Mashovhela Lodge in the Soutpansberg Mountains of the Limpopo Province in South Africa has once again been recognised for its Responsible Tourism by receiving an Imvelo Award in the sub-category, Best Single Resource Management Programme – Energy.

The aim of the category is to recognise businesses that have made a particular effort to reduce and manage their energy consumption through practical and sustainable activities.

The Imvelo awards are in line with the responsible tourism guidelines for the South African hospitality industry and the UN World Tourism Organisation’s code of ethics, and are supported by the Heritage Environmental Rating Programme.

The owner, Dr Hans Hahn states “We have never been attached to Eskom's power-grid and the lodge runs on alternative, renewable and sustainable energy.”

“Our hot water is heated by solar energy, supplemented by (eucalyptus) wood-fired boilers. For electricity we rely on photovoltaic solar energy, supplemented by diesel generators. It is intended to eventually run our diesel generators on bio-diesel and wood gas produced from combustible biomass,” Hahn adds

Mashovhela Lodge has already been awarded a Gold Leaf by the Wilderness Foundation Green Leaf Standard for its eco-tourism practices as well as the South African Tourism Welcome Award for the Best Lodge in South Africa for 2009/2010.

Peter Morrison, Marketing Manager for Mashovhela Lodge says “With the global concerns about the environment it is wonderful to be associated with a company that has minimised its carbon footprint as much as Mashovhela Lodge has. All the details on how this has been achieved are outlined on our website, www.mashovhela.com ”