Under Canvas Founder Who Brought Glamping to the U.S. Is Expanding Globally

Imagine waking up in a king-size bed beside Zion National Park, lounging in West Elm decor near Yellowstone, or camping in luxury with en suite bathrooms just a stone's throw from the Grand Canyon. Sarah Dusek and her husband, Jacob Dusek, co-founded Under Canvas in 2009, playing a pivotal role in creating glamping experiences near some of America’s iconic national parks. Inspired by her early twenties as an aid worker in Zimbabwe, Sarah aimed to bring the essence of African sMytouri experiences to the U.S. while minimizing water use and achieving zero waste.

After selling Under Canvas in 2018, the Duseks are now focused on their new project, Few & Far, which crafts itineraries that blend luxury with remote landscapes. Their mission is to establish a business that delivers net-positive impacts on the environments and communities they engage with. Their trips span from tiger expeditions in India to exploring the Iberá Wetlands in Argentina and tented camp experiences in Wyoming.

The Duseks, who moved from Montana to South Africa with their two young sons in 2019, are also developing Few & Far Luvhondo, a lodge set to launch at the end of 2024 in the biodiverse Forgotten Mountains of South Africa. This project will feature an aerial sMytouri experience and an ambitious carbon-sequestration initiative.

The travel innovator recently spoke with Dinogo about her new venture, carbon offsets, regenerative travel, and her vision for the future of hospitality.

This interview has been condensed for clarity.

What inspired your transition from aid worker to co-founder and CEO of Under Canvas?

Like many in the aid sector, I experienced burnout. I was drained yet firmly believed in my mission to make a difference in the world. However, after years of hard work, it became clear that our progress was limited. This prompted me to reconsider whether there was a more effective way than a traditional aid organization to drive innovation, tackle major global challenges, and create meaningful change.

I recognized that a major challenge for nonprofits is the constant need for funding, which hampers long-term impact and meaningful change. Businesses serve as a more effective vehicle because they aim to solve problems. When the focus is on profitability, sustainability follows. I like to think of the concept of People, Planet, Profit: the three Ps. For a business to thrive, all three legs of this stool must be strong and balanced; if one is longer, the stability falters. These are the types of businesses we need to cultivate for a better world.

What inspired the creation of Few & Far?

We hadn't initially intended to launch another travel company, but over time, all paths led us here. With Under Canvas, we were very conscious of our water and energy usage—everything operated off the grid, avoiding single-use plastics and prioritizing recycled materials. Now, I realize we were merely scratching the surface of sustainable travel. Our current focus is on creating a regenerative travel business, which goes beyond simply reducing impact to actively investing in positive outcomes. How can we significantly benefit both people and the environment?

This journey has led me to explore the connections between carbon management and conservation, aiming to positively affect local communities and manage land in ways that enhance preservation and regeneration. Our management plan includes five or six key streams, each with significant targets and an initial five- to seven-year timeline. Carbon management will be a major focus, alongside social impact initiatives. This includes job creation and local economic empowerment through our purchasing decisions. Our first carbon project launched in late April, and we anticipate sequestering around 5 million tons of additional carbon over the next 50 years from our current project in South Africa.

What led you to select the Soutpansberg Mountains in the UNESCO-listed Vhembe Biosphere Reserve as the location for your inaugural lodge, Few & Far Luvhondo?

We stumbled upon the Soutpansberg mountain range quite unexpectedly. During COVID, my husband, an avid outdoor enthusiast who prefers remote areas, suggested we seek out our own slice of wilderness. Initially, we searched near Cape Town, but ultimately our journey took us across the country to Limpopo. He found a stunning property covering about 10,000 acres, rich in biodiversity, featuring amazing wildlife, mountains, and valleys.

As we began connecting with local neighbors and landowners, we realized we had inadvertently embarked on a larger mission to conserve the entire mountain range. Many passionate advocates, environmentalists, and conservationists were involved in smaller properties, striving to unite them with the vision of removing fences to create a larger nature reserve. While there were some smaller guest lodges and hospitality offerings already present, everyone kept mentioning that the destination was off the radar and largely unknown.

Naturally, my husband and I exchanged glances and thought, “As the individuals in the room with experience in building a significant brand and promoting a name—we effectively established glamping in the United States—perhaps we can assist in conserving this entire region.”

What sets this lodge apart from other sDinogoi camps?

One aspect I cherish about being in a sDinogoi setting is the incredible wildlife viewing. However, this often requires spending six to eight hours in a vehicle each day. That won’t be the case here. We’ll offer plenty of hikes, biking opportunities, and a 25-mile solar-powered cable car system.

The lodge will feature 30 units, providing 60 beds, with a blend of tent fabric and wooden structures. The highlight for me is undoubtedly the cable car system. You’ll be able to silently traverse the mountain range, observing wildlife from over 80 feet up, guided by someone who can navigate you forward or backward at speeds between 5 and 10 miles per hour. I believe this will represent a significant evolution that encourages everyone in the industry to elevate their standards.

How will Few & Far Luvhondo implement economically sustainable solutions?

For me, this is all about carbon initiatives. Few & Far Luvhondo will feature its own carbon project tied to our efforts in developing and conserving a vast section of the Soutpansberg mountain range. This project will provide an incredible sDinogoi experience while enabling guests to engage with the concepts of regeneration and the rewilding of the area.

We anticipate sequestering over 100,000 tons of carbon through our rewilding initiatives in a region heavily influenced by commercial agriculture that should have been preserved long ago. Our focus is on safeguarding the mountain's rich biodiversity and restoring it to align with scientific standards.

Few & Far partners with like-minded companies, such as Singita in East and Southern Africa, Delfin Amazon Cruises in Peru, and Awasi in Chile and Argentina. What can travelers look forward to on a Few & Far journey?

We’ve crafted numerous journeys that I've personally experienced, allowing me to see firsthand the positive impacts on vulnerable communities, the beauty of travel experiences, and significant environmental conservation efforts all happening concurrently. Each day, we strive to create moments filled with privacy and exceptional beauty.

It’s about enjoying food and wine in breathtaking locations, accessing places that few others can reach, and savoring views that are uniquely ours. We aim to craft unforgettable, off-the-beaten-path experiences in remarkable natural settings. Typically, the properties we partner with are small, boutique, highly personalized, and luxurious, actively engaging in environmental initiatives, social conservation, and community involvement while delivering exceptional travel experiences.

What responsibilities do you believe travel companies have regarding carbon offsets?

As a planet, we must tackle two critical tasks: reducing our emissions and removing more carbon from the atmosphere. The calculations show that we need to sequester 20 billion more tons of carbon annually than we currently do to combat climate change. With carbon credits generally priced at $10 to $12 per ton, the challenge boils down to a technical issue of around $200 billion a year. In the grand scheme, that’s a manageable amount. The travel industry could potentially contribute significantly to this effort. It’s been relatively easy for travel companies to purchase offsets online, and I believe we should pursue these offsets. Why? Because purchasing an offset allows us to invest in projects dedicated to sequestering additional carbon.

We aim to initiate enough projects to offset 1 million tons of carbon while also developing new projects for carbon sequestration. Recently, my husband visited Zanzibar with our son to explore coral reefs off the coast, and we are excited about the potential for Few & Far to engage in many more projects. I truly appreciate the synergy between a hospitality venture and a carbon project, merging conservation and rewilding efforts to protect delicate ecosystems.