Eco-friendly Wantok Tours & Guide

Theo’s Guide & Wantok Tours, was first started as a hobby to help empower local communities which was initiated by Theodore Baworo (known as Theo’) in 2009 whilst being a student at Divine Word University and before completing his Bachelor in Tourism & Hospitality Management.

In 2011, after completing his studies and upon graduation was further inspired by a speech conveyed to the graduating students by Fr. Garrett Roche, SVD, (the then Chairman of the University Council) to not only seek job but to ‘create job for others’. This drove his passion to venture into the tourism entrepreneurship with his Degree qualification and practical experiences on hand.

From there on, Theo never backed down his ambition to create employment opportunities for others and with his readily initiated business concept converted from his hobby of community service in a bottom-up approach. His concept was to empower local indigenous communities through the powerful reach of tourism and to create positive impact on those places tourists visit and loved in an ecofriendly grass-roots travel approach.

With his hobby of helping local communities, he further created a travel blog titled PNG Village Travel (http://pngvillagetravel.blogspot.com) in 2010. With no funding, the blog was backed by his local concept of Theo’s Guide in 2009 which became available online in early 2011. Theo’s Guide in line with PNG Village Travel blog was Theo’s tour venture initiative to endow locals in a ‘win-win’ business situation by creating sustainable wealth through cultural and ecotourism for indigenous resource owners. This was done also in line to support PNG’s Development Strategic Plan (2010-2030) as one of the objectives to take part in building PNG as a middle income country by 2030. With Theo’s humble operations as a freelancer and a commissioner, Theo’s Guide & Wantok Tours was further recognized by the Madang Visitors’ & Cultural Bureau (MVCB) in 2012.

Theo’s passion and work became known by the provincial tourism bureau as a local freelance tour guide and operator in Madang province by the former Executive Director, Ms. Erigere Singin. The former head of the Madang provincial tourism bureau not only recognized Theo as the professional guide and interpreter but as a local tour operator having strong local network and contacts with his wantoks (resource owners) in Madang province.

Thus the name, Theo’s Guide & Wantok Tours birthed. The word ‘wantok’ is a Pidgin word which literally means ‘one talk’.  In reality like most Pidgin words, its definition covers a wider scope. Wantok is a term used to denote anyone who is from your family or anyone who is a close friend or speaks the same language or sometimes not so close. Hence, Theo’s Guide will act as a friend and wantok for its visiting tourists and combining village tour programs to its friendly wantok communities at the informal and grass-roots level to a more personalized experience with the indigenous communities for 

an authentic cultural experience!

The idea of a dynamically modern eco-tourism guide and operator as Theo’s Guide & Wantok Tours is one with minimal overheads, but flexible enough to supply village, cultural and nature tours within Madang province and selective countrywide tours that are qualitatively rewarding for tourists and economically reasonable for villagers - was seriously thought
out to employ local and professional guides and stimulate local economies.