Edition 45: Winter 2008/9

The annual Responsible Tourism Awards were recently held at the World Travel Market in London, and four African operations came away winners. Here are their stories.

Best volunteer organisation: CAMPS INTERNATIONAL
Founded in 2002, with a commitment to social development and environmental protection, Camps International (www.campsinternational.com) hosts a thousand or so volunteers each year at its camps, most of which are in Kenya. Its projects are developed from the ground up, usually working in partnership with local communities. Each programme is multi-faceted, like the Muhaka Primary School project, which is not only renovating the school’s facilities, but also eradicating longstanding health issues in the area, and working with the community to help them protect their environment for generations to come.

Runner-up in this category on the past five occasions, managing director Stuart Rees Jones was especially proud this year – not because Camps International won, but rather how they’ve handled the past year in Kenya.

With their volunteer numbers dropping to zero after travel advisories all but stopped tourism to Kenya during the post election violence earlier in the year, Jones and his team faced some very difficult decisions. They could lay off staff and mothball projects in an attempt to salvage some profits, or they could soldier on and put their money where their mouth was. Without hesitation they chose the latter, actually even expanding their commitment to their projects and launching a wilderness conservation programme to help endangered species and local communities in the Shimba Hills near Tsavo.

“Ironically,” says Jones, “the year we can feel the most pride in has been the one without profits. But our sustainable projects cannot be switched on and off. Maintaining commitment to our local staff – 150 families – through retention rather than redundancy, was, in the short term, a costly exercise. Nearly a year on, however, the attendance and performance in the schools we continued to build has soared, our staff have managed to provide for their extended families, our partnerships with local suppliers have sustained the local industry and there is palpable sense of pride that comes from belonging to a team that has survived a crisis without compromising its integrity.”

Best for conservation of endangered species or protected area: GAMEWATCHERS SAFARIS AND PORINI CAMPS

Having been involved in the safari business in Kenya since the early 1970s Jake Grieves-Cook was a first hand witness to the degradation of indigenous vegetation in the Mara and Amboseli ecosystems due to overgrazing by Maasai livestock. By 1990, poaching for meat in had also driven much of the wildlife out of these same areas.

“It was so appalling,” said Cook, “that I decided I had to do something about it.” However, instead of simply setting off with environmental targets, he was determined to work the local communities so that they would also benefit from the rejuvenation of the habitat and increases in wildlife populations.

Although the high-yield, low-impact eco-tourism goal was to generate economic benefits for the community, negotiations with the elders proved incredibly tricky. It wasn’t until 1997 that he signed his initial agreement with a Maasai community, which was to establish the 5260ha Selenkay Conservancy in the Amboseli area. Following its success, negotiations sped up with Maasai in the Mara area, and two agreements were signed: one in 2005 to form the 3450ha Ol Kinyei Conservancy, and another a year later to create the 8900ha Olare Orok Conservancy.

The negotiations were most problematic because the land to be used for each conservancy was actually chosen on an individual basis by the each Maasai landowner. Leases were then signed with each member who wanted their land to be part of the conservancy. Once signed up, the Maasai would no longer graze his cattle on the land, leaving it for habitat regeneration and wildlife. At Selenkay, it wasn’t long before elephants returned after a 20-year absence. And in the Mara conservancies, breeding cheetahs soon took up residence.

Porini Camps (www.porini.com), situated within the conservancies are small, eco-friendly tented affairs, with a maximum of 12-20 guests. Aimed at the top end of the market, they are pretty plush, and wildlife drives in the conservancies are for Porini/Gamewatchers vehicles only, meaning it is a rather exclusive experience without a minibus in sight. And the walking safaris are guided by those who know the ground better than anyone else: the local Maasai. Income from the camps not only pays the monthly leases to each Maasai, but it also goes to improving and protecting the conservancy.

The camps and conservancies employ more than 100 members from the communities, with over 500 families benefiting directly.

