Amakhosi Safari Lodge Social & Environment Initiatives

Social & Environment Initiatives

RESPONSIBLE TOURISM 
Caring for the community and the environment.

An element of safaris that is all too often ignored, is the one of the people, their rich culture and their age-old traditions.

Every other night, the dancers from the Kwasheleza community in the Hlomo-Hlomo area visit Amakhosi to act out not only manoeuvres of past victorious battles, but also to sing about weddings and their ancestors.

The performances are a source of revenue for their families - especially for the education of the children -living in one of the poorest parts of the country.

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT 
Amakhosi is actively committed to preserving the environment.

This is why we are stepping away from luxury brochures. Instead, we opt for eco-responsible printing and internet marketing.  We choose to inform, rather than to impress.

• At the lodge, all glass, metal, and plastic are recycled.
• All laundry chemicals are certified bio-degradable, and after a natural filtration process, the laundry water is re-used for irrigation.
• In conjunction with the local communities, the lodge eradicates alien plants that threaten the indigenous flora.
• Amakhosi is fortunate to be a good breeding ground for cheetah. We contribute to extending the wild cheetah population in Africa by selling 3 to 5 wild cheetahs yearly to other game reserves or important breeders.
• Our specialized frogging safaris encourage people to know more about ecology, other than just looking for the Big Five. It helps people to become more aware of the little things they can do to make their ecological footprint lighter.
  

CULTURAL VISITS 
Meeting the local community
As part of our community project, I invite guests at Amakhosi to visit my village where many of the lodge's staff live. The income from the cultural visits helps to pay school fees and it's a good opportunity for tourists to learn about our Zulu culture as it is today, and not as a living museum with people dressed up in animal skins.

Phume - local Zulu guide
When I take tourists to our village, they enjoy visiting the Izindlu or Traditional houses. Where the actual building is the man's responsibility, it is the woman who harvests the thatching grass to cover the circular structure. The grass is harvested when the stems are long and still fairly pliable. Young saplings are also used to weave doors, fences, mats and ropes.

Traditionally there are no windows in the home and the only door used to be low. Oral tradition suggests that doorways were low to ward off intruders, who would have to stoop, placing them at a disadvantage.

As with many things, the ‘izindlu' also undergo changes. Depending on income, the houses have become rectangular and thatch roofs have been replaced by corrugated galvanized roofing.