Across the spectacular natural landscapes of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a heartening trend is emerging. Eco-lodges, nature reserves and tented camps are prioritising local community empowerment alongside their sustainability efforts.
From South Africa to Seychelles, these responsible tourism providers demonstrate that wildlife conservation need not come at the expense of rural villages.
Whether donating portions of park fees to local schools, training and employing community members, facilitating grassroots partnerships, or funding advocacy programs, lodges across the region are better integrating the local people into the tourism value chain. The result is uplifted communities, enriched guest experiences and protected biodiversity.
South Africa – !Xaus Lodge
In the heart of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, !Xaus Lodge represents a unique collaboration between the local ǂKhomani San and Mier communities. This lodge is not just a place to stay; it’s an immersive cultural experience, offering game walks with San guides and a profound connection with the Kalahari.
Learning about animal tracks with the ‡Khomani San at Xaus Lodge
Namibia – Grootberg Lodge
If you’re looking at a map, Grootberg Lodge sits roughly between the Skeleton Coast and Etosha National Park on the edge of the Etendeka Plateau. Owned by seven neighbouring Himba villages, which form the ≠Khoadi-//Hôas Conservancy, you can expect a warm Damara-Nama welcome.
Formed in 1998, Grootberg trains and employs most of its staff from local villages. Tourists can visit homesteads, which supplements village income; the lodge revenues also uplift residents across the conservancy through funding women’s projects, business microloans and clinics, schools and infrastructure. This makes for a meaningful exchange between guests and the local custodians of this beautiful corner of Namibia.
Grootberg Lodge is perched on the Etendeka Plateau, Namibia
Zambia – Sanctuary Sussi & Chuma
Close to Victoria Falls, this boutique lodge in Livingstone works with the nearby Nakatindi village. Through their non-profit “Livingstone Community Projects”, the lodge supports a preschool, bike shop run by women, health clinic, IT lab and girls’ dormitory for vulnerable students in Nakatindi.
They also sponsor visits where guests can meet the villagers and learn about their culture. Additionally, they have launched farming initiatives to improve crop yields, provide agricultural training, and address seasonal hunger in the community. This is a blueprint for how the tourism industry can foster grassroots human progress while preserving natural habitats.
Sanctuary Sussi & Chuma opened the bike shop run by 5 local women in the nearby village
Botswana – Shinde Camp
Set in the Okavango Delta, Shinde Camp incorporates community engagement into its eco-friendly model. Shinde prioritises empowering the residents of this fragile wetland habitat: staff are hired locally, village entrepreneurship is fostered, crafted goods are sold on-site, and the school’s infrastructure is funded. Additionally, the lease payments for the luxury camp go into a communal trust.
Cultural visits allow guests exchanges with welcoming Khwe San bushmen to learn traditional skills like dugout canoe making, weaving, hunting and medicinal plant wisdom, which sustains this community to this day.
Zimbabwe – Bomani
Why not go on a walking safari at Bomani? You can witness an anti-poaching unit on patrol and buy handmade crafts from locals; these initiatives help support the community in Hwange National Park. But the lodge also provided managerial training, hires staff from nearby, supports the local schools and clinics. By sharing benefits and exchanges, Bomani positions communities as stewards of wildlife conservation.
Madagascar – Eden Lodge
A lodge can change a community in dramatic ways! Eden Lodge, in northern Madagascar, has done just that for the nearby village of Anjanojano. Together, the lodge and Anjanojano set annual goals to better the community, such as building new schools. Since its founding, Eden Lodge has collaborated to construct three schools and it also sponsors the salary of a primary school teacher.
Additionally, the remote village benefits from the regular shipments of supplies brought in for Eden Lodge. The lodge purchases fish and vegetables from the locals to support the economy. It also encourages its tourists to donate much-needed school supplies like pencils and notebooks for the children. This partnership has provided critical education infrastructure, jobs, and outside connections for the isolated community.
Malawi – Blue Zebra Island Lodge
On Lake Malawi’s Nankoma Island, conservation of the small freshwater fish – the cichlids – is at the center of the lodge’s conservation efforts. These small fish are endemic to the lake and delight guests who snorkel or scuba dive to witness the tropical fish firsthand.
Lodge works with Department of National Parks and Wildlfe
Here, community collaboration is key. Working with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, the lodge trains and employs locals as marine patrols or in hospitality to provide them stable income. And there are plans to fund a ranger base, enhance environmentally focused curriculum with schools, and catalogue native island birds and trees.
Lodge trains locals to work at the lodge
Seychelles
Six Senses Zil Pasyon’s major focus is providing clean drinking water access to locals by supplying filters locally and building desalination systems. This eliminates over 1.3 million single-use bottles from regional schools annually.
The resort sustainably sources local goods and employs area Maldivians whenever possible to circulate benefits. Guests experience rich cultural exchange through performances, craft demonstrations, and tours showcasing authentic lifestyles on these tropical islands.
Mozambique – Kisawa Sanctuary
Constructed with a light footprint by an 80% local workforce – half of which were women – this luxury escape is now largely community-run. Today, it’s run by a passionate team of 220 staff, with 90% of the operational team from Africa and the remainder combining various expertise.
Staff are locals from nearby villages
And so, integrating environmentalism with community focused ethics is both socially uplifting and commercially viable across the SADC region’s hospitality sector. With sustainable lodges also leading in eco-innovation from solar farms to refuge rewilding, the message for 2024 is clear – the future of tourism in Southern Africa is green and people-focused.