A Luxury Suite at Casa Gangotena

A Detail of the Staircase

Who They Are

Opened in late 2011 in Old Town Quito, the newly restored historic mansion Casa Gangotena overlooks the Plaza San Francisco, a cobbled square rich in history dating back to the days of the Inca.  Casa Gangotena is one of the grand old homes built on the southern edge of the plaza in the late 19^th century, and was home to several presidents before it was rebuilt after a fire in 1926 by its last owners, the Gangotenas. It’s just feet away from the imposing, almost 500-year-old Church and Convent of San Francisco.

Casona de San Miguel, Quito

Now owned by Roque Sevilla, the three-story boutique hotel offers 31 large luxurious rooms with state-of-the-art technology and large marble bathrooms. Great efforts have been made to restore the original detail, such as the hand-painted tin ceilings. Its third-floor terrace is the perfect place to put your feet up and enjoy everyday life passing by. with the bell towers and spires of the Old Town as well as the Panecillo hillside serving as the backdrop.  A better seat in town for the Easter procession is unthinkable.

A Hotel Lounge Bathed in Quito Sun

What They Are Doing

Sevilla is renowned in these parts for his long record of involvement in local and environmental affairs. He has served as Quito’s mayor as well as being a past president of WWF Ecuador. He is also known to be humble about his efforts to help the community and the environment (which you can read about – albeit briefly – on the hotel’s website).

Casa Gangotena

Since 2008, while it was still just an idea, the hotel has been involved in several neighborhood projects, such as the award-winning Heritage Guardians, which focuses on community initiatives like neighborhood integration, the value of heritage and tradition, and offers ‘routes’ for visitors to take in order to meet locals and experience their lives and ways. (The hotel can arrange this for you).

A Burst of Color Outside the Mediterranean Villa

Who They Are

In the heart of Cantareira State Park, 50 minutes from Sao Paulo, Unique Garden (the English translation of the website is a bit obscure, but can be found in the lower right corner of Unique’s site) truly lives up to its name. Besides being a sought-after spa and health retreat, with 26 deluxe chalets, as much thought has gone into pampering clients as into creating the lodge around them.

The Presidential Villa

Eight agronomists work at rehabilitating the environment, the buildings curve in such a way as to avoid destroying trees, and even waste water is treated well enough to be returned to the nearby lake.

From the Presidential Villa to the Flower Chalet, the lodgings aim to indulge, even down to a ‘pillow menu.’ You can pick your own salad in Unique’s eponymous gardens, pluck your own fruit while walking through the orchards, and know that natural and organic and healthy are key words here.

In a Forest Kiosk

A wide range of exercise classes are offered, from yoga to tai chi, or you can cycle on the grounds or swim in one of two pools. At the spa, treatments are offered in the main building or in five secluded ‘kiosks’ scattered throughout the forest. The organic meals, with a slant towards Mediterranean cuisine, are created by chef Daniel Aquino and an on-site dietician.

What They Are Doing

A Suite Unique

Unique Garden, like the Hotel Unique in Sao Paulo, is owned by the Siaulys family, which is well known for its commitment to the community. Its most famous creation is the Laramara foundation, which cares for people with impaired vision. (Founder Victor Siaulys’ daughter was blind.) Over the course of 20 years, Laramara’s clients, as well as the services it offers, have expanded and diversified, so that today over seventy percent of patients have multiple disabilities (visual impairment associated with, say, cerebral palsy, deafness, or some mental illness).

At the Unique Garden, there is a conservation facility that is run in conjunction with the Brazilian Environmental Protection Institute, where wild animals that have been hurt or dislocated by human intervention are rehabilitated and released.  A community center looks after ‘the personal and professional development’ of its staff and their families, offering them courses in computers, English, music, recycling, yoga, and even bread-making.

In Their Own Words

“For us, social responsibility is not a fashion.”

Who They Are

Possibly the most astonishing thing about Ellerman House – and there is plenty to ogle here – is that so few people know about it.  Now almost 20 years old, it has succeeded by being as under-the radar as it has been reverentially consistent in luxury. The people who need to know about it do.

Room No. 7

This former residence (or, to be exact, mansion) high above exclusive Bantry Bay, is a study in refinement and peacefulness. Even though the gracious building is in the heart of Cape Town, its 9 rooms, two suites, and 5-bedroom villa, each with unsurpassed views across the Atlantic, offer the perfect amount of isolation.

Room No. 10

Below the spacious yet cozy reception rooms and large porches spreads a manicured garden and pool. The rooms throughout the property are decorated with magnificent works by South African masters, including Irma Stern and Pierneef.

