Botswana sets such an amazing example when it comes to sustainable tourism. They have more land set aside for conservation, with 37% of the land protected as a national park or wildlife management area and all safari camps and lodges are on concessions.
The concession model is totally independent and criteria set incredibly high. The system is designed to attract the most competent operators, and to ensure that the local communities, and the nation as a whole, benefit from the dedication of some of the country’s most valuable natural assets to tourism.
The concessions are community owned and generally border the national parks and each concession has a number. Machaba Safaris, Gomoti and Kiri are both in a concession known as NG32, which spans an area of approx. 1200km².
Because the land is community owned the businesses that run the lodges and camps have to ensure that they can pack up one day and remove the entire camp, leaving as little evidence as possible that they have even been there. Machaba’s newest camp in Zimbabwe, Mana River Camp is packed up and put away in summer when the area is too hot.
Kiri and Gomoti are only a short flight from Maun (10 and 15 minutes respectively), saving not only money, but also making for a more sustainable flight.
Ngoma in Chobe is a community owned lodge and is only managed by Machaba.
Added to this, Machaba Safaris relies completely on solar energy in the camps.
Machaba are committed to uplifting local communities utilising education and empowerment as evident in their involvement with various education programmes and schools like Gonneye Sethlare Pre-School, Hwange Main Camp Primary School and Mabale Primary, among others.
Machaba work together with local stakeholders and communities to protect and conserve the fragile and highly precious ecosystems in southern Africa. This includes fostering a culture of human-wildlife coexistence through educational programmes and talks. In addition to providing support to anti-poaching patrols in the NG32 zone.
If you didn’t see the video in our August newsletter, it is definitely worth watching VIDEO