The Safari Resorts with a Conscience

Capanne is a conservation-minded retreat opening this month on Nkombo Island in Rwanda’s Lake Kivu, Swedish-Italian preservationist Daniele Kihlgren takes the winning formula from his Sextantio concept further. There’s still the nod to traditional architecture (here that means standalone huts in the local vernacular style), but for Kihlgren’s first property outside Italy all profits will be funneled into a health insurance plan to help the island’s autonomous Mashi-speaking population. Opening in Botswana’s Okavango Delta this June, Xigera Safari Lodge is resource neutral, It is built without the use of concrete and suspended on stilts to protect the delicate floodplain, the hotel itself is 100 percent solar powered, and eventually even the game-drive vehicles will be fueled by the sun. Its owners, the Tollman family, safari vets for more than six decades, show their commitment to their employees by spending as much on amenities for the staff as for the guests.

SOURCE: CN TRAVELER