Zoco Boardriding Co. | What is a ZOCO and why are we here?

MISSION STATEMENT

We love boardriding, this forms the basis of our company policy. We want everyone to experience the thrill of surfing or kiteboarding... hell if it involves standing on a board we encourage it. We offer the public affordable boardriding trips and strive to develop lasting contacts with our clients and encourage more people to join our boardriding community. We provide an alternative to package holiday travel and want to inspire people to travel, experience new cultures and share our passion for boardriding. As a company Zoco doing everything in our power to limit our impact on the environment and encourage our clients to do the same.

In a nutshell
All of our products and services are meticulously researched and more importantly tried and tested by the team.

We offer value for money, customer satisfaction and long lasting relationship with the client.

Our teams' aim is to offer impartial, unbiased advice and offer the right travel products and services tailored to the individual travellers needs.

We want to introduce people to the boardriding subculture, encourage more women into the boardriding scene.

ABOUT ZOCO

WHAT IS A ZOCO?

Shelter and Protection
A ZOCO is a semi-circular or crescent shaped stone structure built by the natives of the Canary Islands as protection from the sun and wind. These rudimentary lava stone shelters vary in size, height and complexity but in essence they all serve the same basic function i.e. to shelter and protect. ZOCOs are also used in agriculture and in the volcanic ash vineyards to offer plants a protected and safe environment in which to bloom. Without this protection from the sun and wind the plants would have died and the islands would have been uninhabitable. Without sounding mawkishly sentimental this is the inspiration behind our company name and logo: To provide boardriders with basic shelter and protection in all boardriding locations on our planet however inhospitable.

The Zoco logo
Our logo on a visual level is a stylized ZOCO (see above) As well as a breaking wave, a craft with wind in it's sails and a skateboarding bowl. Symbolically it represents shelter, protection and strength.

ENVIRONMENTAL & HUMANITARIAN INTERESTS

At Zoco we are always looking for ways to reduce our impact on the world around us through recycling, using less energy, using renewable resources and supporting conservation and humanitarian efforts locally and in other countries. For more information on what Zoco is doing and what you can do to help, please visit our Green Room.

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

In its purest sense sustainable tourism is an industry which attempts to make a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate income, employment, and the conservation of local ecosystems. It is responsible tourism which is both ecologically and culturally sensitive.
Source: National Geographic Online

Information
We try to tell our clients something about the destination, how they can help to sustain its character, where to go to experience the destination from a local perspective (what often seems ordinary and familiar to the locals may be of interest and value to the traveller) to encourage visitors to explore, to sample and to interact - immerse themselves in the local culture. This will only serve to deepen their overall travel experience.

Integrity
We actively seek out service providers and tour operators (TO's) that emphasize the character of the destination in terms of architecture, cuisine, heritage, aesthetics, and ecology.

Local people
We try always to do business with service providers and TO's who are locals or who employ and train local people, buy local supplies, and use local services. We also believe that revenue gained from travelling boardriders should be shared by all involved. In practice this means that the client pays a fair and reasonable price for his/her trip, that we earn a reasonable commission and that the local service providers and TO's earn a decent wage.

Natural resources
Some of the destinations we offer are in fragile or threatened Eco-systems and in some cases these sites are World Biosphere Reserves. In these cases we limit our group sizes and the number of people per year travelling with ZOCO. The ground crew in these locations make it clear to travellers that they need to be careful with the resources and make as little impact on the environment as possible. We also try in some small way to minimize our impact on the environment by operating our business on the NET, by running a 'Paperless office', by offering our clients online (PDF) brochures instead of printed ones and by keeping our energy consumption as low as possible.

Respect
We aspire always to respect local culture, tradition and customs. We encourage you to observe local etiquette, including using at least a few courtesy words in the local language.

Quality vs Quantity
We don't measure our success by the sheer volume of boardriders travelling with ZOCO but by length of stay, returning clients and the quality of your holiday experience.

Satisfied Boardriders
This means great trips. Satisfied, enthusiastic boardriders who bring new knowledge and experiences home from their trips and send friends off to experience the same thing - which provides continuing business for us, for the destination and for the local people on the ground.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

It is our company's policy to assure that employment applicants and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, religion, sex, color, age, or national origin. Such action shall include: employment, transfer; recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or termination; wages or other compensation, selection for training, including apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, and/or on the job training; and ensuring and maintaining a work environment free of harassment, intimidation, and coercion at all sites and in all facilities at which employees are assigned to work.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

Part of our company mission is to encourage more girls and women to enter the boardriding scene as we believe this brings balance to these sports. In Hawaii for example, surfing was never just for men. Hawaiian legends are full of great female surfers - It was only when missionaries arrived on the islands and started to discourage women from surfing that a gradual decline started. More girls in the lineup and on the slopes help to keep testosterone levels in check.

ZOCO BOARDRIDING - The Travel Company