Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
1of2
Environment
Mumbo Island’s tiny camp is tucked away amongst the rocks of the island. It is set up with bucket showers and dry composting loo’s to minimise environmental impact and has adhered to strict principles of eco-architecture. For lighting guests are encouraged to use low technology solar lanterns and wind up torches to ensure no hazard battery waste is produced as this is particularly difficult to dispose of safely in such a location.
This green tourism ethos was recognised in September 2008 when Mumbo was recognised by the Malawian government and was presented with an award for “striving to sustain a tourist environment”. Mumbo was particularly praised for maximising its use of local produce and practicing ‘green procurement’. All waste produced on the island is now segregated before being transported back to the mainland for recycling, used as compost or reused by community uplift programmes. Further projects scheduled to come online in 2009 include solar cooking and water heating.
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.
Community
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.
Whilst volunteering on a coral reef in Tanzania, the founder of this company fell in love with Africa. Using her academic background in environmental science, she decided to do something practical and help the continent develop a sustainable tourism portfolio. She developed holidays which combine the obvious itinerary highlights with more unusual experiences such as home stays and township visits. She believes that there are great benefits to travel: it is a chance to widen your horizons, learn about other people and see a bit more of the world than just that little place you call home.
Listen to the podcast below:
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
