Southern Ethiopia, tailor made vacation

Environment

The conservation of water is of critical importance to the lodges in the environments they operate, especially somewhere like East Africa and in particular Ethiopia which is prone to long and sustained periods of drought. All of the lodges used in the itinerary conserve water through regular maintenance to reduce leakages, fitting flow restrictors on shower heads and taps where possible, watering the gardens at cooler times of the day, and implementing a guest towel re-use and water conservation programme.

The water outlets are tested regularly. In this way they can be sure that they are not introducing harmful toxins into the protected environments in which they operate.

All of the waste produced is recycled, re-used or disposed of responsibly. Recycled paper is used in offices and in brochure production, and recycle waste paper and cardboard through local community paper-making. This has the added benefit of providing livelihood streams for our neighbouring communities.

Community

We employ local Ethiopian staff in the lodges and camps including in management positions. We also actively encourage their growth and advancement within the organisation often with internal training to assist in this process. Our first source of staff is always from the local communities around the area where the lodge / camp is based and only if skills required are not available do we search elsewhere.

Supplies of fresh food are done locally whenever possible. Menus are tailored to utilise the best of the fresh fruit and vegetables currently available – this is generally a seasonal thing as within Ethiopia there is a large range of suitable fresh produce available.

Dry goods and manufactured goods are also purchased locally with the emphasis on local products – tea, coffee, honey, flour, and sugar to name a few. We avoid using products of manufacturing companies known to not be eco-friendly.