Tours and visit programmes

One of our groups from Lithuania and Latvia outside maker space, Building Bloqs

One of our groups from Lithuania and Latvia outside maker space, Building Bloqs

Get up close to the action on our tours and visit programmes.

 

Why tours?

Information can only take you so far. In order to learn about the reality of social change, how others are doing it and what it looks and feels like, you need to see it person. Time and again our clients tell us that there is no substitute for being there yourself.

Why ask Red Ochre to help?

Our tours will take you to leading organisations where you’ll get to hear from and speak to the people that make them happen.

We’ve got a track record of running tours for the last five years for:

  • Students wanting to find out more about social enterprise.
  • Aspiring and established social entrepreneurs looking to grow and do business.
  • National and local government officials wanting to see for themselves what social enterprise actually means and how civil society can be supported.
  • Business people looking for new ideas and innovation.
  • People from all sectors and backgrounds with particular interests, e.g. regeneration, housing, faith based change, youth and environmental projects.
  • Groups of people (across government, companies, sectors)  that want to get to know each other, collaborate and feel more positive about what they can all do by the end of the tour.
  • We’ve worked with and hosted groups from all over the world including China, Lithuania, South Korea, Morocco, Latvia, The Netherlands, Palestine, Belgium and Italy.

Ten reasons why our tours are enjoyable (not a trudge around meetings), with actual practical benefits for groups because:

  1. They feature leading organisations as well as unique ones, under the radar that not everyone in the sector knows.
  2. We design each tour to fit the specific needs of each individual group.
  3. We take special care to ensure travel time is minimised and efficient. London is a big city and having our on the ground knowledge means we can make sure you spend more time at social enterprises and less time on a coach.
  4. We “buy social” wherever possible, which means not only will you experience new ways of doing business through the visits but also eating lunch, whilst travelling or stopping for a coffee.
  5. We can handle the practical arrangements visits, hotels, travel, translation, lunches, dinners and more – or we can leave that to you. We are flexible to your requirements.
  6. If required, we can combine the tours with hands on training, group and 1-1 sessions.
  7. We can create tour booklets, welcome and closing sessions, tour competitions and challenges to make the tours even more engaging.
  8. And we’ll provide an experienced dedicated tour guide, Martin Cooper for the duration of your visit so you can make the most of your journey.
  9. We encourage open, honest communication on the reality of what it is like to run and work in social enterprise and related organisations.
  10. We’ll make sure your tour fits your requirements and help you to apply what you’ve learnt in an effective way on your return.

Interested or just want to find out a bit more first? Email uday@redochre.org.uk  or call Uday or Robert on +44(0)20 7250 8305 and let’s explore!

Young Changemakers from China enjoy Cambridge sights as well as social enterprise

Young Changemakers from China enjoy Cambridge sights as well as social enterprise

We brought together social entrepreneurs and government from the UK, The Netherlands and Belgium for a social enterprise safari!

We can also organise your hotel and travel. A group of local government officials, mayors and social entrepreneurs from Lithuania roundup the week from their secret Red Ochre organised hotel (also a social enterprise!).

As part of your tour, staff development journey or visit programme, we can include training on any aspect of running an organisation.

Whether you’re in London, Oxford or West Sussex, we can integrate social enterprise and sustainable business into the tour – from the lunches to the bus!