Shamwaris sustainable development practices green initiatives

Shamwari Game Reserve is one of the most successful private conservation initiatives in Southern Africa. Coupled with responsible tourism, it is the most luxurious means of experiencing an African safari adventure. We pride ourselves with our actions taken to conserve a vanishing way of life, one of these actions being sustainable development.

Our Fair Trade Tourism certification means a great deal for us in keeping with our conservation ethos. It also happens to be our 25th year anniversary and what better way to celebrate than to give back to the community and our environment! We aim to show our commitment to fair and responsible tourism within South Africa.

Sustainability Practices:

Sustainability is one of the means of responsible tourism at Shamwari. We have a greenhouse at our Food & Beverage department. It is the biggest herb garden on the reserve and the aim is to produce a variety of herbs and focus on producing 2 to 3 varieties of vegetables to supply our lodges. Recently seedlings were planted to produce cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and mixed salad leaves.

We have also implemented herb and veggie gardens at our lodges for our staff members to pick fresh herbs daily as they are needed. We value the importance of using and cultivating natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance.

Our Head Chef, Sharelda van Niekerk, loves the idea of the lodges having their access to their own little herb and vegetable gardens. When it comes to planting vegetables and herbs, it’s interesting to see what seedlings flourish and the seedlings that battle in our environment. She believes that growing and picking your own vegetables and herbs is the way forward!

“As a Chef, there is nothing more rewarding than having herbs and vegetables all freshly picked and to have the opportunity to cook with all the fresh flavours.”

Fresh Vegetables & Herbs:

Sarili Lodge and Riverdene Lodge are two lodges where the herb and vegetable gardens are thriving. The staff at the lodges are extremely proud of their gardens and love being sustainable in their approach.

Community Development:

Local community development is important to all of us at Shamwari, we want to maintain a positive relationship between sustainable tourism, and the economic independence and social well-being of local communities.

Khanya Care Centre:

We proudly support Khanya Care Centre in the Paterson community that looks after abandoned children. The lady behind it all, Peggy, has been longing for a vegetable garden. We recently made that hope a reality. Shamwari staff members, Ranger David Fraser and Claire Radloff, took the initiative to design a greenhouse and with the help of some community members we built a vegetable garden and planted some juvenile spinach that thrives in the area. Our plan is to regularly supply Peggy with seedlings to maintain the garden.

It’s important for Peggy to have access to fresh produce to feed the children in her care that she can now grow in her own garden. With the cost of living increasing these days it was more economical for us to build her a veggie garden that she can always have fresh vegetables to provide the children with nutritional goodness.

We have a wonderful relationship with Peggy from Khanya Care Centre in the local community of Paterson and we hope it will continue to grow in years to come.