Gorilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda

Environment

The camps and lodges are small establishments catering for a maximum of 20 guests and with an ecological footprint as small as possible whilst at the same time ensuring that international standards and visitor expectations are met.

Construction is from local materials, for example commercially farmed wood, with designs that do not require huge foundations and thick brick walls or use canvas tents that can be easily removed at the end of the term of occupation.

Power sources are predominately solar which are used for lighting and limited power supply for charging of computers and cameras. We do not generally offer facilities for hair dryers and other items needing large amounts of power.

Water heating is done with efficient refuse burners or wood fired stoves that use shavings and off cuts from the local saw mills. No indigenous trees or supplies from within National Park areas are used.

Water supplies are rainfall and gravity fed whenever possible, but where pumps are used they are small independent ones that are linked to storage facilities where it can be efficiently monitored. Use of water is strictly controlled with “bush showers” being used as opposed to piped in water in our tented camps.

Low flush toilet systems are installed where possible at the camps /lodges and all the linen, towels and other washing is done by hand and sun dried rather than commercial washing machines and dryers.

Guests are encouraged to not have fresh linen / towels each and every day as an added way to also saving on water usage.

Waste disposal systems are designed and implemented in line with Ugandan environmental laws and international practices.

Community

We support local industry by buying as many products manufactured within Uganda as possible when designing and building the lodge or camp – woven bed spreads, local furniture, matting, baskets and local art for décor.

We employ local Ugandan staff in our lodges and camps including in management positions. We also actively encourage their growth and advancement within the organisation often with internal training to assist in this process. Our first source of staff is always from the local communities around the area where the lodge / camp is based and only if skills required are not available do we search elsewhere.

Supplies of fresh food are done locally whenever possible. Menus are tailored to utilise the best of the fresh fruit and vegetables currently available – this is generally a seasonal thing as within Uganda there is a large range of suitable fresh produce available. Local community projects such as Amagara vegetable project in Bwindi are used for the regular supply of fresh items.

Dry goods and manufactured goods are also purchased locally with the emphasis on Ugandan products – tea, coffee, honey, flour, and sugar to name a few. We avoid using products of manufacturing companies known to not be eco-friendly, e.g. recently there was a sugar company involved in a dispute over use of primary forest land and we no longer purchase their brand of sugar.