In times of COVID-19 the Tourism Industry faces serious long term challenges throughout the world. Here in Kenya we face a different reality. With the lack of Tourism income, massive job losses are occurring. The COMMUNITY WILDLIFE FUND helps our industry.
Our Vision on Sustainability:
- Sunworld Safaris and Sustainability: It is our responsibility to ensure the sustainable development of tourism and make Kenya a better place for people to live in and a better place to visit. With this aim we are working to minimize our environmental impact and promote our cultural heritage
- Sunworld Safaris and Environment: The fundamental core of our activity is people & wildlife as well as the protection of our forests, oceans & culture. Our Tours primarily include Eco-Rated and classified Properties within East Africa and we pride ourselves in supporting local communities through excursions that benefit them with a direct income. Our Tour guides are involved in local wildlife counts,
- Sunworld Safaris & Leadership: We strive to have a low carbon footprint on our environment and have trained our guides with environmentally friendly practices while out on safari including a strict code of ethics around our precious wildlife. Our Management is striving to implement Eco Practices in both our head office in Nairobi & whilst out on Safari including a partnership with Travelife
- We are members of the Eco Tourism Kenya, The East African Wildlife Society and Kenya Association of Tour Operators.
As a company we strive to lower or offset our carbon footprint, treat our staff members in an equal and fair manner and to support local communities through our Tourism activities.
Download our Sunworld Environmental Policy here for your reference and contact Gabriele Nowak on our contact page (Email here) in case of any questions. We strive to making a difference continuously and are ready to learn and improve where possible.
Our CARBON FOOTPRINT and YOUR SAFARI!
Our Carbon Footprint on every Safari matters to us ! We know that our resources on this planet are limited and that we need to protect the Biodiversity and incredible Wildlife we still have, at all costs ! At Sunworld Safaris, we are dedicated to making a difference, to lead by example and to ensure that you are part of our eco-friendly approach that supports our precious environment but also benefits local communities. We support various conservancies that are vital to protect wildlife threatened under appendix 1 & 2 of the Cites Agreement such as the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Solio Ranch, Lewa & Laikipia as well as many others.
For those who want to actively participate in “conservation”, we offer our CONSERVATION BASED SAFARIS that contribute to the protection of the White & Black Rhino, the Elephant & our Mountain Gorillas !
For those who want to actively participate in “conservation”, we offer our CONSERVATION BASED SAFARIS that contribute to the protection of the White & Black Rhino, the Elephant & our Mountain Gorillas !
For our sustainability brief click here
Our Trees / Forests are disappearing fast and Kenya has lost a tremendous amount of forest cover in the last decade. We therefore support a wonderful TREE GROWING initiative through the Eburro Raffiki (Friends of Eburro) and Rhino Ark Trust that helps re-forest parts of the Eastern Mau Forest. This is a very important Forest as it feeds five lakes in the Great Rift Valley and is also part of the forest that sustains the Mara Game Reserve. The local community plants / waters and looks after the tree seedlings and in May 2019 our team was part of planting 4,500 trees on the Eburro Escarpment !
As a company, we have now made the decision to SUPPORT Eburro Raffiki through a donation of USD. 1.00 per client per booking for this noble initiative. A tree seedling and its sustainance costs about USD. 5.00 to survive for the first 3, crucial years. Our goal is to plant / grow and look after as many trees as possible to recover this vital forest. The local community benefits through employment in / around the forest and we have started offering excursions to visit the nursery, local farms, a water harvesting structure through natural geothermal steam and much more.
If you’d like to give back in addition to what we do, you are welcome to donate directly to the Eburru Rafiki Trust !
If you’d like to give back in addition to what we do, you are welcome to donate directly to the Eburru Rafiki Trust !
"Our children ! Our future custodians of this planet !"
The children are “our future” and their education and awareness is paramount for the protection of our heritage and wildlife in order for Kenya’s future and survival of our treasured Parks, Reserves and wildlife. On an annual basis, Sunworld Safaris has been involved in organizing educational tours for children of St. John’s school in Korogocho Slum, sponsored entirely by our company.
We typically take about 60 to 80 students on each educational trip, show them the beauty of various parks & reserves with a guide who tells them about the wildlife they see, showing them how diverse and beautiful their country is, on a “day out & away from the slums”. Life in the slums is tough with severe poverty, food shortage and crime. We include lunch, transport, game drives & a little farewell gift for each student.
These trips are the children’s highlight of the year and truly make a difference to them, showing them “what else exists” other than their bleak life in the Slums. They suddenly discover their love for nature and our wildlife and realize that it is important to conserve it for tomorrow !
We typically take about 60 to 80 students on each educational trip, show them the beauty of various parks & reserves with a guide who tells them about the wildlife they see, showing them how diverse and beautiful their country is, on a “day out & away from the slums”. Life in the slums is tough with severe poverty, food shortage and crime. We include lunch, transport, game drives & a little farewell gift for each student.
These trips are the children’s highlight of the year and truly make a difference to them, showing them “what else exists” other than their bleak life in the Slums. They suddenly discover their love for nature and our wildlife and realize that it is important to conserve it for tomorrow !
We will continue to offer Kenya’s children educational trips and contribute $ 1.00 per client per booking to continue these trips and offer more & more ! Again, we want to extend this opportunity also to our clients who are free to add to our contribution ! E-mail us IF you’d like to help sponsor more educational trips ! Send a request through our contact page Email here
What else do we do to make a difference?
