Sasaab Retains Gold Ecorating Certification

The Safari Collection is delighted to announce that Sasaab Lodge retained its Gold Eco-Rating Certification after being audited in July of 2014 for compliance to ecotourism principles and best practices.

Sasaab was initially awarded the gold eco rating certification by Eco Tourism Kenya in July 2012, and still remains only one of thirteen gold Eco-rated facilities in Kenya, marrying gold eco credentials with the Kenya luxury safari.

Ecotourism Kenya is a civil society organization that was established in 1996 to play a key role in ensuring that Kenya’s tourism is sustainable, both in terms of concern for the environment and for the welfare of local communities.

To that end Eco tourism Kenya established the Eco-rating certification Scheme, a sustainable tourism certification program that aims to promote responsible tourism in Kenya. The Eco-rating certification scheme follows a systematic procedure that assesses a tourism accommodation facility on its environmental, economic and socio-cultural performance. The criteria have been designed to suit local requirements and is aligned with the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC) formed under the umbrella of the United Nations (UN).

Sasaab was particularly recognized for its great support for conservation and the well-being of the local community. This year, Sasaab has hosted a Dental Clinic, worked with Ewaso Lions to run a Lion Kids Camp and the Running for Lions Marathon and in Nov 2014 they will be hosting Safe Kenya for the second year running to address controversial issues such as HIV, FGM and Gender Violence.

Some of the other eco-initiatives being carried out at Sasaab, which helped to earn them this award are:

THE WATER BOTTLE INITIATIVE

Plastic is not bio-degradable. It just breaks up into tiny pieces over time and remains plastic. It will take a water bottle well over 450 years to break down completely.

The Safari Collection gives every client a re-usable water bottle for them to keep, reducing the amount of plastic waste being generated. Since introducing the reusable water bottles we have reduced our plastic waste by 85%, and every client has a useful memento of their safari to carry home with them.

RECYCLING INITIATIVE

We live in a disposable society and most of what we throw away can be re-used or recycled for another purpose.

All of our tins, glass, card/paper, and plastic waste is cleaned, returned to Nairobi and sent to organisations that are re-using it.

All the organic waste at Sasaab is composted on site and used in the flourishing Kitchen Garden. Being so remote having access to freshly picked produce helps to ensure that the food that comes to your table is tantalizingly fresh and delicious.

SAVE A BUCKET INITIATIVE

To help reduce the amount of water we use, there is a bucket provided for you to place under the tap, when you turn the water on. When the water is hot, remove the bucket. The water you collect will be used for watering plants and cleaning. Just one bucket may not seem like much, but it adds up. The average tap uses two gallons of water per minute. If it takes two minutes to heat the water, that’s four gallons per day, which when calculated at 1 shower a day, adds up to almost 1500 gallons of water per person per room each year.

Congratulations to the whole Sasaab Team for continuing to work towards a sustainable future for tourism in Kenya.