Eco Rating Mambo View Point

Name of property	MamboViewPoint
Person completing this form	Herman Erdtsieck
Position	Director / owner
Address of property	MamboViewPoint road 1 Mambo / Mtae / Lushoto
Country	Tanzania
Phone number including country code and area code	+255 78 5272150
Web site	Mambo View Point
E-mail	info@MamboViewPoint.org
Type of property	Lodge
Number of rooms or cottages	3 luxury tents 4 standard cottages 1 studio/honeymoon Cottage 1 family house
Maximum number of guests	30
Eco memberships	ecohotelsoftheworld
Eco ratings, certifications, awards	5 green stars Eco Rating at Eco Tropical Resorts 4 out of 5.

• Do you have a written environmental or social sustainability policy?     YES/NO

If yes, please attach.
We have a “no nonsense but go for it” policy.
Enclosed in this document we put the general policy on eco.
WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED AND NOT WAT THERE IS WRITTEN ON PAPERS IS OUR STATEMENT FOR OUR POLICY

• Do you have a written environmental management system?                  YES/NO

If yes, please attach.

 

• Describe the property – aim, size, facilities, amount of land owned and leased  (150 words max) MamboViewPoint is situated on the top of a 1900m high mountain in the Usmabara mountains district Lushoto Tanzania. The terrain in about 5 Hectares and besides the main building with restaurant all the accommodations are separate buildings build with much privacy and view.

MamboViewPoint and the land is owned by a Dutch social entrepreneurs couple who are living at the same place and are managing the lodge.

• Describe the location, including distance to nearest town and size of town (100 words max)  MamboViewPoint is next to the village Mambo which is on 2 hours driving from Lushoto.

 

• Describe WHY you made the decision to develop an eco resort (100 word max) MamboViewPoint is actually a development project. The lodge has to deliver income and from there al kinds of projects are done in the area. The building and utilization gives already employment and inspiration. Earlier the owners were active in the environmental and development sector. MamboViewPoint wants to have a small footprint on its environment and to be close to the local people.

The owners can’t think of having a place which is polluting the environment and burdening the community.

Introduction to the Butterfly Club’s Eco Rating

 

The Butterfly Club Eco Rating has five equally-weighted categories:

• Energy;
• Water;
• Recycling and waste;
• Land and nature conservation; and
• Community.

Each category has five levels, designated by one to five butterflies.  Through self assessment, resort operators completing this rating will determine their own levels within each category based on their responses to items listed below.

Two categories – energy and water – have similar rating systems with Levels 1 and 2 addressing conservation of existing resources, and Levels 3, 4 and 5 addressing creation of renewable energy or capturing water.

Level five in every category also requires written sustainability policies or environmental management systems to: (1) monitor and record consumption; (2) test and apply additional conservation methods; and (3) work towards specific targets.   We require a copy of your policies if you achieve level 5 in any category.
Note: we are a small business and don’t have expensive scientists who can write reports with policies.
Our aim is having an as less as possible footprint on the environment and to practice sustainable tourism. All the buildings and activities are related to that. F.e. from it it is obvious to use daylight, there is no need for thick policy reports.  At the end of this form our view on what eco means for us.

Eco Rating Mambo View Point Energy

Levels 1 and 2 – conservation: Check all that apply:

_V__  use natural air circulation and fans, not air conditioners
_V__  use natural light during the day
_V__  minimize use of fossil-fuel powered vehicles, machines and equipment (electrical cars fe can’t stand the mountain-rough roads)
_V__  use “on demand” or solar heating for hot water
_V__  air dry clothes/linens
_V__  wash dishes by hand
_V__  use energy efficient appliances and electronics
_V__  use low wattage fluorescent light bulbs out dated, LED is far better
_V__  change linens, tablecloths, napkins upon request
_V__  switch off lights when not used don’t switch, use sensors
Other energy conservation activities? Please list:

Level 1 = four or fewer energy conservation activities

Level 2 = five or more energy conservation activities

Levels 3, 4 and 5 – renewable energy: Indicate proportion (%) of energy from each source:

_80__  solar
_5__  wind
___  hydro
_15__  generator
___  public utility
Other energy sources? Please list:
Please mind that if you use things like LED lightning the use of electricity is strongly reduced and the share of the generator becomes automatically higher even if the initial part is low.  This shows an unbalance and you can’t rate on the percentage of use anymore.
100% TOTAL
How were these proportions developed?