At the Villa

The rooms have recently been buffed up – new fabrics, bedding, and wallpapers – although subtly enough that repeat clients (of which there are many, despite the prices) probably won’t notice. While the main residence has a more traditional ambiance, the more modern villa’s rooms – with names like Aqua and Lilac – are lushly simple. The kitchen has a glass wall that opens electronically for you to ask the chefs any questions, and across from it is a ‘pantry’ full of goodies for guests to raid at all hours and which has become infamously addictive.

What They Are Doing

Ellerman House owner Paul Harris, a well-known Johannesburg financier, was the main mover behind the creation of Penreach, which works with schools in rural communities in the north of the country. Established in 1994, Penreach now touches the lives of more than 2,000 teachers a year, working in over 900 schools, and directly benefiting more than 350,000 learners . At least ninety percent of the teachers are women.

A Painting by Irma Stern at Ellerman

Penreach has also gone beyond schools, to help fund beneficial projects such as the provision of psycho-social support to teachers, orphans and vulnerable children; the improvement of state-run feeding schemes; the establishment of vegetable gardens; the development of sport and sports facilities; environmental education, with a view to turning schools into profit centers through waste management; the provision of IT training; youth leadership development camps; and administration training. So successful has it been that Penreach is aiming to reach other parts of the country in the future.

The Contemporary Gallery

Harris, who is also a patron of the arts, has one of the finest ‘galleries’ in the country decorating the walls and rooms of Ellerman House – you can find not only every South African master here but possibly also their finest work. In 2009 he opened a magnificent specially built gallery on the property to foster contemporary artists (see News). The gallery now has enough artworks to rotate the exhibition four times annually, and the exhibition there of artists has led clients to buy their works.

Singita Lebombo

Is it possible for a travel destination to be luxurious, hot (as in magazine-worthy), and sustainable? If anyone proves it, Singita does.

This African-based company has properties that go a long way to show that their hearts and minds are in the right place – they care about where they are and what they are doing. Travel is their business, but a business that has to last and in a country that has to last. Singita Grumeti, in Tanzania, has virtually turned what used to be a virtual wasteland (after years of illegal hunting and poaching) into an Eden. Bordering on the Serengeti, the 350,000 acres now have as good as you’ll get animal-wise (and probably even better than) in the iconic park next-door.

Sabora Tented Camp, Grumeti

Working with the community surrounding Grumeti is as much a part of the day-to-day as it is in Pamushana,  in Zimbabwe. For years now the property, which lies adjacent to the stunning and barely visited Gonarezhou park, has served thousands of meals daily to local children. Singita’s community work dates back to 1998 already. Whether it is buying products locally, supporting a cooking academy for staff (watch the video), or contributing to local schools, the company is doing it.

At the ever-popular Lebombo and Sweni lodges in Kruger Park, South Africa, Singita has tried to emphasize low-impact design, creating stunning rooms made of glass, steel, and reeds, perched singly on a ridge. An ongoing program of monitoring the wildlife and land around Singita’s first lodges, Ebony and Boulders lodges, in Sabi Sand, South Africa, endeavors to keep the much-used park seemingly untouched.

Children at Pamushana

At each of these properties, the work with low-impact design, the community, and the wildlife goes on daily and never ends. And that Singita doesn’t forget.

One Way to Explore Atacama

Who They Are
Situated in northern Chile between the Pacific and the Cordillera de Los Andes, San Pedro de Atacama is an oasis located 8,015 feet above sea level. This area of desert, oasis, volcanoes, salt fields, and hot springs has for centuries played host to the pre-Columbian Andean cultures of South America.

The Tulur Room

The bright and airy Hotel de Larache, the base for explora Atacama, is set in the moonscape-like Atacama Desert. Recent renovations to the 50-room hotel include the addition of four handsome guest suites, two sala de exploradores, a Turkish Bath and open-air Jacuzzis, and a glass-walled, open-style kitchen.

Seeing exploration has always been at the heart of the explora experience, the sala de exploradores, covered in a wealth of maps and photographs of the area, offer a great space to consider your options for the next day – going to your destination by foot, horse, mountain bike, or vehicle – all while enjoying a drink from the bar nextdoor. The hotel also has its own observatory, for some of the finest stargazing on the continent.

