Restoring wild ecosystems, supporting wildlife and biodiversity and helping fight climate change. Personally I began paying to offset the carbon emissions on my flights pretty early on – until I read so many bad reports about corrupt or inept offsetting tree planting projects which were doing more harm than good that I lost my way. […]
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After what feels like a hugely long hiatus, we’ve finally now pressed go on opening our (new!) Sri Lanka sites up for bookings. And oh goodness, can we not wait to be back – to the climate that’s so accommodating year-round, the waves that are ever-present, and of course to the delicious good for you […]
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For the first few years of Soul & Surf the word community was almost taboo. It was whispered not spoken, like a secret elixir that might evaporate if exposed to the air. We didn’t talk about it on our website or social media, we didn’t mention it to our guests or team. It just, well, […]
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The world is going to start opening up again. And soon (we hope). Let’s be honest, a business like ours is desperate for the much-touted travel ‘bounce-back’ to bounce back hard. We need it. But however much we need to make sales, to have customers, to start paying off our loans and to get back […]
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Soul & Surf is not a business designed to generate money. Honestly, there are a million easier ways to do that. It was started as an adventure, and a vehicle to give us access to the life that we wanted to live. We might not be changing the world, but if we can incrementally add a […]
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Sofie & I first arrived in Varkala in December 2009. We had been dragging our surf boards down the west coast, by train, from Goa to Kanyakumari looking for a spot to settle and surf for a month or two. Goa was too small, Karnataka too quiet, Kovalam too busy… we were a right pair […]
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In mid-October 2010 we were terrified as we opened the door to a British couple who had paid us actual real money to come and stay, surf and practice yoga with us. Our first ever customers. Sofie taught yoga and prepared breakfast. I took the morning surf sessions in our Hindustan Ambassador which we called […]
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The year began with all manner of smug, pithy ‘2020 vision’ articles, comments and posts. Who’d have thunk what would happen next? It’s easy to dwell on the shit so many of us have been through this year, but I tend to focus on the things to be grateful for. That’s not to de-value the […]
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As a company, never mind a travel company, aiming to become actually ‘sustainable’ is impossibly difficult. At times that has made us feel like we are failing which then led to dithering and inaction. But doing something, becoming better, improving, reducing, measuring and compensating – in that order – is what we all need to […]
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The 2020 World Oceans Day on 8th June is uniting conservation action to grow the global movement calling on world leaders to protect 30% of our blue planet by 2030. This critical need is called 30×30. By safeguarding at least 30% of our ocean through a network of highly protected areas we can help ensure […]
Words: Ed Templeton In late November 2009, Sofie & I first came to Varkala, Kerala. A couple of months before we had left home, our jobs and business to spend the best part of a year surfing the world. Fresh from Portugal we flew to Delhi and hot-footed it to Goa and then to Gokarna […]
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This month, I returned to Sri Lanka for the first time since the terror attacks earlier this year. I wanted to write this blog to share my experiences.
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Words: Ed Templeton It’s hard to believe it’s been a month since the attacks in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, that devastated the country that Sofie, Kit and I – along with a large portion of our team – have come to call home. A lot has happened in the last month. There’s the initial shock […]
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This summer we’ve been busy popping-up on the South Coast of Portugal’s Algarve, hosting a series of surf and yoga weeks. And we’re pretty stoked to say we’re not done yet – we’ve still got a week in October to come, and another in November (spaces available on both – get in touch…) Rachel, our […]
But I don’t know how to do anything else. It’s all very well leaving everything behind, travelling thew world and having a wonderful time but if you don’t actually get around to doing something new and different and just have a few drinks, some lie-ins and a bit of a laugh you’ll end up going back […]
Read MoreI can’t risk it. Change is the only constant we have, we can run in fear from it or embrace it when it comes or better still we can positively chase it. Drastic changes are the things that make us feel alive. This second post in my mini-series looks at why and how we quit our jobs […]
Read MoreIf you’ve ever wanted to spend more of your time doing the stuff you love and less doing work that you don’t love then, over the next 3 online posts, I am going to share a few key things that helped us to jump ship back in 2009 and end up running a surf & yoga […]
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It’s all very well leaving everything behind, travelling thew world and having a wonderful time but if you don’t actually get around to doing something new and different and just have a few drinks, some lie-ins and a bit of a laugh you’ll end up going back home to the rut you were stuck in before […]
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Change is the only constant we have, we can run in fear from it or embrace it when it comes or better still we can positively chase it. Drastic changes are the things that make us feel alive. This second post in my mini-series looks at why and how we quit our jobs and travelled around the […]
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If you’ve ever wanted to spend more of your time doing the stuff you love and less doing work that you don’t love then, over the next 3 online posts, I am going to share a few key things that helped us to jump ship back in 2009 and end up running a surf & yoga […]
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I am back in Dubai in the same old life which is not so bad but still feel like going back to Varkala right now!!!! I had amazing time and I would like to Thank you for everything!!!! I’ve never been in such a place where I would feel so comfortable right away and enjoyed […]
Alena, Dubai