Level 3 = renewable energy is employed and is less than 1/3 of all energy

Level 4 = renewable energy constitutes 1/3 – 2/3 of all energy

Level 5 = renewable energy constitutes 2/3 or more of all energy.  In addition, there are written sustainability policies or environmental management systems to: (1) monitor and record energy consumption; (2) test and apply additional energy conservation methods; and (3) work towards specific energy targets.

Attach a copy of your policies if you achieve Energy Level 5 (required).

Your Energy Level (select 1 – 5) =   4

Eco Rating Mambo View Point Water

Levels 1 and 2 – conservation: Check all that apply:

_V_  low flow faucets and showerheads
_V_  low water use toilets
_V_  change linens, towels, tablecloths, and napkins upon request
_V__use table mats that can be wiped and not laundered
_V_  use biodegradable laundry detergent, dish soap and hand soap
_VV_  treat swimming pool with chlorine-free processes No swimming pool (like with us) is even better
Other water conservation activities?  Please list.

Level 1 = three or fewer water conservation activities

Level 2 = four or more water conservation activities

Levels 3, 4 and 5 – capture and treat fresh water and manage waste water. Capture water: Indicate proportion (%) of water from each source:

__100_  spring
___  river
___  rain
___  reuse gray
___  public utility
Other water sources? Please list.

100% TOTAL

Fresh water treatment: how is captured fresh water treated?
__V_  naturally.  Indicate method: charcoal, ultraviolet light, other? List:        ceramic filters
___  chemically.  List chemicals used:

Waste water management:
_V__  septic tanks
___  cesspools
___  other? List methods:

Level 3: Water is captured (from springs, rivers, rain or prior use) and constitutes less than 1/3 of water from all sources.  Water is treated chemically.  Water disposal does not minimize damage to coral reefs and rain forests

Level 4:  Captured water constitutes 1/3 to 2/3 of all water.  Water is treated naturally. Water disposal minimizes damage to coral reefs and rain forests

Level 5:  Captured water constitutes more than 2/3 of all water.  Water is treated naturally. Water disposal minimizes damage to coral reefs and rain forests.   In addition, there are written sustainability policies or environmental management systems to: (1) monitor and record water consumption; (2) test and apply additional water conservation methods; and (3) work towards specific water targets.

Attach a copy of your policies if you achieve Water Level 5 (required).

Your Water Level (select 1 – 5): 4

Eco Rating Mambo View Point Recycling and waste

Check all that apply:

_V__   use durable service items, e.g. cups, glasses, dishes, tableware, storage items
_V__   buy fresh and local to reduce packaging and emissions from transportation
_V__   purchase in bulk to reduce packaging
_V__   recycle paper, glass, plastic, aluminum
___   minimize emissions from fossil-fuel powered vehicles, machines & equipment       ??
___   zero waste in the kitchen how can that be? If you peal a potato or use a bag of rice you are left with waste. We are re-using it as far as possible, but still it is waste.
_V__   serve local water, not bottled water
__V_   cleaning products are biodegradable
_V__   compost organic matter
Other methods to recycle waste? Please list.

Level 1 = four or fewer recycling activities

Level 2 = five recycling activities

Level 3 = six recycling activities

Level 4 = seven recycling activities

Level 5 = eight or more recycling activities.  In addition, there are written sustainability policies or environmental management systems to: (1) monitor and record recycling and waste; (2) test and apply additional recycling and waste conservation methods; and (3) work towards specific recycling and waste targets.

Attach a copy of your policies if you achieve Recycling and Waste Level 5 (required).

Your Recycling and Waste Level (select 1 – 5):  4 

Eco Rating Mambo View Point Land and nature conservation

Check all that apply:

_V__   minimize maximize  tree removal when building We had very nasty trees (wattle trees) on our terrain. Those are a kind of pest, nothing else is growing anymore. It is better to replace those with natural plants and trees. After building the terrain has a far better nature value than before.
_V__   use only botanical (plant-based) herbicides & pesticides in garden & grounds
_V__   maintain organic gardens as food source for resort
_V__   use biodegradable cleaning products
_V__   minimize external illumination
_V__   take additional specific actions to preserve the local habitat.
_V_   Landscaping with native plants

Please list actions and projects:
Level 1: one or two land and nature conservation activities

Level 2: three land and nature conservation activities

Level 3: four land and nature conservation activities

Level 4: five land and nature conservation activities

Level 5: six or more land and nature conservation activities.  In addition, there are written sustainability policies or environmental management systems to: (1) monitor and record land and nature conservation activities; (2) test and apply additional land and nature conservation methods; and (3) work towards specific land and nature conservation targets.

