Katete accommodation, Zambia
| country: | Zambia |
| location: | Katete |
| price: | From US $17 - US $20 per room per night. Single room from US $13, three and four bed rooms are available from US $8 per person per night |
check out similar holiday ideas...
introduction to Katete accommodation, Zambia
The centre was started as a place for literacy training for villagers; the guesthouse was an afterthought. After some time this community centre turned into a hotel, with a full-time restaurant and now we hope that we can build a conference centre. The houses that we offer to accommodate visitors were originally built for local people, but they are comfortable. The place is clean and the members of the staff are very kind and welcoming which will guarantee a very happy and enjoyable stay to those who visit us. Local craft such as woodwork and paintings Cultural tours, where walking around our shelters you will witness how children and adults try to learn under very difficult conditions. Make friends with a member of staff and see how they live in the mud huts around the centre. If you want to, give them money to cook and eat at their place, you will enjoy it! Local dancing (initiation rite for girls), eat a vegetarian meal and watch the ghost dance in a village a 45 minute walk away, if that is too much for you, travel on the ox cart. This activity is very successful venture, and very rare; the villagers do their dancing regularly, visitors or no visitors Visit community projects around the villages where we are creating some development by helping with irrigation gardens See the township, the local market, the mosque and the farms behind as well as the unforgettable experience of walking the mountains of this African region Go to Msoro using local transport , where there is a cathedral in the middle of nowhere, or rather in the middle of a lot of wildlife Visit South Luangwa Game Park, one of the best in Africa, with relatively few visitors and many animals in a very varied landscape. Once there you can see what paradise looked like
special things to do and see here
rooms, food and facilities
Most rooms are self-contained with running cold water and hot water in the afternoons (solar) or from the fire brought in the mornings, as well as electrical fans and heaters. Our homemade soap will find its way to your hand-made bed sheets each and everyday! The restaurant serves delicious local food and other styles of cooking, where you can learn how to eat the local way. All of the vegetables used in the kitchen, as well as some of the meat options come from our wonderful farm.
how to find us
From Lusaka: If you arrive at Lusaka airport, take taxi to Kuomboka backpackers, there you can get a bus in the morning which is a 6 hour drive through the mountains. From Chipata: If you arrive in Chipata, we can fetch you with a taxi, 75 minutes drive for US $75 or you can arrive in Lilongwe/Malawi, we pick you up with taxi, 4 hours drive over the border for US $220
how this holiday makes a difference
|
The land was given to this community center by the Chief for development. The houses and land are owned by Community Management Committee, the members meet every Monday afternoon. Visitors are very welcome to attend these meetings.
There are 84 people in the team who are volunteers. We have over 20 income-generating activities; the majority of these projects are closely linked to education and development in the village.  Some examples are courses for home based careers. We help with community schools and the World Food Programme distribution of emergency food to the community. The community also runs environmental programmes such planting trees and propagation of solar power to save deforestation e.g. solar stoves. We are always running different workshop to benefit the community. A great example is the people who attended the home based care workshop in October 2005 who up to now care for AIDS patients as well as reform their villages with pushing for clean drinking water and the digging of pit latrines. Life here is very similar to how it was in Europe in 1850 when the scientific knowledge of microbes causing disease became generally accepted and community health improved significantly in a very short time. The volunteer director is always happy to give information about local customs especially to do with the correct clothing and behaviour (skirts for women, which are on loan and no kissing in public, respect by men of women's activities). We can also provide with information for those who want to volunteer some time with us.  This holiday is part of the responsibletravel.com and Conservation International Community Based Tourism Programme to support and promote community based tourism ventures that offer significant conservation and development benefits to local communities. To see other community based tourism holidays and find out more about the programme click here. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
check out similar holiday ideas...