Winning the Best Partnership for Poverty Reduction Award

African Responsible Tourism Awards 2017

Winning the Best Partnership for Poverty Reduction Award
supported by Africa Ignite

Gold winner: Isibindi African Lodges

Isibindi Africa Lodges is the proud winner of the African Responsible Tourism Awards 2017 gold award for Best Partnership for Poverty Reduction! It is both humbling and a great privilege to be recognised for our contribution to development in these pristine natural areas of our beloved country. Here are the judges’ reasons for awarding this prize to Isibindi Africa:

Judges’ reasons for winning: The judges were looking for true partnerships that truly whittle away poverty in local areas. At Isibindi Africa Lodges, partnerships extend way beyond run-of-the-mill charitable giving (although there is plenty of that too). Rental for community-owned land and tourism lodges, employment of local people, purchases of vegetables, crafts, and laundry and recycling services from local small producers, create sustainable income for four communities and hundreds of people in deep rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal.  To widen the spread of the benefits of tourism, Isibindi recently launched a special mechanism ITHUBA (“opportunity”) – a dedicated community engagement programme – to establish greater partnerships with communities and replace individual lodge efforts with a structure that allows resource sharing. Next up, a training facility focussing on lodge hospitality offering internships and a career path at Isibindi lodges for successful graduates.

#grateful