The Puretama Hot Springs

What They Are Doing
Outposts of humanity are few and far between in these remote parts of Chile. Yet their impact on explora’s mission is incalculable, providing travelers with unforgettable glimpses into the culture, customs, and natural beauty. Indeed, without them a journey here wouldn’t be the same. And so, over the years, the Santiago-based travel operator, which also has lodges in Patagonia and on Easter Island, has made constant efforts to support the communities it visits.

Colors of the Nearby Village

In 2000 explora helped refashion the Puretama Hot Springs near San Pedro from a few dirty pools into an inviting destination for travelers and locals to relax and bathe, an effort that not only garnered a world architecture award but also, after being given to the Atacameños, generates $150,000 annually for the community. The money is used for the Internado Andino boarding school and other projects.

Also, explora guides teach English in local schools throughout the Atacama, including the elementary school in San Pedro and others in Solor, Talabrea, Camar Socaire and Rio Grande. The company also makes donations to Juriques, a local medical institution that aids children with physical disabilities.

Under Desert Skies

The head of explora’s Atacama guiding operations works with a clinic in San Pedro to promote health awareness, recently taking 150 locals on a walk and then feeding them. Schoolchildren are brought to the property and shown around and fed. Besides its own recycling efforts, explora will this year establish training on recycling and other environmental initiatives at schools throughout the region.

In the remote village of Tracosco on the lush southeastern coast of Bahia, you’ll find the unique UXUA Casa Hotel. Conceived by Dutch-born Wilbert Das (fashion designer and longtime creative director for Diesel, the hip clothing line), the gorgeously bright and airy hotel took over two years to build using recycled materials in this tribute to the area Das loves so much.

Casa Seu Pedrinho do Quadrado

Six of the nine 1- to 3-bedroom casas or cottages (three are restored fishermen homes) are scattered around beautiful gardens, while the remaining three face the town square. Some are equipped with plunge pools, some with a Jacuzzi, and others nestle in the gardens and on terraces. Each casa has an open living room and a full kitchen where local chefs will help the culinary-adventurous create local Bahian feasts in their own casa. Meals are also served in the restaurant, at the pool, are delivered to your casa or can be taken at the beach just five minutes away. On the sand there’s a scenic lounge whose bar and kitchen were created out of an abandoned fishing boat that washed up on shore.

The Aventurine Quartz Pool

The swimming pool was made by a local, self-taught “mosaicist,” who used over 40,000 unique green aventurine quartz pebbles, well known in this part of the world to be especially healing. There’s also a spa where, in addition to acupuncture, massages, yoga, and Pilates, you can take private classes in capoeira and forro dancing, which is extremely popular at most of the social activities in the village.

There’s plenty to do if lying on endless beaches is not your thing: trek, horseback ride, snorkel, dive, canoe, play tennis, visit the nearby Indian reserve Barra Velha, a national park that 500 Pataxo tribe families call home … or join a local soccer team in the square!

What They Are Doing

To build the lodge, Das recruited local craftsmen to construct eight individual, traditional casas and one treehouse using recycled and organic materials wherever possible, while applying the local building customs to create a lodge that fits into its surroundings. Almost everything was carved by hand, which includes some unique touches in the bathrooms that are made out of fallen trees. Hardwood roof tiles were restored from old farmhouses, local ceramics cover the floors, and recycled woods and irons make up the bathrooms to create the rustic ambiance.

Casa Quintal da Gloria

UXUA has also roped in an area containing native vegetation and mangroves. The lodge owners have partnered up with the local administration and have taken responsibility for keeping the mangroves and the beach clean.

The Spa

Bahia has high levels of illiteracy, and training for luxury hospitality services is uncommon.  Das wanted to employ locals so, two years before the hotel opened, he began a ‘hotel school’ on the property, where locals were given hospitality training by professionals from international hotel schools. In addition, all personnel who had not finished high school were put into classes to complete their diplomas, and those staff who lacked basic literacy skills were given one-on-one instruction.  Every one of the present staff of 45 has either finished high school or is in the hotel’s program to get a diploma. Three of those who got diplomas are now taking university courses in a neighboring town, with tuition and transportation provided by UXUA.

Medical benefits are provided to all staff, something extremely unusual for Bahia. They are also guaranteed employment year-round, also rare in this part of the world, where staff are hired seasonally. The hotel pays the salary of the local professor of capoeira, which guarantees that the town’s children and teenagers can practice this sport even if they can’t afford to pay for the classes.

Produce for the magnificent Brazilian fare served in the hotel is sourced locally.

