Responsible tourism in action - Mumbo Island

Fri, 28 May 2010 -1:00:00 GMT

On Mumbo Island, responsible tourism has always been at the core of their operations. This month we have a couple of wonderful examples of how the local communities are supported by Kayak Africa.

Last month, Billy Bwanali, the local tailor at Cape Maclear, re-upholstered every cushion on Mumbo and Domwe islands. He completed this epic task in three long days, setting up his Singer treadle machine on the deck at basecamp and sewing all day. Everything now looks fresh and gorgeous in the new chitenje colour scheme of green, blue and black. But (and this is the is the really good part), some of the old cushion covers were still in good condition, so Billy used them to make one hundred new dresses for the orphans in Chembe village. How is that for a great story of reducing, re-using, recycling and the support of local communities by tourism?

And it doesn't stop there. A local humanitarian, appropriately named Vision, looks after these vulnerable orphaned children on an entirely informal basis. He and his wife feed over two hundred children daily on money donated by a number of people in the village, including Kayak Africa. Vision has an admirable vegetable garden where he grows food for the orphans, teaches them gardening skills and sells this produce to the local lodges: some of Mumbo’s delicious salads come from this garden – food with a conscience!

The orphans aren't the only ones to benefit in Cape Maclear. On the 1st May, the larger than life “Grey Beard of African Adventure”, Kingsley Holgate, visited Cape Maclear. He and his entourage of volunteers are journeying north through Africa from South Africa to Uganda, taking in Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, as part of the United Against Malaria initiative, an umbrella partnership of many interested parties aiming to eradicate malaria in Africa. This is one of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. They were distributing mosquito nets, predominantly to pregnant women and to women with babies and toddlers, as they are most susceptible to the disease. Insecticide impregnated nets are shown to greatly reduce the incidence of malaria. Kingsley came to Chembe Village, Cape Maclear at the invitation of Kayak Africa, who arranged this visit and his previous visit in 2008.

Responsible Travel in Malawi

Thu, 27 May 2010 -1:00:00 GMT

'Responsible Travel' is a big buzz phrase these days with all and sundry trying to jump on the band wagon and claim to be responsible for the marketing benefits it brings. We're often asked if there is anyone practising responsible tourism in Malawi, but the operators in Malawi are generally bemused by this question. It's an absolute no-brainer to them - of course they are, always have been and always will be. They were doing it long before anyone came up with a term for it - it's just the way they've always been. The fact is that Malawi's lodges and safari operators didn't just spot a marketing opportunity and decide to badge themselves as responsible. No, the very reason they are running these business is from a love for Malawi and a strong desire to want to support local communities in Malawi, and conserve natural environments. You'd be hard pressed to find a lodge in Malawi that didn't have an active community support programme. And if they are based in a protected area (national park, wildlife reserve, or forest reserve) then work preserving the environment around them is what takes up much of their time and effort.

Do these lodges have carefully drafted 'Responsible Tourism' policies? Most don't.

Do these lodges use 'Responsible Tourism' as a prominent, slick marketing tool and make it immediately obvious that's how they operate? No.

Do these lodge support local communities and work hard to preserve the natural world around them? You bet!

Is this something they expect to be rewarded for, or to generate them more business? No, they do it because these are the very reasons they have chosen to set up in these locations.

For more information, we've a Responsible Travel section of the site and a Charities section. And keep your eyes on the News items and Blogs. Most of the news stories we get from the lodges in Malawi are about the success of their community projects - it's what they are most proud of.

Malawi Tourism Blog (Responsible Travel) - Malawi Tourism | Malawi Safari | Malawi Attractions

Responsible tourism in action - Mumbo Island

Responsible Travel in Malawi