Sustainable Travel Our Way

At Africa Adventure Consultants we strive to minimize our overall footprint on this earth. We are especially aware of the environmental challenges that the delicate ecosystems of Africa are facing, and now more than ever are taking an active role in protecting these areas for future generations. Our primary focus to help save the planet is to reduce carbon emissions. Our US office is now 100% carbon neutral and we are offsetting 50% of the carbon emissions on every safari we sell (since January 2008). With our Travel Green program, travelers have the option of offsetting the remaining 50% of their safari’s carbon emissions.

Travel certainly impacts the world environmentally, but without travel we’d miss out on opportunities to see new places, meet new people—to think and live globally. In Africa, wildlife reserves would not have the income to continue protecting wildlife, the millions of people employed in the tourism industry would be unemployed and the critical sharing of cultures would not take place. We believe travel is imperative to fostering a peaceful world.

Not only do we focus on reducing carbon emissions that our travel produces, but we always consider sustainable and earth-friendly practices when designing and planning safaris. If the safari begins with a smaller carbon footprint, there is less carbon to reduce overall. Some keys to reducing a safari’s carbon footprint include incorporating human-powered activities wherever possible: walking, hiking and canoeing or kayaking to replace vehicle powered activities. We also use lodges and camps that use solar power, locally grown produce and water recycling facilities. Africa is actually a highly sustainable tourism destination as many camps and lodges have been operating using sustainable methods for years—it was the only way to survive. In addition to sustainable practices at lodges, preserved and protected open space throughout Africa helps to create carbon sinks, and prevents deforestation and desertification. We are careful to craft safaris that make the best use of road and air transfers without back-tracking or circumnavigating wherever possible.

Our most sustainable safaris include our Tanzania Walking Safari and the Selous Walking Safari, where walking is the primary game viewing activity and means of transport, rather than vehicles; our Botswana Migration Routes leaves a small footprint and makes use of mobile camps; and our Tanzania Maasai Adventure a cultural walking tour where we leave only footprints behind and encourage authentic interactions that help preserve Maasai culture.

World Savers Awards - Experience it in Tanzania!

Gibb’s Farm, a hideaway high in the Ngorongoro Highlands of Tanzania, was recently awarded a Conde Nast Traveler World Savers Award for the Ecology of Gibb’s Farm. You can experience Gibb’s on our Luxury Tanzania Safari with a three nights’ stay at one of our favorite sustainable lodges or upgrade any Tanzania safari to include Gibb's Farm. The lodge has several sustainability focuses, including environmental, wildlife and cultural.

Gibb’s Farm practices many environmental preservation tactics including water recycling, sewage treatment, solar heating and more. 100% of grey-water from kitchens, bathtubs, rainwater and laundry is recycled into organic farms and gardens via a reed plant filtration system. This system can be viewed in the Vegetable Farm. The largest solar panel array in northern Tanzania has been installed for water heating. This replaced wood fired water heating systems. Smaller solar arrays are being installed to replacing the remaining wood heater boilers that exist away from the new central solar system. Bottled water sales are discouraged. The drinking water in the cottage is pumped from two deep wells. It is very pure; however, as a secondary precaution we filter it through a Katadyn Filter before placing it in your water pitcher, including the new ice machine water. Read more about other environmental preservation practices at Gibb’s Farm.

In terms of wildlife conservation, Gibb’s Farm partners with the neighboring Ngorongoro Conservation Area Administration (NCAA) to make sure that guests follow all rules in respect to wildlife while in the conservation area and on the Farm. It also works to conserve its own forest reserve. Gibb’s Farm works with local communities on wildlife conservation efforts, including how to live with elephants that wander out of the NCAA forests. Gibb’s Farm assists researchers in bird nesting and habitat restoration and takes census of bird species on the farm estate and nearby NCAA forests. And the Farm employs 3-4 full-time naturalists and 10-15 part-time guides. They help the guest and staff with information and interpretation of the biomes in our area. An extensive bird list has been compiled and continues to be updated. A flower, tree and shrub listing is currently in progress.

Gibb’s Farm has long been a part of the diverse communities and cultures around it. Some 95% of Gibb’s Farm 150 full-time employees come from the immediate community and many more receive part-time employment or are given opportunities to sell their crafts and wares at the farm. Two of the largest populations in the region include the Iraqw and Maasai peoples, whose artwork, history, stories, medicine, and ways of life are preserved through Gibb’s Farm cultural programs and throughout the farm and its cottages. The Farm also actively promotes cultural preservation through the Fine Arts program and the African Living Spa.

Contact us for more information on Gibb’s Farm or to book a stay at the Farm.

Photos courtesy Gibb's Farm.