Malindi beach accommodation in Kenya
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
All the buildings are locally designed and natural local materials so we blend into the landscape and encourage local industry. Local labour is used in the construction and maintenance of these buildings.
The hotel maintains the beach as much as possible and takes every opportunity to educate guests of the areas in which they can contribute. The hotel limits the popular use of generators where possible to limit fuel consumption and noise. The hotel has fitted key fobs to all rooms to ensure that electricity is not used when guests are not in the rooms.
In relation to recycling we have a big challenge for there is no recycling plant anywhere on the Kenyan coast. The options that then present its self is for us to transport our bottles back the 500 kms to Nairobi which is both costly and not helping our carbon footprint. We are currently negotiating with our suppliers in Nairobi to include collection as part of the service, when delivering, but it is not something they are ready to commit to. To address this we have turned to a variety of techniques to reduce our consumption of plastic such as water filtration. For the waste we do generate, we have in the meantime developed a novel system whereby through our staff the bottles are made available to the rural communities to use for their own purposes and along with our internal re use system currently we are able to get almost 100% re-use of our plastic and glass waste this way.
Fresh water is a big issue in this area and we are constantly seeking to limit the amount we consume. Because it is limited we are forced to take some from the mains line but have also harnessed rain water and use our own well to service the needs outside of human consumption and washing. This includes water for the pools, gardens and cleaning which have traditionally consumed more than was available. Using this method, along with adapting our plants to indigenous hardwearing varieties, now more than 50% of what we consume is coming from identified sustainable sources. There is not yet evidence that we can justify another water tank but as soon as there is we will pursue that option.
Community
The accommodation takes its local community very seriously. It ensures that working conditions of its employees are amongst the best in the region. It also ensures that their individual family needs are catered for where possible.The accommodation seeks to employee from a wide range of backgrounds and has identified the need to increase female employees by around 10% in 2010/2011.
All services are local except when focused technical help is required in which case it is brought from the capital Nairobi. Training is a priority with members of the team travelling locally, regionally and internationally as part of that. As much produce as possible is purchased locally and all fish from the fish market.
We encourage guests to engage with these wonderful people by offering a free Tuk Tuk ride into town and back. This also encourages guests to use facilities and purchase goods outside of the hotel. We also contribute to local and regional fundraising for key causes in the poverty and medical arenas. This takes the form of either cash donations or gifts in kind.
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