Saadani safari lodge, Tanzania

All the bandas were built around the natural vegetation. No trees were cut down to make room for our structures. Our medium sized swimming pool uses 50% water from the sea, and 50% fresh water to conserve fresh water resources. All building materials occur naturally in the environment and are readily replenish. All roofing is done with dried banana leaves. We encourage our guests to reduce their usage of water at the lodge by suggesting that towels should be cleaned when necessary. Our Saadani safari lodge is run off solar power for the majority of the time with a generator to charge the batteries a little in the evening. We are located in side a National park so we retain the highest possible standards for wild life conservation around the lodge i.e. only using bio-degradable products.

All the fish and the prawns consumed at the lodge are purchased at a fair price from the local fisherman. This is helpful to them because otherwise the fishermen have to travel 5 hours to Dar es Salaam to sell at the larger markets. This helps the working people of the village with income quickly and allows them to return to work without spending the travel time to sell their wares abroad.

Staff are recruited first from the village. If we cannot find suitable candidate, the search continues outside the area and in Dar es Salaam. The vast majority of goods we buy are locally made or produced. All services are produced, run and managed by local people.

Projects that the Saadani Safari lodge has been directly responsible for are as follows:

The construction and oversee of the upkeep of the water pump responsible for supplying the village with fresh water. The project was designed to give the village complete control over the project. Staff were hired and given salary to be responsible for the machinery and repairs.

The improvement of the facilities and supplies at the only local dispensary in the village. With the help of the lodge, the building itself was improved and restored. Money also given for general upkeep.

The Primary School in the village has been repaired and maintained in part from funds collected from guests and staff at the lodge.

Scholarships – one student a year is chosen to be sponsored for their studies, through secondary school. There is no secondary school in the village, so the students must select a boarding secondary school to attend. The owner of the lodge pays the school fees, uniform costs, shoes, food and materials for the whole year.

We have supplied rubbish bins throughout the village and assist in the education of collection and refuse treatment; this includes a once yearly litter picking exercise with school children on the beach.

Guests are encouraged to take the walking tour through the village with a guide who lives in the village with his family.

Visitors from other countries are counselled on appropriate dress and behaviour in the village. We ask that all guests request permission from subjects if they would like to take a picture, and they are told that if they do take any picture they will be expected to share the photo with the villagers later. We encourage the download and developing of pictures here.

We also set up SANA – a non-profit company designed to assist conservation with the local communities.