In 1997 the local school, along with members of the local community and local organisations, took the innovative step of introducing cultural tourism to the Luangwa Valley as they strongly felt that local school children would benefit from interacting with guests from a different culture.
In our first two years of operation, we ploughed all proceeds from paying guests back into the enterprise – purchasing beds, mattresses, linen, blankets and mosquito nets. All the villagers worked for free. Today, the villagers involved in providing services to guests all receive a monthly salary, and any profit is ear-marked for community development projects, funding school places for HIV/AIDS orphans, providing clothes/food for the needy and elderly in the village, and improving the facilities (classrooms, staff houses, books, etc) in our school. We also run a conservation education programme in the school.
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.
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