For this Mozambique diving vacation the Guludo area was chosen to develop a true eco-lodge not only because of the stunning wildlife and environment but also because of the exceptional surrounding communities, who campaigned to have their local natural environment protected. As a result in June 2002 Quirimbas National Park was designated.
The European owners of Guludo Luxury Tented Camp now work closely together with local communities, who live in extreme poverty. Within approximately 10 miles there are 5 communities, the closest of which is Guludo, who own the land the lodge is built on. A growing percentage of tourism income goes directly back into the village. Not only are funds provided, but the lodge also trains and employs villagers and purchases local building materials and food stuff. For example, a local construction team was employed to build the lodge in a traditional style.
Guests can actively participate in the ongoing conservation and community projects. You are free to get involved as little or as much as you like. Safari and diving activities are collecting baseline data for the national park authorities. The Guests v Villagers football match is an experience not to be missed. This is truly an example of a tourism development created by and in harmony with its local villagers.
The lodge was built with state-of-the-art environmental technology. Throughout the lodge solar energy is used to heat water and generate electricity, dehydrating enviro-loos are installed to minimise water use and reduce environmental pollution, ‘grey’ water is filtered & recycled and waste production is minimised by active recycling. ALL cleaning products and bathroom toiletries used within the lodge are environmental friendly products minimising the impact on the marine environment.
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.
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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!