Le Quartier Courtyard

Who They Are

Le Quartier Français is an exclusive boutique hotel situated in the stunning yet quaint town of Franschhoek, just 50 minutes from Cape Town, in a spectacular valley that is a must for any food or wine lover. Always on hand and keeping an eye on keeping the hotel’s sterling name is the larger-than-life owner, Susan Huxter.

A Feast of Colors

A Grande Room

Tucked away in secluded gardens, you wouldn’t think that LQF’s gorgeously decorated rooms and suites, with their mountain views, are still so central. It is so quiet that you could be in the countryside, yet you are close enough to stroll to the myriad shops and eateries springing up in this increasingly popular hideout. Huxter has also created a fantastic shop selling local things that will leave you with your arms loaded, as well as a private 30-seater moviehouse.

The Four Quarters by Night

Lesotho Highlands Trout, Squid Ink, and Avocado

Known for its gastronomic experience – at restaurants ICI and the Tasting Room – LQF starts your day with a breakfast that is incomparable … and from there on it only gets better. Whether it is bistro lunches or homemade truffles or sensational sold-out dinners, they all come from the kitchen of award-winning chef Margot Janse and her team. Make sure to ask LQF about their range of cooking and eating adventures.

What They Are Doing

Three years ago 68-year-old Mrs. Ndaba (LQF prefers to not give out her first name) began a nursery school in her little pink shack in the informal local settlement Langrug, and she soon had 67 toddlers – aged two to six – to support and teach, but with no funding. Hearing about this in 2009, LQF, with the aid of a dietitian, began a program to make muffins crammed full of all the daily nutritional requirements growing children need. These are delivered every Friday, and any interested guests and visitors can not only join in the delivery but help bake the muffins. (Watch a video of Mrs. Ndaba’s Fridays, below, with a funky soundtrack.)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B8UrS3g8g0

But that’s only where the story starts. On the very first day of the Friday program, one guest was so inspired that he offered to fund meals at the school for every Monday for a year. He became known as Mister Monday. Before long, every day of the week had been sponsored, even by people who had not stayed at LQF.

The Cottage Entrance

A significant portion of the produce used in the restaurants is sourced locally and come from very small producers who knock on the back door with their produce of the day, and LQF’s restaurants support Streetsmart, which adds money on to each diner’s bill to finance programs that help street children. The hotel also contributes to the Kusasa Project, which is aimed at improving the lives of underprivileged children. LQF also supplies food to the local soup kitchen, and it donates its old linens to the local hospice.

iCi, the Restaurant

LQF has a three-year in-house training program focused on local kids who have completed high school. Of the 15 who have completed the course, a number have worked at Wheatleigh and Blantyre, both luxury hotels in Lenox, Massachusetts, as well as at Singita.

Campi Ya Kanzi is a lodge in the Chyulu Hills section of the great Kilimanjaro Ecosystem, a 280,000-acre reserve where Ernest Hemingway wrote The Green Hills of Africa.

Up to sixteen guests can be accommodated in six cottages and two suites, all set on wooden platforms and underthatch, with large en-suite bathrooms (with solar-heated water). The African decor has Italian accents, reflecting the background of owners Luca Belpietro and Antonella Bonomi. There is also Kanzi House – with its own swimming pool and Jacuzzi – that can accommodate up to ten people.

What They Are Doing

In 2000, Luca and Antonella formed the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. Its mission is to support the preservation of biodiversity within the Maasai tribal lands of East Africa by promoting conservation, education, and health services within the Maasai community. A $100 conservation fee per guest per day is paid to the trust. (Watch Luca talk about the trust in the video below.)

Campi employs 152 Kenyans, and the trust is involved in education, health, and conservation.

Forty teachers are employed in 14 local primary schools. A gifted-pupils private school is run for the best pupils. A total of 22 secondary-level scholarships are offered to the best pupils. The trust runs a public school it built and which is attended by 722 pupils.

The trust employs a doctor and four nurses to look after three dispensaries.  One of them has been provided with solar electricity and a bore hole.

The trust has set aside a private conservation area of 5,000 acres on this traditional Maasai pastoral land to ensure the preservation of one of the earth’s most diverse ecosystems and the fascinating traditions of the Maasai people.

The trust employs 60 anti-poaching scouts and eight other scouts to monitor the lion population.

Its Wildlife Protection and Compensation Program strives to protect lions in southern Kenya from the threat of extinction. Losses caused by predators are compensated by the trust to the Maasai landlords, only if the predators themselves were not hunted, thereby assuring a measure of protection to the lions roaming the reserve. It runs the Simba Project, a  scheme whereby landlords are compensated for livestock killed by predators.

