Sustainability Initiatives at Xigera Safari Lodge, Okavango Delta, Botswana

At Xigera Safari Lodge, our commitment to environmental and social responsibility has a multifaceted approach, find out more about our holistic dedication to creating a positive impact on both the environment and the community below.

CLIMATE

All lighting at Xigera is LED as well as having a state of the art energy centre where 95% of all our energy comes from, in total this saves 175,000 litres of diesel a year or equals 500 tons of carbon. Additionally, we have our own water processing plant, where we can recycle our waste water, this is all done on the property and managed by our incredible team.

Our efforts to reduce our consumption of single use plastic include only using biodegradable packaging, reusable water bottles, paper straws, compostable tea bags, and using beeswax or vegetable wax for food covering, a great way to reduce clingfilm consumption.

FOOD

xigera boma

Kitchens can waste up to 20% of food purchased, often equivalent to their total net profits, as chefs too often lack the necessary tools to accurately measure and manage waste. Here at Xigera, have three stage waste separation; in the kitchens, outside of the kitchens and at the waste disposal area to ensure we are recycling what we can and minimising any landfill waste, which helps us effectively manage and measure our waste.

Recently, we made the decision to personalise guest safari breakfasts and have seen an 80% reduction in food waste from this decision alone. Additionally, we have our own composter onsite, where food waste is churned into compost which we then supply to a local village.

Local & Organic Suppliers

xigera cuisine

At Xigera, we place a great significance on using premium, locally sourced products in our menu. This enables us to provide exceptional service, whilst being aligned with these values. Being situated deep in the Okavango Delta can present challenges as 90% of our food is sourced from Maun, almost 60 miles away. However, we work closely with local farmers and suppliers to be as sustainable as possible.

We have a number of sustainable partnerships at Xigera some of which include; Slebtech Farms, a family-run farm who supply our eggs, Bellfrog Farms, a hydroponic farm who supply our tomatoes, lettuce, spring onions, herbs and more, and lastly Elliewood Farms, a sustainably-minded farm who supply our lamb and seasonal vegetables. For our seafood, we support a local seafood supplier who sources the freshest seafood from our nearest coast line in Namibia weekly. Building a relationship with these sustainable suppliers has been incredibly important for our commitment to sustainability.

VOLUNTEERING

habu village

Xigera has provided strong volunteering contributions to our group efforts over the last year. We work with a local village, Habu, on three of their programmes: Village Lights, Village Kids and Village Greens which you can read more about here. We also support the Polokong Centre, an elderly care home, and a project called 'Mummy's Angels', who provide new mum's with their essential post-natal care needs.

SUSTAINABLE PARTNERSHIPS

We are deeply committed to protecting our environment and contributing to local causes, including phasing out single-use plastics, saving energy, reducing food waste. We are proud to also be working with the following charities and companies dedicated to bringing positive change to the world: Bellfrog Farms, Elliewood Farms, Slebtech Farms and Wild Grow Organic.