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Antbear Eco Lodge Drakensberg

Emhubeni , Fernhurst Farm (Show on Map)

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Lodge Taking Steps Towards Sustainability

Certifications:

TripAdvisor GreenLeaders

Do you utilise any renewable energy sources to produce energy on the hotel/accommodation premises?

Solar radiation

Biomass

What makes your hotel/accommodation eco-friendly?

Green roof

Building materials from sustainable resources

Written environmental policy statement in place

Engaged in eco-friendly initiatives (i.e. reforestation, wildlife conservation)

Rainwater collection and usage

Use of non-toxic cleaning products

Serving organic food at the restaurant

LED lighting throughout the premises

Environmental manager appointed

Employees are trained to follow environmental policies

Toilets flush up to 6 litres per flush

Signs in the rooms informing guests that towels will only be changed upon request

Toilet paper made of non-chlorine bleached paper or awarded with an eco-label

Waste is separated into at least 3 categories

No disposable (single use) cups/glasses, plates and cutlery

Organic waste is composted

Zero-waste hotel/accommodation

Most of the ingredients used to prepare meals are locally produced

A vegetarian alternative menu is proposed in the restaurant

An energy audit is carried out at least once every five years

Is there anything that you would like to highlight, add or clarify?
Responsible tourism is the ethos of Antbear Lodge and is the basis of just about everything we do. We have realized our dream of a self sufficient lifestyle which has resulted in the development of our loved Antbear Lodge. It all started some 22 years ago where we left our corporate lifestyle in Germany and started our attempt of living differently. The first step resulted in the construction of a straw bale building, an alternative building method that uses local resources with low impact on the world. Even the thatch for the roof was cut on the farm and the main costs of this construction type are labor keeping our money in the local economy. Since then we have built from sun dried bricks, rammed earth, cob and locally sourced stone from the farm. From there we have move to creating a reed bed filter to clean grey water before returning it to the environment. And slowly our vision at Antbear Lodge has developed into our concept of responsible tourism that includes fair wages and working conditions, fair distribution of benefits, ethical business practice, and respect for human rights, culture and the environment.

Antbear Eco Lodge has tracked the local economic benefit created by the Lodge and reported a regional economic benefit of R45m over the past 22 years. 50% of the value, results from local procurement policies and practices and the balance is made up of wages.

A buy-local policy is in place. Where the services do not exist, support is also provided to upskill and capacitate local businesses. As a result training has been facilitated for crafters, weaving, spinning and knitting. The economic benefit of construction of the lodge as well as ongoing maintenance and refurbishment the entrepreneurs who have been skilled up during this process had the resources to continue their businesses.

With 100% of the staff employed from the local area, this money goes directly into the local economy, where it generates another cycle of economic activity. The average salary at Antbear Eco Lodge supports 11 persons in a household.

We have our own chickens for eggs, our own cows for milk and an organic vegetable garden. We bake our own bread and even make our own yogurt and cheese. We are strong believers in permaculture, have developed an earth worm farm and compost with a minimum waste policy and what we do produce as waste we try our utmost to recycle. Polystyrene is our last issue for which we have not found a recycle solution yet. We are also a haven for rescued animals and have taken on abused donkeys, horses, pigs and more. Few of these animals will ever be work animals and we are basically just offering them a loved environment to retire in.

We make an effort in conservation too and take our responsibility as stewards looking after this farm seriously. We try to remove alien invader species like wattle, hawthorn and American bramble. We keep poaching to a minimum and that is mostly due to our relationship with our community. Our latest project in partnership with a neighbor farm is establishing a vulture restaurant together with a vulture hide. The hope is that the vulture hide will be taken on by tourists wanting to photograph vultures and the funding can be put back into new vulture conservation efforts.

Along the way we have had our failures too. We started a program supporting a local school which worked well in the beginning but after too much money became available for the school so to did the abuse of that money begin. In fact lessons took a secondary role while the kids would sing for tourists at every opportunity and the teachers cashed in. We redeveloped the program by creating an NGO and letting the NGO manage the money working with a different school and no longer interrupt schooling with tourism. In short there have been lots of lessons.

Skills development is important and we have put in huge effort here. Antbear Drakensberg Lodge employs people from the local area. Most have little previous work experience or formal training. We provide continues training and skills development with workshops and practical training. Not only hospitality training and what is required to run our lodge but skills like wood working, refrigeration, electricity, plumbing, alternative building, up-cycling, permaculture and so much more. Its inspiring to see how these skills are slowly being introduced in the local community and our very alternative way of seeing things is becoming the new normal. We also operate a volunteer program where we take on people for shortish periods in an exchange of labor for accommodation and meals. We mostly teach woodworking and alternative construction but we have also done natural horsemanship.

Our latest program is to attempt to uplift the local economy by developing entrepreneurial opportunities for people from our local communities. We are using our already established customer base as a market source The fist of these programs is up an running with a local villager who has built a star gazing hammock camp where he tell his folklore tales that came from is grandmother. Its loved by tourists and is a real authentic experience. We paid for the development costs and Mlendeni contributed his own labor to build it. The idea is that Mlendeni is responsible for running his own business. Already we can see that some business mentorship interventions are are needed and are now starting to work on that. This has resulted in the partnership with an NGO called Indalo Inclusive who support developing smmes that have a green and inclusive basis. I am sure this is a long term program as we are working with general education levels that are pathetically minimal.

Sustainability is a journey and it does not have an end. We can all do more and we should all do more and if you asked me to write about this in a years time I will talk about new projects and new ideas of where we can practically make a difference. And on top of everything sustainability practices make sound business sense which is why I dont understand why people consider our lifestyle to be so different

Lodge for Honeymoon

Dog Friendly Lodge

Dog Play Area Dogs Stay Free

Do you accept dogs in all rooms?
Yes

Is there an extra charge?
Free! There is no extra charge. Dogs stay for free.

Should the dog owner notify you before checking in?
Yes

Lodge with Parking

Small Lodge

Lodge for Yoga

Lodge where Extra Health & Safety Measures Have Been Taken

Arrival

Do visitors need a health certificate (i.e. a test) prior to arrival?
No

Do you perform temperature checks upon guests' arrivals?
No

Lodge where Dogs Stay Free

Lodge with Play Area For Dogs

Room Types

Suite with Garden View These garden suites feature a spacious bedroom with a lounge area, a wood burning fireplace and en-suite bathroom. Each unit features an individual covered patio that looks out onto a private garden. Some units have a spa bath and separate shower while others just have a shower.

Suite with Mountain View These mountain-facing suites include a spacious lounge, a large bedroom and en suite bathroom. They offer a veranda and a wood burning fireplace. The bathrooms are fitted with a spa bath and separate shower.

Cave Built under a rock, this cave-styled accommodation has large glass doors opening out onto a deck with hammock chairs and outdoor dining facilities. It includes a seating area with open fireplace and the bathroom comes with a spa bath.