Tourvest East Africa is driving its primary sustainability objective of replacing the plastic materials in its lodges and vehicles with more environmentally-friendly and biodegradable alternatives. It has done this by partnering with a crafting consortium of 18 local women to provide its properties with lunch boxes weaved from dried banana skins.
At the same time, Tourvest’s East African leg of integrated tourism group Tourvest’s Accommodation and Activities division, is supporting and developing local entrepreneurship while reducing its impact on the environment.
CEO of Tourvest’s Accommodation and Activities division, Leanne Haigh said that company representatives met with the chairman of the nearby Mto wa Mbu village, Sunday Kisai, which is when they discovered the banana leaf lunch boxes. “We packed over 5 000 lunch boxes for our guests last year, and immediately saw the potential these banana boxes had in improving our environmental footprint.”
Tourvest East Africa has since helped Kisai register his business. He “now has 18 women in the village making lunch boxes for us and with our increased demand with two new properties opening later this year, he will be able to train more women”, says Haigh. “We are very proud to help empower these women to learn new skills and earn an additional income to provide for their families.”
Tourvest East Africa operates the Lemala tented camps and Kuria Hills permanent camp in the northern Serengeti, as well as the Wildwaters Lodge.
Haigh concludes: “As stewards of our natural and cultural heritage, we will actively seek out opportunities to help protect the environment, support human rights and continue to engage, respect and support local communities and cultures.”
