Tourism is has been introduced to Mafia Island in a very commendable low-impact and sensitive manner. It is helping to provide an important alternative source of income for locals since the livelihoods of many local fishermen were affected by the designation of the area as a marine park.
Both Pole Pole and Chole Mjini are very small-scale resorts, both of which have a maximum capacity of less than 20 guests. Pole Pole treats all their wastewaters in a phyto-purification system and has initiated the first recycling scheme on the island. They have created a Trust from tourist proceeds to support local community projects, such as building a school and providing student bursaries. Most food served is bought from local fishermen and cooperative farms and grown organically.
At Chole Island, Chole Mjini Treehouses donate US $10 levies per tourist night towards three different community societies - the Chole Social Development Society, Chole Economic Development Society and Chole Society for Women's Development. These societies have full autonomy and decide on the village projects to be funded, including schooling and healthcare. Both Pole Pole and Chole Mjini are important local employer, providing jobs for locals, whose income generation is restricted by Mafia Islands' Marine Park policies.
For all of our tours we provide customers with an itinerary specific responsible travel guide aprox 4 weeks before they depart. This includes a generic travelers code of conduct which emphasises basic responsible travel advice – e.g. reduction of waste and consumption of natural resources, purchase local produce where possible etc. Our vacations are specifically designed to bring guests into direct contact with locals from a range of different tribes and cultures across Africa. We also therefore provide destination specific guidance including advice on local customs and some key phrases in certain languages (e.g. Swahili). We also offer guidance on how to barter responsibly for local curios and what curios should be avoided (e.g. certain wildlife artefacts such as coral, turtle shells etc.). As all of our guides and groundhandlers are local we also give guidance on what a fair and reasonable level of tipping would be at the end of the vacation.
We support the work of Tourism Concern both in distributing their advice to customers and as an active participant in the Ethical Tour Operators Group. Our managing director sits on this group and is a regular attendee of meetings contributing to work towards developing industry wide fair trade standards. We also distribute materials to customers and make periodic donations for the following charities: Tree Aid; International Fund for Wildlife and Survival International Trust. In Southern Africa we support the Southern Africa Sustainable Seafood Initiative and forward their guidance to all customers on which seafood is sustainable when offered a choice at restaurants.
Whilst volunteering on a coral reef in Tanzania, the founder of this company fell in love with Africa. Using her academic background in environmental science, she decided to do something practical and help the continent develop a sustainable tourism portfolio. She developed vacations which combine the obvious itinerary highlights with more unusual experiences such as home stays and township visits. She believes that there are great benefits to travel: it is a chance to widen your horizons, learn about other people and see a bit more of the world than just that little place you call home.
Listen to the podcast below:
We invite every traveler who books a vacation via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the vacations they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same vacation can have different views!
