Safari lodge in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

Our environmental rehabilitation and education centre is based at the lodge. The lodge and the income from the lodge helps finance the actions and activities of the environmental rehabilitation and education centre. The environmental centre was established as a vehicle through which our outreach and work could be channelled. Our reserve is one of the few in our area that is committed to environmental awareness and who are concerned about the area’s conservation. We focus not only on the rehabilitation of our own reserve, but we also endeavour to expand the protection of biodiversity (especially sand forest which supports numerous red data species) by incorporating surrounding properties. And we have outreach projects into the surrounding rural community. We are currently negotiating the establishment of a wildlife orphanage and protection unit. Guest are taken to see some of the projects and community efforts toward conservation.

We have established the St. Lucia Water Catchment Forum with our Government to address the challenges in the water catchment of the World Natural Heritage Site, The Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park on the North East Coast of South Africa.

We have set up the False Bay School for farm workers children, most of whom are underprivileged and are aids orphans. Our environmental education outreach includes teaching the principles of growing food with organic methods with a view to encouraging food security in surrounding rural areas.

We recycle all our refuse; bottles are separated and sent to a recycling plant in Richard Bay. Tins are likewise recycled. All organic waste is placed in our organic vegetable garden to feed the earthworms! Plastics are taken to the municipal waste receptacles. We have been lobbying the local municipality to move the waste dump which is situated close to the banks of a river that feeds the lake.

As far as possible the lodge has been built with natural sustainable resources. Materials and recycled products have been incorporated where possible. We have a small organic garden. Further to this, tours to cultural and other eco-tourist activities are taken into the local community.

Workers in the lodge are from the local community. Construction and maintenance is also outsourced to local community. On site training is given to all workers. Food is bought locally. We hope to eventually provide much of the lodge’s food from our organic garden but we would also like to promote the rural home gardeners that we are presently working with, to sell surplus food to a market that would supply the lodges. Much of our furniture has been made here with renewal sources of wood. We never fell trees for this purpose – or any other!