Registered as a Social Purpose Corporation (SPC).
About Us
What is Yugen Earthside?
Yugen Earthside is a sustainable travel booking platform and agency that connects mindful travelers to adventurous trips.
- Our platform features a curated selection of sustainable, package trips designed and run by our local partners around the world.
- Our agency arm can help you find and book a responsible trip anywhere in the world, or assist as your sustainable trip planner.
Our Mission: Make sustainable travel easy.
What does "Yugen" mean?
Yugen (pronounced “you-gehn”), is a Japanese word that means:
An awareness of the universe that triggers an emotional response too deep and powerful for words.
![Krka National Park in Croatia - clear, blue-green water in the forefront with a cascading waterfall in the background, surrounded by lush green trees and a blue sky with a white cloud in it. A rainbow crosses the image.](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.prismic.io%2Fyugen-earthside%2F9a508dec-d431-4882-889a-69543a959b27_home-banner.jpg%3Fauto%3Dcompress%2Cformat&w=2048&q=75)
Values-aligned travel
![Background graphic](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fwhy-choose-right-map.f0ca8326.png&w=1080&q=75)
What's in our DNA?
Creating a positive environmental and social impact is important to us. That's why we are:
Donating at least 1% of gross profits to sustainable tourism impact projects.
Certified net-zero through Ecolytics.
Including carbon removal through Tomorrow's Air with each booking.
Integrating carbon offsets through Sustainable Travel International into our checkout process.
Applying for B-Corp Certification in 2024.
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![Caucasian woman sits on a grey couch, looking up smiling, while facing an open laptop computer and a monitor screen set up on a brown wooden table.](https://images.prismic.io/yugen-earthside/b6b6b2e3-dc7d-425b-b502-0c4bb320d9d1_Working+from+my+Paris+apartment+-+couch.jpg?auto=compress,format&rect=907,0,2793,2592&w=625&h=580)
Our Origin Story
Yugen Earthside was founded by Hilary Matson. After working at Amazon for nearly a decade, she left to pursue a career more closely aligned with her interests and values: travel and sustainability.
Hilary earned her MBA and a certificate in Inclusive & Social Business from HEC-Paris in 2020. During her MBA, Hilary specialized in entrepreneurship and developed a social enterprise business plan. Yugen Earthside was incorporated in January 2021.
What is sustainable travel all about?
Our trips adhere to the three basic pillars of sustainable tourism:
Our Vision:
Inspire and educate travelers seeking to discover and book responsible tourism trips, in order to transform the travel industry into a force used to better connect humanity and preserve the earth.
Our Team: Who are we, and where are we?
Our company is registered in Washington State, USA, and a small team works remotely around the world to run the show.
- Hilary Matson. Founder & CEO. Based in Paris, France.
- Levi Gable. Website Wizard. Based in Paris, France.
- Mora Klappenbach. Website Content Associate. Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Alice Peace. Blog Contributor. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
- Elisa Spampinato. Blog Contributor. Based in London, England.
- Anurag Danda. MBA Marketing Intern. Based in India.
- Giles Hawke. Mentor. Based in London, England.