Selous safari and Swahili coast holiday

This itinerary is an ‘off the beaten track’ adventure in Tanzania specifically shying away from the key iconic sites of the north where tourism is well established. In southern Tanzania the community survives on subsistence agriculture and rudimentary fishing. The income generated is not sufficient to meet basic needs for whole families and the introduction of tourism is seen as an industry that can stimulate the economy.

The Old Boma at Mikindani is run by Trade Aid Tanzania, a non profit-making charitable trust whose aim is to create sustainable employment. In 1996, the Old Boma was a derelict ruin. Since, it has been renovated and brought back into use as a small hotel. The income from visitors to Mikindani created opportunity for many full time jobs for local people. Any surpluses from the hotel are used to initiate similar job creating projects in Mikindani. So far some 40 jobs have been created in the Old Boma and a further 20 in the other ventures. Some of the first ventures include an Organic Market Garden supplying the Old Boma, a tree nursery and a small restaurant 'Samaki' has been opened to serve the local people. Its presence has also provided income for local fishermen, farmers and other traders.

Trade Aid Tanzania is also concerned with education, the single most important tool for poverty alleviation. They are amongst others involved in teaching English at local primary schools, instructing computer skills for local teachers and initiating environmental projects in the Mikindani area.

40 direct jobs at the hotel have been created since the start of the project and 20 others in associated projects which form part of the hotel supply chain. These include the inception of an organic market garden and tree nursery. Within 6 months of opening the nursery had 1,700 saplings which have been planted at nearby agricultural sites. Soil erosion has become a huge problem as native trees have been felled for land clearance and firewood. The nursery project is both educating local people and replacing the loss. The area is famous for its wood carvings which are sold in markets throughout Tanzania and many of the trees that have been lost are ebony – the traditional carver’s wood of choice. The nursery has replaced many hundred ebony trees with a view to allowing the local craft to continue. During your stay at the Old Boma we would be delighted to add a workshop with a local wood carving group of tinga tinga painter. Guests can take home any artwork they create as a souvenir.

Samaki (Swahili for fish) is a small canteen operated by a woman's group with initial assistance from the lodge. Centrally located in The Old Slave Market in Mikindani it serves low cost, nutritious food to the village people. Previously there was no restaurant in Mikindani catering for local tastes and palates. It has generated 3 jobs, but equally importantly is now a meeting place and social centre for the village people. They are another customer for the Organic Market Garden thus sustaining the supply chain developing in the local community.

For all of our tours we provide customers with an itinerary specific responsible travel guide aprox 4 weeks before they depart. This includes a generic travellers code of conduct which emphasises basic responsible travel advice – e.g. reduction of waste and consumption of natural resources, purchase local produce where possible etc. Our holidays are specifically designed to bring guests into direct contact with locals from a range of different tribes and cultures across Africa. We also therefore provide destination specific guidance including advice on local customs and some key phrases in certain languages (e.g. Swahili). We also offer guidance on how to barter responsibly for local curios and what curios should be avoided (e.g. certain wildlife artefacts such as coral, turtle shells etc.). As all of our guides and groundhandlers are local we also give guidance on what a fair and reasonable level of tipping would be at the end of the holiday.

We support the work of Tourism Concern both in distributing their advice to customers and as an active participant in the Ethical Tour Operators Group. Our managing director sits on this group and is a regular attendee of meetings contributing to work towards developing industry wide fair trade standards. We also distribute materials to customers and make periodic donations for the following charities: Tree Aid; International Fund for Wildlife and Survival International Trust. In Southern Africa we support the Southern Africa Sustainable Seafood Initiative and forward their guidance to all customers on which seafood is sustainable when offered a choice at restaurants.