Sustainability
As the leading DMC in Zanzibar we feel the responsibility to work in a sustainable way. Sustainability is not only meant towards our employees, but also towards the local communities and the environment of Zanzibar. Moreover, we feel obliged to set and follow ethical standards for activities offered on the island. Unfortunately, we don’t have always direct influence on certain activities and operations, however, we show our agreement/disagreement in offering/not offering certain activities. Please find below some topics/projects in terms of sustainability, we are supporting:
ZanTours Community Support
More and more guests are interested to learn about what hotels, operators, suppliers are doing for the sustainability of Zanzibar. As we follow the principle “do good and no need to talk about it”, we want at least point out, in which excursions you are supporting directly communities through our support to them.
- STONE TOWN SERVED ON SPICES
- ZANZIBAR’S NATURE AND ITS CAPITAL
- SPICE TOUR
- ZANZIBAR’S NATURE AND ITS COMMUNITIES
- 1000 HANDS OF ZANZIBAR
- ZANZIBAR’S NATURE AND ITS CAPITAL
- THE RYHTYM OF JOZANI
- FAUNA & FLORA ON THE ROCKS
- FAUNA & FLORA SERVED ON SPICES
- JEEP TOUR
- TUMBATU
- JOZANI & BUTTERFLY CENTER
- PETE TOUR
ZITO Spice Farm
ZITO is a ZanTours supported project, which literally “happened” when looking for a new spice farm. We had the need to find a farm community, which we could support and develop for a better service quality and experience for our guests. We, as ZanTours put our ideas and needs on the table and in return discussed with the farm community about how it can be achieved. One major point was the cleanliness, replanting and more important relaxed experience of the farm. This is when ZanTours management decided, despite the usual market rules in Zanzibar for spice farms – ZanTours paid an entrance fee per guest to the community. The condition was – this money should be reinvested in the farm to keep it clean and pretty and moreover our guests should not feel harassed to buy spices or products, if not wanted.
The result after almost 4 years corporation is, that ZITO reinvested his entrance fee in toilets and farm expansion. They have built a restaurant with daily fresh cooked Swahili lunch from local Mamas, where they also explain in cooking lessons, the secret of the “Swahili kitchen”. We are very proud and happy with this successful example, where ZanTours could help ZITO’s farm to become the leading Spice Farm in Zanzibar.
Experience ZITO on our excursions: Spice Tour (half day), Stone Town served on Spices (full day), Fauna & Flora served on the Rocks (Full Day)
Jeep Tour
During our Jeep Tour we take you to UZI island, on which tourism is almost no existing. We stop during this tour at a huge baobab tree, where the women do beekeeping. We requested a NGO, which is involved in sustainable bee keeping, to make a research on this specific community. The owner of the honey tree tree is in the meanwhile supported with an “entrance fee” per guest, however the bigger goal is to support a project for the education and training of sustainable bee keeping in this local community. Honey is very important in Zanzibar, because people use it for their herbal medicine. But at this stage, it cannot even be produced in an amount to cover their own usage, and needs to be still imported from Arusha.
During the stop on our secret beach our team will collect the tidal plastic waste while guests have lunch, which then will be sorted and recycled from our friends Recycle@Ozti.
You can experience this during our excursion Jeep Tour
PETE TOUR
Sarah, who is in love with Zanzibar and its people, created this very unique tour. She believes just like us in sustainability if it comes to tourism. She trained and educated the village Pete to host guests from all over the world. Moreover, she helped them to invite these guests to be part of their daily life.
Visitors will experience how Pete people live, work, eat and heal diseases. Guests will literally dive into the real and rural life of Zanzibar and visit also an important cave nearby.
As Pete is very close to Jozani Forest and the Butterfly Center, we combine the tours together. Sarah arranged with Pete’s Mamas a delicious Swahili lunch cooked – handmade. The Butterfly Center is an NGO, which trained the people of the close by village on how to breed caterpillars. They are selling the caterpillars, but also display them in their free fly aviary. An unforgettable adventure! You can find more information here – Pete Tour
CHAKO Zanzibar
Chako is project, grown tremendously over the last 2 years and has severe impact for our sustainability here in Zanzibar. The idea is to upcycle products in Zanzibar. It not only helps to make our island cleaner but also provides employment for a dozen of people. The original idea was to offer Chako’s products for our tour operator as gifts to their guests. After an interesting tour through their workshop and a talk to their management, we realized ZanTours can do more! Chako’s weakness is the constant supply of glass bottles. And here we stepped in, as if we know something very well, then it is – LOGISTIC!
We agreed with Chako to pick up empty glass bottles from hotels on our empty legs back to town. Result – Chako tells ZanTours which hotels have packed empty bottles ready for pick up. ZanTours helps in picking them up on empty legs to town. Thanks to the help on another private entity, ZMMI, Chako has temporary access to more storage facilities. Chako is supported by us with transport and by ZMMI with storage facilities … all for a good cause!
RECYCLE @ OZTI
Plastic waste is not only in Zanzibar a problem but world wide. To create awareness to our team we have send several groups from our company for a small training workshop in Ozti, which took the education of waste management voluntarily on.
The impact it had on our team is incredible, as no one was aware of where the world is going when not stopping to use plastic.
As we always say – we cannot change the world but we can change the mind of our team if it comes to environment.
Thanks OZTI – our team appreciate your effort.