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Here local community members are major contributors and stakeholders. Gabriel and his family are major shareholders in the business, which is our initial step towards ensuring upliftment of the local population and proving our long-term commitment to sustainable development of the area. We aim to constantly increase the numbers of islanders employed and the levels at which they are employed, thus economically benefiting the island population, while simultaneously relieving pressure on the environment through a decrease in dependence on subsistence fishing and other unsustainable natural resource use. Appropriate ongoing skills, literacy and language training will be provided for all staff, with the aim of empowering local, previously disadvantaged individuals.
An estimate of 240 Benguerra islanders (80% of full staff compliment), of which 35 – 40% are women, have found employment during construction. One third is receiving practical skills training on site that will benefit them in the future. A small crèche for the children of the women working on site has been established. Although job creation during construction is temporary only, the acquired skills will allow these islanders to pursue alternate income generation strategies other than fishing, which in turn will benefit the over-utilized local marine and coastal environment. A percentage, however, of temporarily employed islanders will find employment during operations.
The establishment of this retreat on Benguerra Island has resulted in a significant increase in local economic activity. Apart from the direct benefits through job creation, the local communities in a 20 km radius benefit indirectly through rendering of services, such as transport of building materials on local boats, small scale trading, supply of food, etc. To date, in excess of $100,000 has been injected into the local community through the hiring of dhow transport services alone. A purchasing policy will be in place, which aims to purchase as many supplies as possible locally, regionally and nationally. This will increase the business opportunities and volumes of local, regional and national suppliers and create further new employment opportunities.
A no-fishing zone has been established in cooperation with the National Park and the local island community in close proximity to the site and is enforced by the local fishing community. This no-fishing zone serves as nursery ground for the fish stocks in the area resulting in an increased volume of fish in the area, which in return will benefit not only the environment, but also the local population depending on subsistence fishing. A strictly controlled policy will be in place to only procure and utilize sustainably caught fish and seafood.
An awareness program for kitchen and purchasing staff will be implemented regarding protected species, minimum sizes, etc, and no produce will be bought from fishermen using prohibited fishing gear (i.e. gill nets) or that have been known to fish in restricted areas. Regarding guests’ fishing activities, no fishing will be allowed in areas restricted (no-fishing-zones) and all National Park regulations regarding recreational fishing will be strictly enforced. Tag-and-release practices will be strongly promoted and sustainable fishing practices will be encouraged. We minimize and responsibly utilize water drawn from the island resource by monitoring water usage, minimize leakage and recycling. All grey water will be treated by the on-site sewerage treatment plant, recycled and used for irrigation. Extreme caution will be taken to avoid any leakages of untreated water into the environment, so as to ensure no unwanted pollutants enter the ground water and marine eco system.
The company endeavours to keep solid waste production to a minimum through a waste sensitive purchasing policy. All solid waste will be separated on site in biodegradable and non-biodegradable. All non-biodegradable waste will be removed from the island to the mainland to be deposited on the Vilanculos municipality waste disposal site. Any toxic waste will be strictly contained and removed from the island. Biodegradable waste will be composted on site. Internationally recognized and approved benchmarks will be used as targets for waste production. Achievement of these benchmarks/targets will be monitored, controlled and rewarded.
State of the art technology, including solar-assisted geysers will be installed to keep energy/electricity consumption to a minimum without infringing on guests’ comfort. We will introduce and implement a Carbon Neutral policy with the goal of becoming carbon neutral by December 2007. Other environmental projects we are involved in are Dugong research and monitoring, a reforestation program, turtle conservation, dolphin conservation, whale monitoring and conservation, crocodile monitoring, bird habitat conservation, coral reef monitoring and fish catch monitoring. The Rainbow Fund, has been established in order to responsibly and transparently manage projects and funds related to community development and conservation. Guests will be encouraged to contribute at least US $1 per night to the Rainbow Fund and to become part of the Rainbow Fund’s projects and initiatives.
We are involved in many projects such as the Island school project which aims to provide the island community in conjunction with the Bazaruto National Park (BNP), other tourism operators on the island and the local authorities with a quality school that equals any in rural Mozambique. Phase 1 is funded entirely by us and includes renovation of existing class rooms and the onstruction of teachers’ and director’s houses. We are also involved in other education based community projects such as adult literacy training and English lessons. We are involved in many healthcare community projects such as assisting the BNP, local authorities and the Mozambican government in providing the island community with a clinic capable of treating minor injuries and illnesses and assisting during childbirth, helping to supply potable water, malaria prevention, HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns and a skin cancer prevention project for pigment deficient island children.
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