Responsibility for the community in which we exist
We appreciate the fact that we enjoy a unique privilege: we have the honour of hosting one of the few lodges to be permitted within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area - an area that is otherwise exclusively dedicated to the preservation of its wilderness and wildlife. We also appreciate the support of the human community that surrounds this wilderness area, on whom we rely for the provision of staff members, guides, dancers and entertainers. Consequently we host a number of eco-programmes, all of which are designed to support and sustain the natural and human community of which we are a part. Such programmes vary according to need, but presently they are as follows:
- Tree planting project at oloirobi primary school
- Financial support for construction of teacher's house, classrooms and desks.
- Support to a group of maasai women to sell their handcraft products at the Lodge
- Support to the local suppliers from Ngorongoro area-(for both foodstuffs & handcrafts)
- Support to Karatu orphanage centre
- Support to Maasai dancers
- Measures to ensure green-ness.
- Lodge has smoke arrestor to reduce carbon deposition in the atmosphere
- Water harvester to accumulate rain water
- Sewage - Soak pit sewage system
In terms of its own ecological ‘foot' print, the lodge abides by a code of responsible practice in relation to: energy conservation (inverter systems have recently been installed so as to reduce the camp's use of diesel-fuelled generators), waste recycling (glass, plastics, ‘wet waste' and the distribution of food-waste to local pig-farmers), sewage disposal, air emissions, non-CFC use, pesticide-use, noise reduction and visual pollution. Wherever possible, local produce is featured on the menus.
In order to promote the overall health of their workforce, Serena has also established the Employee Wellness Programme, which aims to address the holistic health needs of not only Serena's staff, but also of the communities that surround their lodges. In essence, the programme is devoted to reducing the incidence of accident and illness in the workplace, promoting healthy lifestyles, maximizing potential, and promoting optimum quality of life.