Attach a copy of your policies if you achieve Land and Nature Conservation Level 5 (required).

Your Land and Nature Conservation Level (select 1 – 5): 4

Eco Rating Mambo View Point Community

This category addresses policies and activities regarding staff, guests, suppliers and other members of the community.

Check all activities that apply:

_V__  hire staff residing near the resort          _100__% local nationals
_V__  use local suppliers                                _80__% purchased goods produced locally
_V__  re-invest resort income locally            _100__% income re-invested locally
___  pay above local prevailing wage We think this is not right to do. It will unbalance the community we pay more salary than average around but employ workers only part-time so in the end they there is a locally average income but for more people (and families) In stead of creating a few “rich” families.
___  pay into local social security  ??
_V__  provide health insurance or coverage
_V__  use regular staff meetings to educate staff about sustainable processes throughout the resort, in the garden, with waste disposal, etc
__V_  provide educational awareness programs for staff, guests, suppliers and other members of the local community
_V__  provide sustainable transport to work for staff
__V_  take additional specific actions to support the local community. Please list actions and projects. We have many projects have a look at www.MamboViewPoint.org
___  Have enrolled your staff in any personal green training/certification schemes such as ecohelpline.com green leaf certification. Good idea, since our staff has to be trained from 0 this had no priority

Level 1: one or two community activities

Level 2: three to five community activities

Level 3: six to seven community activities

Level 4: eight to nine community activities

Level 5: ten or more community activities.  In addition, there are written sustainability policies or environmental management systems to: (1) monitor and record community activities; (2) test and apply additional methods to support the community; and (3) work towards specific community targets.

Attach a copy of your policies if you achieve Community Level 5 (required).

Your Community Level (select 1 – 5): 4

YOUR OVERALL ECO SCORE (add your level for each category and divide by 5and enter the result with the decimal point, e.g. 3.6):  4.0

We have three final questions which are not part of the eco rating: 

• Please describe your single most important eco achievement:

Using energy mainly from solar and wind power.

• Indicate additional sustainable practices that you plan to institute within the next 6 months.

Organizing training and education
Building the school toilets with composting
Capturing and using rain water
Repairing cars so they are less polluting

• Is there anything else you would like to add to this eco rating?

However we the ambition to make everything 100% ecological we have a common sense for the possible. Sometimes the last 10% takes too much money or effort to get it done. Like the use of cars. F.e. we prefer to use electrical cars with solar charging but those cars don’t perform good enough in the mountains.

Some other useful questions from other rating organizations:

• What measures are in place to protect the local (or the indigenous) population from some adverse impacts of tourism?
• Do you undertake any poverty reduction initiatives or does your operation contribute to poverty reduction?
• Noise Protection:
• Accessible by public transport?:

The MamboViewPoint vision on Ecological

MamboViewPoint is a genuine Eco lodge which means that it takes care of its environment and not that it is just situated in a Natural Park. MamboViewPoint is constructed from local materials and has a very small footprint on its environment. Electric power and water heating comes  from solar and waste is separated. The food we grow mainly biological together with local farmers.
According the vision of MamboViewPoint, eco signifies the following:
* The use of natural materials and that is, as much as possible, purchased from the direct surrounding.
* Minimal consumption of energy and predominantly use of solar and wind energy.
* Low water consumption.
* Socially and economically embedding in the region.

Extended Partnership
MamboViewPoint is functioning as a link between individual initiatives from “donors” from the rich part of the world and the inhabitants of the Usambara Mountains. The precondition for our support for these initiatives is that they should not so much be based on the principle of giving aid but rather on the intention of cooperation in equality.  MamboViewPoint will assist with framing project plans, drafting proposals and the implementation and continuity of the projects. In the implementation phase, western partners can combine their work with a comfortable stay in the Lodge. The expenses for overhead are reduced to a minimum and partners have direct insight on the way the money is spent, and the final outcome. Very many relatively minor things can imply a tremendous improvement for inhabitants of the Usambara Mountains. Small scale initiatives from individual people can effectively be guided and supported this way. And additionally, a holiday in the Usambara Mountains is a guaranty for an unforgettable natural and cultural experience.