Stay Raja Ampat is a non-commercial, not-for-profit website that was born from two desires:
To support Raja Ampat community efforts to build a sustainable, locally owned ecotourism industry by providing local accommodation owners on the islands with an internet presence that they couldn’t otherwise arrange or afford,
To provide travellers to the islands with the information we wished had been readily available to help minimize the stress of a first time experience like ours.
The international conservation community has recognized Raja Ampat as being one of our planet’s richest cradles of marine biodiversity and has mobilized resources to assist protection of the region from unsustainable resource extraction and development pressures.
A robust low-volume, high-return eco-tourism industry that directly benefits local communities is essential to ensure the conservation of Raja Ampat’s incredible biodiversity and to avoid the dispossession and overdevelopment seen in places like some of the Thai islands and Bali.
The people of Raja Ampat have long been aware of the importance of natural resource conservation and the Sasi provisions of their customary law form the framework upon which international conservation efforts in the region are based. With conservation of their environment and way of life in mind, communities in Raja Ampat have been quick to embrace the potential of a sustainable eco-tourism industry. Hopefully their commitment will be rewarded.
Successful conservation of Raja Ampat depends on the empowerment of local communities and we want to do all we can to help.