Animal Spotting

As a result, the lion population has increased by more than three hundred percent in two years. The presence of lions encourages tourism, and as the Maasai learn to coexist with the lions, they see them as an extension of their lifestyle rather than as a threat.

The actor Edward Norton is the U.S. president of the Trust, which is also supported by the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Fund (a 501(c)(3) organization). The fund is about to invest some $250,000 in health facilities. In 2006, Cartier, together with Norton, promoted its Love Charity Bracelet program to generously provide the trust with a substantial contribution.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0e-s0Kq-60

In Their Own Words

“We began Campi ya Kanzi in 1996 not with personal financial gain in mind, but with the objective of using profits from sustainable tourism to protect and preserve the local ecosystem and to sustain the traditional culture of the Maasai people.”

Amongst the Mopane Trees

Who They Are

Singita Pamushana is situated in one of the last remaining pristine game reserves in the southeast corner of Zimbabwe, the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve. The reserve boasts some of the greatest varieties of mammal and bird species on the African continent, due to the 38 different habitat and ecological zones found on the property.

Overlooking Malilangwe Dam

Nestling beneath the trees, the lodge incorporates the natural environment, and the forest-like architecture

View from the Main Suite

enhances views of the pool, the lush gardens, and the lake below. Pamushana Lodge comprises six luxury suites and one villa, each offering incredible views of the Malilangwe Dam. The lodge design is elegant, contemporary, and bold to match the sheer majestic scale of the landscape. Lodge facilities include indoor and open-air dining rooms, three lounges, and an impressively stocked wine cellar, as well as a bush spa and two communal heated swimming pools with a Jacuzzi. Activities at Malilangwe are tailored to suit clients interests, and include game drives, exciting spotlit night game drives, walking trips, visiting Bushman caves and paintings, canoeing and fishing in the well-stocked lake. There is also a tennis court.

The Painted Dogs of Pamushana

What They Are Doing

Singita Pamushana is the tourism arm of the Malilangwe Trust, a not-for-profit organization that was established to manage an extraordinary wilderness area abutting the Gonarezhou National Park in south eastern Zimbabwe.

Singita manages the lodge on behalf of the trust and all proceeds are used for conservation and community outreach and development programs. Since its inception, the trust has been committed to environmental conservation, with a special focus on rhino, hartebeest, sable, wild dog and the habitat. The conservation team is, as in other Singita properties, involved in the ongoing monitoring, protection, and development of the biological diversity of the reserve. A captive breeding program is currently being designed to ensure the safe breeding of disease-tolerant, endangered species for reintroduction into the reserve and other conservation areas. To date, it has reintroduced diverse wildlife, including the black and white rhino.

A Cornucopia of Africa, Singita's Trandemark

The trust is also involved in supporting projects allied to its conservation efforts. Such support includes introducing donor funding for the Frankfurt Zoological Society’s partnership with Zimbabwe’s Parks and Wildlife Management to rehabilitate  neighboring Gonarezhou National Park; facilitating rhino anti-poaching initiatives; and the injection of funding to enable the widespread provision of rabies vaccines to the government veterinary department. Another extraordinary responsibility of Malilangwe is the protection and preservation of over 100 San historical rock art painting sites which are found on the reserve.

The Lodge

Singita Pamushana operates – the same as its sister property in Tanzania, Singita Grumeti – on a very unique basis. The lodge was established for the sole purpose of generating income to assist in funding the conservation and community outreach programs coordinated by the Malilangwe Trust. The Neighbor Outreach Program is the vehicle through which Singita Pamushana and the trust focus on community development.

A cornerstone project to respond to a critical situation facing local schools is the provision of a fortified meal of a corn-soy blend, in porridge form, to some 20,000 children per school day, most of whom are under the age of five.

Children in Line for Breakfast

The NOP is also focused on food security, a critical issue at this time in Zimbabwe’s history, and facilitates the establishment of irrigation projects to enable vulnerable communities to grow their own food and supply drinking water. In addition, the NOP is actively involved in the provision of community infrastructure, including the building and equipping of clinics and school blocks.

