Ghana holidays, eco lodge with village tour
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
- We are trying to protect the local remaining wildlife. We have implemented turtle patrols on the beaches for the last 3 years, and pay to release captured turtles. We also protect any other captured wild animals we find and either protect the animals permanently or re-release them into the wild.
- We inform our guests as to our wildlife efforts and encourage them to participate in and support our projects.
- Wildlife education. We work with the local chiefs and opinion leaders to persuade local people to protect and conserve local wildlife.
- We are planting trees in the area.
- We are working with the Development Groups in each of the villages to provide public toilets and clean water points for the community.
- In our second phase of building we are incorporating rainwater collection and a grey water recycling system. We will move to solar and wind generated electricity when we can afford the capital investment.
- All the accommodation is build out of mud blocks bought from local families. They are cooled by the sea breeze and fans rather than air conditioning.
- Our gardens are organic and we encourage a wide range of wildlife (as our most effective method of insect control).
- We compost all organic matter from the kitchens and from the gardens.
- We recycle all glass and plastic bottles.
- We have started a scheme to offset carbon by planting trees. This also provides local employment and protects the environment. In time the trees become a source of wealth for the community. If you wish to offset the carbon from your flight we can plant trees for you at a cost of £1 a tree. This will pay for the planting, manure, watering and protection for the first 2 years of the trees life until it is established.
Community
The lodge has been specifically built to enable people to get to know Africa, and to help improve life in the local community. We do this by:
- Providing employment. All the staff are from Ghana. We employ 32 people at the moment. All of them receive extensive training.
- We make a contribution to the local people for all our trips into the community. We ensure that half the cost of the tours is paid to the local participants.
- For the last 5 years we have been raising money to help raise standards in the 3 local schools by improving the school facilities. We have raised and donated £3000 to the local schools over the last 5 years.
- We are working with the chiefs to provide school clothes and equipment for children whose families cannot afford it. We have donated £750 to this fund over the last 3 years.
- We have been asked to build a clinic by the local community. So far we have bought the land and have started making blocks to build with. We have donated £2000 to this project over the last 2 years.
- We source everything possible locally in an effort to contribute into the local economy. All the services, such as electricians, builders, etc, are provided by local people.