- We support anti-poaching activities – all our vehicles have stickers of anti-poaching displayed. We participate in demonstrations, help with wildlife census through sponsorships of vehicles and have also sponsored the “Ivory man, Jim Justus Namuyu” to create awareness of the plight our elephants face
- Providing vehicles on complimentary basis to fight the wildfires in Mount Kenya in 2019
- Clean up exercises of Nairobi National Park & the Mara Game Reserve by our Guide Team
- We are helping to pay Children’s school fee for disadvantaged kids in the Slums / orphans
- Food distribution for families in need in various areas but mainly Lake Magadi during drought periods
- Sponsorship of transport in our 4 x 4 vehicles for both medical camps & food distribution. We work with Elizabeth Njuguna from The Health Touch Foundation on going to the most affected areas. She also deals with handicapped children and the Maasai Community where these kids are often still stigmatized and do not receive medical assistance. Elizabeth is instrumental in showing them how to “care” for their children in doing physiotherapy, give talks on nutrition and hygiene which are vital for survival.
- Supporting a local children’s home “THE NEST” in Limuru through transportation / donations and excursions for their children. (www.thenest.org)
We operate as SINGLE USE PLASTIC FREE as possible !
SINGLE USE PLASTIC ELIMINATION EFFORTS:
We have keenly eliminated single use plastic in our operation as much as possible. We replaced all plastic bottles for clients & staff members in September 2018 with stainless steel or re-usable glass bottles.
Guests receive our high quality, double insulated stainless steel bottles on arrival and are free to keep them as a souvenir. We carry along 18.9 litre bottles of mineral water (these are re-usable & re-filled by our supplier, Mayer’s Water) after usage. (Covered in canvas)
Guests receive our high quality, double insulated stainless steel bottles on arrival and are free to keep them as a souvenir. We carry along 18.9 litre bottles of mineral water (these are re-usable & re-filled by our supplier, Mayer’s Water) after usage. (Covered in canvas)
When staying at Mara Bush Camp or similar, they can in addition fill up their water bottles for game drives through our strategically located dispensers. We further use either a plastic / electric pump to assist our clients to fill their bottles when needed. Lodges are / have been requested to assist us with dispensers in their properties, so we do not need to carry so many large water bottles along. Requests were made to KAHC through our committees of environment at KATO & KTF level.
Since September 2018 to date, we have used 3,500 Stainless Steel bottles in our operation to replace approx. 1.5 litres (3 bottles) per day per client with an average of a 10 day trip. This has saved about 105,000 plastic bottles from being used in less than a year.
Picnic lunch boxes: all our picnic lunches for our clients are prepared in-house from locally sourced ingredients by our in-house chef. These are usually healthy, vegetarian or non-vegetarian options. We no longer offer yoghurts in plastic cups nor the usual packed juice. Plain yoghurt with freshly pureed fruit (such as Mango / strawberry / Passion Fruit) is used in re-usable glasses, well-sealed and packed. Freshly prepared fruit juice (Mango / Passion / Pineapple) is offered in re-usable glass bottles. Recycled serviettes are added to each box.
Since September 2018 to date, we have used 3,500 Stainless Steel bottles in our operation to replace approx. 1.5 litres (3 bottles) per day per client with an average of a 10 day trip. This has saved about 105,000 plastic bottles from being used in less than a year.
Picnic lunch boxes: all our picnic lunches for our clients are prepared in-house from locally sourced ingredients by our in-house chef. These are usually healthy, vegetarian or non-vegetarian options. We no longer offer yoghurts in plastic cups nor the usual packed juice. Plain yoghurt with freshly pureed fruit (such as Mango / strawberry / Passion Fruit) is used in re-usable glasses, well-sealed and packed. Freshly prepared fruit juice (Mango / Passion / Pineapple) is offered in re-usable glass bottles. Recycled serviettes are added to each box.
Waste in our vehicles: we use “recycled plastic kikapus” in our vehicles which look attractive but last longer than the traditional Kikapu. Our guides are instructed for strict waste disposal in our office after their trips. Plastic has however reduced to a minimum.
Soda bottles in vehicles for sundowners: We only use “glass bottles” which are returned after usage to our head office for return to our supplier.
Waste Management & Recycling: Separation starts at source where we have a dedicated area for garbage. Any plastic disposed to a recycling company in Nairobi known as TAKA TAKA SOLUTIONS that sorts 95% of all garbage, recycles and sells to recyclers.
No Straw Policy: we actually do not use / nor require any straws for our guests. If there was such a request, it would be paper / bamboo straws only which we would supply.
Soda bottles in vehicles for sundowners: We only use “glass bottles” which are returned after usage to our head office for return to our supplier.
Waste Management & Recycling: Separation starts at source where we have a dedicated area for garbage. Any plastic disposed to a recycling company in Nairobi known as TAKA TAKA SOLUTIONS that sorts 95% of all garbage, recycles and sells to recyclers.
No Straw Policy: we actually do not use / nor require any straws for our guests. If there was such a request, it would be paper / bamboo straws only which we would supply.
How does our OFFICE operate in a sustainable manner ?
- We not only support but also recommend bookings to Eco-rated facilities as a preferred option for our guests.
- We are Members of the ECO TOURISM KENYA and the EAST AFRICAN WILDLIFE SOCIETY
- All our guides are members of the Kenya Professional Safari Guide Association and some of Nature Kenya and we regularly conduct in-house training on “environmentally friendly” practices, photo workshops and we offer them to participate in Guide Courses.
- We have a little organic vegetable garden with rain water harvesting – some of these vegetables are used for our staff lunches
- Complimentary staff lunch is provided in our in-house canteen & tea breaks for our staff members
- We are using eco-friendly and biodegradable detergents for our office cleaning
- We offer permanent employment / contracts for staff members and supporting medical treatments
- We have a personal trainer for physical health training out & indoors twice a week for any staff member who wants to get fit and participate