In Their Own Words

“With a vision to securing and preserving an increasing number of pristine locations, Singita has a firm commitment to maintaining the sustainability of each property by continuing to build upon our three pillars of wildlife conservation, eco-friendly tourism, and community support. Singita is the Shangaan word for ‘a place of miracles.’ and it is intended that this applies to all who are in contact with it – whether guest, staff, local communities, or the wildlife and natural habitat of the Singita reserves and their lodges.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iks8c5ELnxk

A Dhow on Rolas Island

Who They Are

Far in the northern extremes of Mozambique, beyond Pemba in the Querimbas Archipelago, lies the beach oasis of Guludo Beach Lodge. Set up by Amy and Neal Carter-James, a young English couple who passionately believed that quality tourism could benefit poor, rural communities, Guludo goes much further in achieving sustainable tourism than countless resorts around the world that are many times bigger.

A Tented Banda by Night

Designed to blend in with the landscape without impacting it, the four types of accommodations all open up right onto the beach. The Adobe Bandas have king-size beds under a high thatched roof, and in the Tented Bandas your lodgings are beautifully furnished bespoke tents under thatch that let you feel a part of nature without losing the comfort. Also, there is the two-bedroom Family Banda and the more private Zala Suite.

The Simplicity of an Adobe Banda

If lazing on the white-sand beach gets boring, or you need a break from scuba-diving the coral reefs,  there are tours to the fascinating and historic Ibo Island and Rolas Island, as well as whale watching and, with the Querimbas National Park right behind you, a hideout to look for elephants.

Under their company Bespoke Experience the Carter-James plan to open other similar properties.

What They Are Doing

The Carter-James’s plans began to take root in 2002, when, at a meeting in Guludo village, community members said they would like to help them realize their dream of creating a lodge that helped the locals uplift themselves. Guludo was built following guidelines on how to make as little impact and be as unobtrusive as possible, and to respect local customs and culture. The lodge keeps in mind the principles of fair trade (such as employing 50 people from Guludo village and acquiring all its produce from within a five kilometer radius).

An Adobe Banda on the Beach

All furniture and furnishings were produced by local artisans on site, and even uniforms were made by a local tailor with locally bought fabric. Guests are encouraged to buy locally. Several groups have been set up in the area to provide products and crafts, including two weaving palm, one weaving bamboo, and one doing ceramics. These groups sell directly to guests and to the lodge, and a craft store is being created. It is hoped this will create work. The lodge also encourages local services, such as taking guests to a lookout to see elephants and promoting local dance groups.

Better Eating, Thanks to Nema

Five percent of Guludo’s income goes to a specially created foundation, Nema, which carries out an array of community and conservation projects. Numerous local issues were identified before Guludo opened – high infant mortality, lack of education, and lack of jobs.

Prior to Nema, less than one percent of children went on to study at secondary school and less than 20 percent completed all 7 years at primary school because of the costs and the need for children to help gather food. Nema is building two new primary schools and hopes to build a secondary school next year. A feeding scheme now provides a total of one nutritious meal to 550 children every school day. This year Nema has given out 79 scholarships, although funds are sorely needed to keep this number up (see how you can help). School attendance, as a result of these efforts, has increased by 350 percent.

The Fascinating Ibo Island

In the Guludo area the average life expectancy is 38, and 30 percent of children do not reach the age of five, many dying as a result of  malaria. In 2007 and 2008 over 4,400 insecticide-treated nets were distributed to each woman in six villages who were either pregnant or had children under five, resulting in over 10,000 people sleeping under nets. In 2010, Nema hopes to reach every woman with a child under five in all 12 neighboring villages.

Women Especially are Targeted for Help in Guludo Village

Every day 102 children in Mozambique are infected with HIV and less than three percent will receive treatment. The majority of new infections are in young people, with girls between 15 to 19 three times more at risk than boys the same age. A new local drama group has been trained to perform sketches illustrating the dangers of HIV, and its reception has been incredible, with whole villages turning out to watch the performances. Nema will also start to run HIV workshops, distribute condoms, and will show HIV awareness films. In 2010 it also plans to start a school soccer project to raise awareness among the youth.

Right Behind the Beach ... the Bush

In 2007, around Guludo, less than 50 percent of the population had access to safe water and the majority of pumps were in disrepair. In 2007/2008 Nema completed 28 new or rehabilitated water points and pumps in 12 villages, resulting in the provision of clean water to over 12,000 people.

A Humpback off Guludo

Guludo has also developed a seafood buyers guide to help people decide what non-endangered fish to buy. Guests have helped sponsor humpback whale research, and the lodge helps locals develop kitchen gardens and plans to start working with farmers to be more conscientious of protecting the forest and bush around them.

In Their Own Words

“Inspired by the people living in the Guludo area, Guludo Beach Lodge is just the beginning. Like many entrepreneurs, ideas  always abound and you never quite know what’s just around the corner in their quest of using business to relieve poverty.”