“Our partnership with the local communities has made a significant contribution to improving conservation of the wildlife and habitat of these areas,” said Cook. “The members see the wildlife as a resource which belongs to them and are enthusiastic about it coming into their conservancy. And because they are no longer dependent on livestock to support their families, the grass and other vegetation have recovered. We believe that this can serve as a model to be adapted in other parts of Kenya and throughout Africa.”

Best small hotel: NKWICHI LODGE

Although the idea for this eco-lodge was born in a London pub, it wasn’t until a series of meetings with chiefs and village elders beneath a mango tree on the shore of Mozambique’s Lake Niassa that Nkwichi was truly born. The meetings involved Patrick Simkin discussing his goals for preserving the area’s natural wilderness, improving the standard of living for local communities and helping them secure land rights from the government. In the end he was given a formal letter, drawn up by the villagers, stating their full support for the entire project.

Three years later, in 2002, the luxurious seven-chalet lodge opened. “To begin with, it was a bit trial and error,” admitted Simkin, now the resident director. “While I had experience managing lodges in southern Africa, I had never built one from scratch. But we all learnt quickly and we now have one of the most imaginative designs of any African lodge.”

Guests can enjoy a wide variety of nature-based activities, including exploring Niassa bush and snorkelling in the incredibly clear waters of the lake, which contains a greater variety of indigenous fish species – more than 1000 – than any other lake in the world. Funding from the lodge has contributed to the Manda Wilderness Project (www.mandawilderness.org), a charity which – with the support of the local community – has turned 120,000ha of lakeside land into a community-owned conservation area. Through the Manda Wilderness Project, development programmes have so far built six primary schools, a maize mill and a maternity clinic, and given loans and training in sustainable practices to more than 700 farmers.

Nkwichi has been the main driving force behind the establishment of the Umoji Association, a legal body empowering 20,000 local people through their chiefs and elected representatives. Through the association, six communities have been given their land rights certificates from the Mozambique government – the first and only communities in the country to have received this. The conservation area is included in these land titles.

Nkwichi only employs local people, including 30 per cent women, two of whom are managers. And by ensuring communities benefit from lodge business, tourism continues to be seen as positive.

“Luxury without guilt is a great phrase – and it’s true here,” said Simkin.

Best for poverty reduction: 'GAMBIA IS GOOD' PROJECT

Although the Gambia’s tourism draws around 100,000 visitors annually – usually seeking some winter sun – most come as part of package tours. With this industry controlled by Western-owned big tour operators, airlines and hotels, little of the money lands where it should: in the local economy.

Most shocking was the fact that despite thousands of kilograms of local produce going to waste, often not even making it beyond the garden gate, operators were importing truckloads of produce from the Netherlands, France, Spain and even neighbouring Senegal. The operators simply didn’t feel that the supply of local produce was reliable enough.

However, with the help of Haygrove (a UK fruit and flower grower), the international charity Concern Universal and funding from the DFID’s Business Linkages Challenge Fund, a fair trade horticultural company named Gambia is Good (GIG) was set up to turn around the plight of poor rural Gambian communities. By working with local subsistence growers to improve irrigation, grading of harvests, distribution and marketing, over-produced items were replaced with in-demand ones such as courgettes and broccoli.

Initially GIG worked with 30 growers, but that number has now increased to over 1000, most of the companies being run by women. Hoteliers have welcomed the initiative with open arms and 80 per cent are participating, buying 20 tonnes of produce during the winter season. In the past year GIG has diverted £34,000 of sales away from importers and into the hands of local, small-scale producers.  

Highly Commended

There were also impressive number of African organisations that were highly commended for their work at the 2008 Responsible Tourism Awards.
• blue o two (www.blueotwo.com), Egypt Best in a Marine Environment
• Blue Ventures (www.blueventures.org), Madagascar Best Volunteer Organisation
• Boogie Pilgrim (www.boogiepilgrim-madagascar.com), Madagascar Best Volunteer Organisation
• Stormsriver Adventures (www.stormsriver.com), South Africa Best in Poverty Reduction
• Safari Garden Hotel (www.safarigarden.com), The Gambia Best Small Hotel
• Voluntours (www.voluntours.co.za), South Africa Best Volunteer Organisation