Ryan Yule was so dismayed about seeing toddlers taking orders that he decided to leave the agency he was with and set up Yule Travel Group.

The 32-year-old from Renfrewshire launched Yule Travel Group in March but did not start selling holidays to his 100 or so "regular customers" for another three months. 

Reflecting on his Laos holiday last year, he said: "I got to a town called Pak Beng and I realised that there were restaurants being staffed by toddlers and children.

"They were cooking, cleaning, serving – these places have become so reliant on tourism, and they're not seeing the money they should see. I was so shocked at seeing how tourism creates jobs rather than owners.

"I want to build businesses with people rather than ones that employ people. There was nobody above the age of 16 in those restaurants. They were there through necessity rather than choice."

Yule, a tailor-made long-haul specialist with 10 years' industry experience, operates his agency as a Community Interest Company (CIC) selling holidays at the "best possible price" while committing 100% of its retained profits – after running costs – to community causes.

Donations from bookings

The remote working agency currently has five volunteers, including Yule, who support the business. Once a booking is made, £5 is immediately donated to Lendwithcare and £3 to Computer Aid, which distributes used computers to communities in need.

A larger contribution of the business' remaining profits, after running costs, is then given at the end of the financial year.

Lendwithcare matches entrepreneurs in low-income countries with businesses that have the power to help them.

Even though Yule Travel Group isn't yet even a year old, it has funded a microloan every quarter since it was incorporated.

Sen, a 55-year-old Vietnamese entrepreneur, needed capital for 30,000 acacia seedlings for her sustainable forestry plantation and sought funding from Lendwithcare.

Sen has since repaid the loan in full. Yule said: "The repaid loan remains with Lendwithcare in Yule Travel Group's 'pot' and will be re-invested, never divested away."

Yule handles every booking enquiry at the moment; his biggest bookings include a £10,500 Caribbean cruise with Marella Cruises. "Customers can book anything they like, but instead of us keeping the profits, we're investing," he explained.

Asked what is the primary emotion when he secures a five-figure booking, Yule said: "I'm happy for the business because we're proving that we can sort of thrive and still be a non-profit and then, of course, anybody in a sales role will feel sort of some excitement for themselves."

Asset lock situation

Yule Travel Group has an asset lock in place with major humanitarian agency Care International, which means if Yule's non-profit agency was ever to close down, all assets would be passed over to Care International.

The group is in the process of setting up a homeworking division this month, and is looking to take on four self-employed business owners.

In time, Yule said Yule Travel would attract homeworkers to the business via three pathways – a free "incubator" pathway, a new-to-travel one and another option for experienced travel agents.