Imvelo Responsible Tourism Award

by Craig Storkey on December 1, 2008

I am very proud that our resort has won the 2008 Imvelo Responsible Tourism Award for Best Social Involvement Program. Imvelo recognizes tourism and hospitality businesses that make a measurable and sustained contribution to responsible tourism in Southern Africa. www.imveloawards.co.za

Imvelo – which means ‘nature’ in South Africa’s Nguni languages – is part of an ongoing hospitality industry campaign to encourage industry members to accept voluntary guidelines promoting responsible tourism. The awards are in line with the responsible tourism guidelines for the South African hospitality industry and the UN World Tourism Organization’s code of ethics, and are supported by the Heritage Environmental Rating Program.

We received the award for their community service initiatives that focus on the disadvantaged in the local communities, specifically concentrating on education, job and wealth creation, health, community welfare, and sanitation.

We are thrilled to be recognized for our social endeavors and will continue to strive to uplift and empower local communities. One of the outstanding programs started is Hydroponics and Organic farming. The gardens in this program are tended by blind gardeners from the Linda Multi-purpose Centre and the Mapenzi community. All the vegetables grown are bought by the Royal Livingstone Hotel and the Zambezi Sun kitchens. The project equips the blind workers with farming and management skills, empowering them to achieve financial and physical independence.

Another unique program is an aqua culture-fish farming project at Katombora Juvenile Reformatory Centre. This was created as an effort to alleviate the persistent problem of protein deficiency in the area. One of the project’s aims is to equip our local youth with fish farming skills so that they can supply the resort and surrounding areas with fish, while at the same time creating a self-sustaining business.

Together with the support of our guests, Sun International Zambia is able to reach out to the most socially vulnerable in the surrounding communities making measurable changes in their lives.