covers 1,000 hectares and is home to many species of migratory birds, vultures, roe deer, otters and even the rare wildcat. With some further regeneration, the area will be ready for the reintroduction of the Iberian lynx and wolf.

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_{*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.}

RURAL TOURISM
Transylvania, Romania

Transylvania has some of the largest areas of biodiverse farmland in Europe, home to many species of wildflowers, butterflies, birds and mammals. For over 20 years, Fundatia ADEPT, co-foudned by Nat Page, former First Officer at the British Embassy in Bucharest, has worked hard to conserve these areas, incentivising local communities to continue with traditional nature-friendly farming. The organisation has also developed 120 kms of biking trails which we use on our journeys. Our contribution will help to maintain these trails, keeping the area accessible and benefitting local people through tourism revenue.

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_{*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.}

COMMUNITY

International

Hope and Homes for Children is on a mission to get separated children out of orphanages and back to their families. Since 1994, they have closed 150 orphanages, transitioning the children in them to loving family-based or alternative care. The charity helps children and families across the world, from Romania to Rwanda and beyond. Our donation will be used to fund services in nine countries, providing parents with resources they need to care for children, training foster parents, and funding the teams that reunite children with their families.

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_{*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.}

EDUCATION

South Africa

Located between Knysna and George in South Africa’s Karoo, the Kula Malaika Foundation is committed to enhancing the lives of children and young people. As well as crèches and youth centres – which Slow Cyclists visit on a journey through the Karoo – they run a skills training farm where they create handcrafted products and cultivate organic produce.

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_{*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.}

NATURE & WILDLIFE

Rwanda

The internationally acclaimed Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association strives to protect and restore the country’s threatened wildlife and wild places. Through a series of projects, the organisation raises awareness of conservation, engages local communities and educates the next generation. Projects include combatting illegal wildlife tracking, saving endangered grey crowned cranes and planting indigenous trees to improve biodiversity. Our donation will be used to strengthen the team of community rangers at Rugezi Marsh, where we camp on our first night out of Kigali, and which is home to 82 bird species including a quarter of Rwanda’s endangered grey crowned cranes.

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_{*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.}

NATURE & WILDLIFE

India

In 2004, India's tiger population was near extinction but, thanks to the work of organisations such as TOFTigers, the country now boasts more than 3,600 tigers. Run by travel professionals, sustainability experts and conservationists, the charity is passionate about not only protecting India’s tiger population, but supporting local communities and attracting responsible tourism to the national parks. With the launch of our first Indian journey in 2025, we are thrilled to be supporting TOFTigers.

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_{*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.}

RURAL TOURISM
Romania

The Via Transilvanica, a 1,400 km trail connecting rural Romania, is a project that embodies the values of the Tășuleasa Social Association: volunteering, education, community, nature, sports and culture. The trail was built with the help of volunteers and has brought economic opportunities to around 400 rural communities. Our donation will support trail maintenance: a huge ongoing project, and an important one to ensure that hikers and cyclists have an enjoyable experience, and that visitors will continue to use the trail for many years to come.

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_{*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.}

If you would like to make a donation to our chosen charities, please click the link below.

MAKE A DONATION

_{*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.}