The #Khoadi //Hoas Conservancy in cooperation with Grootberg Lodge and Journeys Namibia crowned Best of Africa in the Sustainable Top 100 Destination Awards.
The accolade is recognition for the successfully implementation of solutions for human-wildlife conflict in the local community.
4 March 2020 – Windhoek, Namibia – The Sustainable Destination Awards is supported by Green Destinations, TravelMole and Travelife. The selection of winners was made based on good practice stories that were submitted by Sustainable Top 100 Destinations from 2019, with the winners being announced greendestinations.org.
The Grootberg Lodge was built in 2005 in a collaboration with the local #Khoadi//Hoas community. Since then, the Lodge has become a landmark in the Namibian tourism industry as the first middle-market Lodge in Namibia that is 100% owned by the Conservancy. Most of the staff of the Lodge are all members of the local community.
In recent years, Namibia has experienced increased Human-Wildlife Conflict, resulting in harm to rural communities and wildlife. In light of this, Grootberg Lodge and the #Khoadi //Hoas Conservancy are working together to protect the natural resources of the area with the aim of raising awareness amongst the locals and increasing the tolerance for lions, cheetahs and elephants.
As a part of this project, Grootberg Lodge in collaboration with Wildlife Credits, established a Wildlife Fund. The Lodge donates N$25 to the Wildlife Fund for each guest sighting of certain wildlife while on an activity at the Lodge. To date, this initiative has amassed close to N$ 200 000, which has been used to fund improved agricultural installations to protect livestock and water points from wildlife attacks. The Wildlife Credits matched the funds, which enabled the concervancy to build more kraals.
Journeys Namibia, the managment company of Grootberg Lodge, is committed to providing quintessential adventures to tourists from all over the world. At the same time, the business is committed to helping create positive change in the way human beings interact with wildlife, as a means of protecting a vital Namibian resource. “We believe that Grootberg Lodge, in its small way, is contributing towards the successful management of human-wildlife conflicts in the most efficient manner. We are helping to protect the wildlife in the area and ensure benefits for the local communities,” said Journeys Namibia Marketing Manager, Katja Haase. Journeys Namibia is grateful to represent Namibia on the global stage. This award is recognition of their vision to improve the communities they operate in for the betterment of all.
