Louis Trichardt Accommodation | Soutpansberg | Venda Culture

Education forms the backbone of our Responsible Tourism policy from training of the local community members in different skills and environmental awareness to educating our guests in socio-ecological and environmental practices.

Guests visiting the lodge will automatically become aware of our ongoing eco-tourism efforts and unobtrusively they will become educated in eco-friendly living, conservation, caring for the environment and socio-economic problems of the Venda people, whilst enjoying the spectacular mountains and nature surrounding them. Special interest programs, in Venda culture, photography and botany give our guests the option to gain more knowledge in these fields.

The majority of the staff at the lodge are from the local community that we have trained for their respective positions. Continuous training ensures that they develop further skills making promotions available to them. With construction completed we have started training, through our qualified Venda guide, some of the building team, who are now out of work, to become guides for the Lodge or at other destinations.

For positions such as chef, where skilled people have not been found in the local community or in Venda we have employed a qualified chef that will not only be responsible for the fine pan-African cuisine but to train certain members of the local community in this skill. This attitude is being extended to other positions with the ultimate goal of utilizing the lodge as a "hospitality school" for the local communities.

Our advanced eco-friendly management of the reserve and lodge has been recognized as a step forward in solving the world's energy crisis and our equipment and systems are already being utilized in the local community and other areas of South Africa. We are available to show and train people globally in this field.

Louis Trichardt Accommodation | Soutpansberg | Venda Culture