Guludo Beach Lodge

Non Profit ID card: present your project/organisation/campaign

Questions answered by Amy Carter-James, Managing Director and Co-owner, Guludo Beach Lodge; Founder and Trustee, Nema Foundation

–   What is your structure and where are you based? Our model encompasses a charity, the Nema Foundation, based in the UK, and a commercial enterprise, Guludo Beach Lodge, based in Quirimbas National Park, Mozambique.

 – What are you called? Guludo Beach Lodge.

 – What are you doing and why? We are using tourism to lift over 24,000 people sustainably out of poverty while demonstrating to the rest of the world the profound potential tourism has to do good.

 -Do you have a website/email? www.guludo.com; www.nemafoundation.org

 -Do you have a Twitter/facebook link/name?; www.facebook.com/guludo; www.twitter.com/guludo_beach; www.facebook.com/nemafoundation www.twitter.com/nemafoundation

 – What makes you so special? We set out with a single-minded determination to demonstrate just how successful integrating philanthropy into a tourism business could be. Today, looking at Guludo Beach Lodge and its impact on the surrounding area, it is clear to see that we have achieved this with phenomenal success.

In 2002 we were looking for somewhere with excellent tourism potential next to extreme poverty. Guludo was the perfect fit. Guludo Beach Lodge is situated on a 12km white, palm-fringed beach in one of the poorest areas of Mozambique. Life expectancy is 38 years and 1 in 3 children die before their 5th birthday. There was virtually no access to clean water, few children went to school, their cultural identity was fading and communities relied entirely on threatened environment resources for subsistence.

Guludo Beach Lodge operates using fair trade principles while the Nema Foundation partners with 12 local communities to implement projects.

The lodge stimulates the local economy and develops skills while the charity tackles the root causes of poverty and environmental devastation, which are funded by donations from the lodge, its guests and our charity partners.

Through our model we have provided access to clean water for 15,000 people, a school meal every day for 800 malnourished children, secondary school scholarships for 127 scholars, completing construction of 2 primary schools, distributed 8,000 mosquito nets and household training in nutrition, malaria, HIV, hygiene and sanitation.  The lodge has over 150 local suppliers, employs 70 staff and 8 local craft enterprises sell their products to our guests… and this is all just the very tip of the iceberg.

Now, because of the lodge, the local economy is developing, children are healthier, poverty is falling, environmental pressures are decreasing and there is a buzz of optimism in the region. If you are thinking that surely our business must suffer as a result of our philanthropy, you’re wrong. In fact, while our competitors struggled to stay afloat in 2009/2010, we experienced exceptional growth that is continuing into 2011.

We passionately believe that other tourism businesses can adopt the same approach and play a significant part in tackling serious social and environmental issues while continuing to achieve ambitious and profitable growth. To make this a reality and to export and promote our successful approach, Guludo founders established “Thin Cats Thinking” (www.thincats.org), a consultancy, that enables other hotels and resorts around the world to work more efficiently with local communities and to maximize their positive impact in a commercially viable way, thus helping them achieve the same success as Guludo. 

 

The turning point

 – How did you start? I was inspired when volunteering in a primary school in Kenya before going on to study marine biology. Tourism seemed like the perfect vehicle to bring about sustainable and empowering poverty relief and wildlife conservation. When I graduated in 2002 there simply wasn’t enough to hold Neal, my husband, and I back! 

 – What keeps you going every day? The excitement of realising the potential within Guludo and Thin Cats to reach so many vulnerable people and the environment they often rely so heavily upon. 

 – Who is your target? Our guests are generally 30yr+, well travelled professionals looking for an authentic holiday experience. Majority of guests are European from UK, Italy, Switzerland and Portugal.

– How are you financed? Privately.

 

The challenge

 – A proud moment? The opening of our first every water point that bought clean, safe water to a village for the first time.

– Did you receive any awards for your activity?

Winner: Global Vision Award, Travel & Leisure 2010

Winner: Conde Nast Traveler World Savers Award 2010 – Overall Best Small Resort/Lodge

Winner: Conde Nast Traveler World Savers Award 2010  – Poverty Relief Category

Winner of the “Responsible Tourism Award, Best for Poverty Reduction 2009”, WTM Nov 2009

Winner: of the “TODO! 2009” for Socially Responsible Tourism, ITB Mar 2010

 – A problem you face? Incredibly low literacy rates in the local area and no hotel-skilled labour. We have always been committed to recruiting and training local staff so the process of developing staff to senior levels has been requiring a great deal of training and patience. However, this has been a lot of fun and the hard work has certainly paid off.

 – Your personal motto when things get hard?  Failure isn’t an option.

 – Another cool project/organisation/campaign you would like to recommend? Global Angels – an incredible children’s charity that supports children all over the world. They are the perfect example of how a charity should be ran – with complete integrity and transparency. Every single donation goes directly to projects with their administrative costs covered by “Corporate Angels”. www.globalangels.org.

www.guludo.com

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