The Chennai Trekking Club was started 4 years ago and has since grown significantly to a member base of 15.000+ being one of the larges and most active outdoor groups in South. Our organizing team of 50+ active members takes out 200-500 people every month on 6-10 treks.
CTC is based on a couple of fundamental principles
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1. openess to all - everyone passionate about outdoors & nature and possessing the right attitude is welcome to join any of our treks. Admission of course is sometimes based on fitness level, past (volunteering) attitude and headcount restriction based on the type of trek. Members who have actively participated in several treks and have demonstrated the right attitude are welcome to join the organizing team in CTC. Over its 4 year history the group of active volunteers and organizers typically rotates every 6 months to 1 year - old members get busy with personal stuff and disappear while constantly new members come in and become active.
2. non-profit - we go out trekking for the passion, not for the money. CTC is, has always been and will always remain a non-profit organization where expenses are shared equally among all participants. No one should make money out any CTC event. Accounts for a given trek can be taken up by any volunteer and should be published by the organizer to all participants after the trek to ensure transparency. Any discrepancies regarding accounts should be notified and clarified immediately. It is recommended to settle the accounts before the end of the trek to avoid long outstanding post-trek expense settlements. Before most CTC treks we do not ask any advance payment unless the organizer needs to do advance booking of transportation or has other pre-trek expenses.
3. volunteer based - CTC is not a tour operator - we are not a travel agent who "organizes" treks for external groups or corporates. Instead each CTC trek is made possible through the self-less efforts of many participating members who assist the main organizer/coordinator in various pre- and post trek responsibilities including arranging transport, buying food, attendance, accounts, setting up camp, cooking, fetching fire wood and water, blogging, photography and navigation. During a CTC trek we come across various natural obstacles and challenges and overcome the same as one team rather then a bunch of selfish individuals running ahead alone. The "organizer" coordinates the entire trek event from pre-trek arrangements, guidance and decisions during the trek and post-trek closure. Participants help each other and share among each other during the trek. This is a fundamental principle that differentiates CTC from other groups out there.
4. responsible behavior - we expect all organizers and participants to behave responsibly on CTC treks - consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited. Smoking openly in the group is strictly prohibited. Littering and polluting is not acceptable. Anti-social, disrespectful or unwanted behavior towards other participants will be dealt with swiftly and culprits blacklisted and removed from CTC permanently. We want to ensure that everyone feels comfortable, save and enjoys his/her experience in CTC treks. Any disrespectful behavior against gender, religion, age, color or nature of people will not be tolerated. We also do not entertain members who sign up quickly for treks and drop out last minute for non-genuine reasons, causing unnecessary overhead for the organizer dealing with pre-trek arrangements like ordering food and arranging transport based on registered headcount.
5. responsible adventure - trekking in the wilderness has inherent dangerous - wildlife, deep water, loose rocks, etc. Even though we all like the thrill of adventure it is mandatory for organizers and participants to behave responsibly with respect to safety of oneself and the other participants. The organizer has to lead here by example. Anyone disregarding the organizers instructions with respect to safety will be excluded immediately from CTC. Signing of the CTC disclaimer is mandatory to ensure participants are aware of the dangers involved, responsibility for their own safety and self accountability in case something happens.
Your feedback
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To finally come to my point now - I believe it's essential to have an active feedback loop and drive to continuous improvement in our group (that almost sounds corporate doesn't it ;-) ;-). CTC has done many wonderful things in the past - I want to ensure we uphold our standards in ongoing and future treks organized by our ever changing volunteers.
I therefore sincerely request our members who participated in any CTC treks in the last 6 months to share their feedback regarding the above principles or any other general applicable areas - whether it is positive or areas/instances of improvement. The feedback can be related to CTC as a group, any of our organizers, our treks or any of the other participating members.
For any negative experiences I personally ensure anonymity of the person reporting the feedback (this form is only visible to myself - not any other organizers). Still I need your name and email ID to follow up personally on any possible reported issues.
Also feel most welcome to share your positive experiences in CTC and recognize the organizers and active volunteers who you feel have done a wonderful job in the treks they organized or participated in.
Peter
peter.vangeit@gmail.com9600004509
