Seth Quigg
on Humanitarian Photography and Adventure Travel
“What does it mean to be human and alive?” is the most common question Seth Quigg asked himself, ever since growing up in a Colorado hometown, surrounded by forest, building forts and being an outdoorsy child.
Photography is what helped him answer the question and portray the story each one of us has had the privilege to live. It is not just wanderlust, but a ticket to travelling the world as a Humanitarian Photographer, capturing moments in time that conjure up emotions. A way of preserving in memory all the people he met, the ones who fed his soul and kept him connected to the beauty of the world.
His passion for travelling began when Seth became an outdoor field instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School, teaching leadership skills to students, being their "mountain or river guide", taking them to stay with local families in villages to study the culture and learn about the life of other peoples. “Ethnographic inquiry” or a way of developing questions about cultures to influence and develop a student’s intercultural competency. The creative assignments took innovative forms: “I’d have the students go sit in a plaza and observe their surroundings, then come back to the classroom to discuss their experience - the "classroom" being a forest in Madagascar sometimes!”
A modern Indiana Jones, Seth is an adventure story jukebox! From living with a Sadhu (holy man) in a cave in India to even being caught in the middle of a stampede: “I heard an elephant trumpet and then the earth started shaking! We dropped our backpacks and ran to the trees, climbing above the thundering herd. It only lasted a minute, but it seemed like an eternity. The beauty lasted as well: the moon was shining on the grass and the Maasai warriors were running to rescue us!” One of the Maasai is now one of his business partners. They constantly joke about how Seth earned his African nickname, Pimbi: “The hyrax in Swahili is called a pimbi. One night when we were hunting we started singing this good fortune hunting song and an actual pimbi animal came out. They thought I was a magic man and had summoned it!”
After working for various adventure travel companies and leading expeditions and treks in India, Tibet, China, Nepal, South America, Morocco, Iceland, Sri Lanka, Galapagos, Tanzania, New Zealand, or Australia, Seth created Karuna Project to offer cross-cultural leadership and exchange through adventure expeditions that support local communities: “Although being an outdoor trekking guide and travelling the world sounds incredibly romantic, there are so many things that go on behind the scenes, especially the thorough planning and the safety measurements!”
Read Seth's answers for Inspirators and learn how to see the world through the lens of compassion and marvel!
Thank you, Seth, for being a Humanitarian Adventurer!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Seth Quigg
Company / Institution: Karuna Project
Title: Founder; Adventure Travel & Humanitarian Sector Photographer
Website: www.karuna-project.com
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seth-quigg-m-a-b3467064/
Country of origin: USA
Country you currently live in: USA
Your personal definition of Regeneration: Fostering an environment for growth and development at the beginning of the life cycle.
Main business challenge you face: Scaling, as Karuna Project is a start-up!
Main driver that keeps you going: My passion for travel and philanthropy.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: Cross-cultural competency.
The trait you most value in others: Compassion.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: I love showing people the world and introducing Western guests to contrasting countries.
The #inspirators who determined you to take the regenerative path: Myself!
A hint or starting point for companies or professionals that are taking the first steps in the regeneration journey: Go slow to go fast!
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: Precisely the word “sustainability”.
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: Find your passion and build upon it!
Books that had a great impact on you: Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Blogs / Websites / Podcasts you visit frequently: Aubrey Marcus Podcast
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: Reggae, Jambands, Bluegrass, World Music.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: Nepal, Tanzania, Peru.
Trends in Regeneration we should keep an eye on: Be careful with “Greenwashing”!
Best places for business networking (online or offline): Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA).
Events we should attend: ATTA Adventure Travel World Summit.
Associations, business clubs, tribes you belong to – and why: Adventure Travel Trade Association.
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: Hope is there, always!
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: Climate change, the emergence of wars and the negative impact AI and technology might have.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today: Adaptability!
The ways in which you are an Inspirator to yourself: Strong sense of self and metacognition in regards to the business cycle.
The Inspirator you are endorsing for a future edition of the newsletter is:
Christopher Hoffman
The quote that inspires you:
"Always in the big woods when you leave familiar ground and step off alone into a new place there will be, along with the feelings of curiosity and excitement, a little nagging of dread. It is the ancient fear of the Unknown and your first bond with the wilderness you are going into.
What you are doing is exploring. You are undertaking the first experience, not of the place, but of yourself in that place... nobody can discover the world for anybody else. It is only after we have discovered it for ourselves that it becomes a common ground and a common bond, and we cease to be alone.
The world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful, by which we arrive at the ground at our own feet, and learn to be at home." (Wendell Berry)
Your own quote that will inspire us:
