carbonneutraltourism.co.uk

Transformation and sustainable development are two topical issues that have been highlighted by the South African government as matters of importance.

After many years in the lodge business, The Nature Workshop - a company specialising in lodge development, management and marketing - realised the potential of the industry to bring benefit and economic development to remote areas. It has achieved this through these two five-star lodges, now part of the Madikwe Collection, within the Madikwe Game Reserve.

The concept is unique in South Africa in that the local communities own the lodges, with substantial benefits accruing back to their people.

Buffalo Ridge Safari Lodge is the first of its kind to be wholly owned by a local community. Known as the Balete, the owners of Buffalo Ridge live in the village of Lekgophung just west of Madikwe. It took five years of hard work, but The Nature Workshop together with Mafisa Consulting, successfully completed negotiations with the local authorities and now the Balete have lease rights to this prime site in Madikwe.

Fashioned along similar lines, Thakadu River Camp is an ecotourism partnership between North-West Parks, the Molatedi Community and the operator, The Nature Workshop. The community has a 45-year lease to operate a commercial lodge with traversing rights across the reserve.

These lodges compete with the best, and the partnership with The Nature Workshop as an operating company provides the expertise the local community requires to make their new business work.

Both lodges are staffed by people from the village and the rigorous training programme has been designed to ensure that the local community develop the skills to manage their own lodge within a 15 year time frame. A fair rental from the bookings is given to the community, which is used for investment in the village and its people.

Because the local footprint has been shaped by these communities it makes logical and rightful sense to provide them with lucrative business opportunities.

To further strengthen the responsible tourism theme the Madikwe Reserve in itself is an eco / environmental story:

Madikwe is a 75 000 hectare game reserve which has a unique story since only fifteen years ago it was arid, cattle grazing land. Through the collective effort of government, communities and investors, Operation Phoenix was undertaken, game was reintroduced into the area and Madikwe was created. Now home to the Big Five, the reserve is renowned for the success of its Wild Dog population.

To find out more about the Buffalo Ridge Safari Lodge click here and to find out about Thakadu River Camp click here.

Founded in 1975, Inkaterra is Peru’s leading environmentally friendly operator and hotel developer which provides a variety of quality and highly sustainable travel experiences. Brainchild of Jose Koechlin, Inkaterra is Peru’s leader in conservation with more than 30 years experience in developing sustainable tourism initiatives.

Inkaterra conceived and operates a number of luxury travel accommodations in Peru: Inkaterra Machu Picchu and its villa, in the Cloud Forest of Cusco, Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica in the Tambopata Rain Forest on the banks of the Madre de Dios River, near Cusco and Inkaterra Urubamba Villas, luxury private homes in The Sacred Valley of the Incas. New openings include boutique hotels in Cusco, The Lake Titicaca and Lima, (end of 2007, beginning of 2008).

Inkaterra Machu Picchu is a tranquil fusion of opulent comfort, excellent cuisine, Incan style and construction, a mélange of tropical gardens, plantations, natural beauty, mysticism and conservation – and is home to both the world’s largest collection of native orchids visible in their natural habitat, (372 species), and the world’s largest concentration of wild hummingbird species (18). Visitors to the Inkaterra Machu Picchu are able to transform a customary exploration of the extraordinary ruins of Machu Picchu with an authentic encounter with the “Inca Experience.” Its Villa portrayes traditional Andean colonial style integrated with nature, but offers the best accommodation in the region, including a private garden overlooking the orchid trail, private massage, organic bathroom amenities, heated plunge pool and butler service

Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica is a complex on the shores of the Madre de Dios River that permits visitors to come into close contact with the natural splendors of the rainforest. It blends cosy accommodations with warm hospitality, a dedication to conservation and the opportunity to discover magnificent naturally camouflaged indigenous wildlife in the jungle and at the research centre run by Inkaterra.

The four private Andean-style Inkaterra Urubamba Villas, built of adobe and exquisitely decorated with local crafts and antiques, are situated in a quaint hamlet in the astonishing Sacred Valley of the Incas, between the enigmatic City of Cusco and the world’s heritage site of Machu Picchu. The four villas offer our guests a luxury of living in a private home with own maid service.

Inkaterra is currently engaged in the renovation of a magnificent mansion in the heart of Cusco, originally the residence of several legendary “conquistadores” of the Incan empire. Once renovations are completed, the house will become Inkaterra’s fourth hotel facility – a boutique hotel underscoring the house’s historic heritage, Inca craftsmanship and post-modern design. Two more hotels are expected to open, one on a peninsula dominating the Lake Titicaca and the other in the bohemian district of Barranco, in Lima (end of 2007, beginning of 2008).

Inkaterra Experiences create memories that will resonate for a lifetime! The one of a kind itineraries and excursions are flexible, well managed and offer guests special treatment and exquisite attention to detail. Inkaterra products and services are guaranteed, combined with first hand knowledge of the local nature and communities in remote Peru. Inkaterra Experiences include luxury and exploration, mystery and discovery through carefully packaged trips and customised itineraries.

Inkaterra is devoted to conservation and to the improvement of both the ecology and the lives of Peru’s indigenous people by its concentration on sustainable tourism. Inkaterra has been recognised as a world leader in sustainable tourism and receives support from the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group and the United Nations’ Global Environmental Facility.

FIRST CARBON NEUTRAL TRAVEL COMPANY IN PERU
In April 2007, Inkaterra became Peru’s first carbon-neutral travel organisation. Inkaterra acknowledges that all travel generates unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions that affect global warming. Specialising in eco-friendly boutique hotels near the famous ruins of Machu Picchu, the mystical Sacred Valley and in the Peruvian Amazon, Inkaterra caters to 45,000 visitors per year. Since developing the first eco-lodge in the southern Peruvian rainforest in 1975, Inkaterra has continued to integrate sustainable business practices into all aspects of its operations. Through its conservation programmes, for example, Inkaterra protects 30,000 acres of Amazon forest, which contributes to global carbon fixing.

The Inkaterra Association is a non-profit institution created to promote the conservation of Peru’s natural environment and its cultural and archeological resources. It develops scientific, technological, social and cultural research designed to manage and protect the biodiversity of Peru’s Andes and Amazon Rainforest. The Inkaterra Association is allied with ACEER, sponsored by the National Geographic Society, and its chairman, Jose Koechlin, serves on the board of Conservation International.

To find out more visit Inkaterra’s website.

Mesmear is a luxury holiday experience which based upon two 18th Century converted Cornish barns. The Mill sleeps 10 and The Barn 4 guests where guests have their meals prepared by an onsite cook – many of the ingredients are sourced from the owner’s 160 acre farm. Guests also have use of a heated swimming pool.

In terms of the environment: “The houses are heated by a geothermal system which takes thermal energy from the earth and converts it into heat. This renewable form of energy should save as much as 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide emmissions a year, the equivalent to the CO2 absorbed by 600 mature trees! Any residual heat from the underfloor heating goes towards heating the water for the houses. The swimming pool is heated by both solar energy and the geothermal. We hope to be self sufficient in energy supplies but do also have gas on site as a back up.

We are currently assessing whether to install a windmill to generate some of our electricity requirements. Our new bore hole allows us to drink filtered spring water, free of all the added chemicals present in water provided by the water boards. Waste water is treated on site, recycled back to water authority quality and fed back into the streams.”

To find out more visit Mesmear’s website.

Pencalenick House is an luxury retreat in Cornwall which overlooks the Fowey Estuary. As a private home Pencalenick House treats guests to the ultimate leisure experience by providing a chef and a house manager to cater for their needs. Guests can also make use of a skipped motor yacht.

In respect of the environment they:

• Shop locally to reduce food miles and help to keep ‘spend’ within the local economy
• Are working on developing their own fruit and vegetable patch!

Something new - Center Parcs includes recycling bins under the sink! Read more about their environmental ethos here.