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AMSWELL MAPP age 14

Amswell’s family is dependent on fishing, however over-fishing in Tobago has led to a drop in family incomes of up to 40%. Amswell is now learning about fish farming at his school. He learns how to farm freshwater tilapia, which are herbivores/vegetarian – so they don’t need to be fed wild caught fish. The fish farmed at the school are being sold to hotels and restaurants in the area, providing the school with additional income for books and other materials as well as helping to maintain the reef’s fish stocks. Over the next two years the project aims to supply 20% of the fish eaten in local hotels and restaurants.

community by buying all fruit, vegetables and toiletries locally. With the assistance from Kasbah Tamadot the local village has also installed a well and an electricity supply. Kasbah Tamadot and Virgin Unite work hand in hand to help people from the local communities set up sustainable enterprises such as a carpet workshop and a craft house which are both run and managed by locals .

At Ulusaba Private Game Reserve in South Africa 100% of the staff are from South Africa. The property founded Pride ‘n’ Purpose, a charity that supports the local community and with the help of Virgin Unite, has done extensive work for the local communities . Ulusaba buys 99% of its food from South Africa including crafts, toiletries, wine, linen and towels. The nearby community provides supplies equivalent to at least 10% of the property’s total expenditure.

Environmental impacts

Virgin Holidays and Virgin Limited Edition want to ensure that their presence does not lead to the degradation of local environments or cultures.

Virgin Holidays’ vision is to create a great holiday experience that has minimal impact and maximum benefit for local people and communities. It is working to reduce the

environmental impact of the hotels in its portfolio by supporting the Travelife Sustainability Award scheme8

. Using this system, hotels are

audited and rewarded with Bronze, Silver, or Gold awards according to their sustainability performance, and recommendations are made on how to improve. Measures include energy, water and waste management, conservation and biodiversity, treating people fairly, choice of suppliers, benefiting communities and vulnerable groups, and staff and customer engagement. At the moment 43% of Virgin Holidays’ customers stay at an audited hotel .

Virgin Holidays provides staff and customers with information on the importance of environmental issues while encouraging them to act responsibly and offset the carbon emissions generated by their holidays9

. This information is sent with

tickets, and is included in resort guides and hotel books. The Travelife scheme also provides customers with the sustainability credentials of hotels so they can factor this into their holiday choice. Virgin also invests the profits and dividends from its holidays and transport businesses in a number of renewable energy and resource efficiency ventures through initiatives such as the Virgin Green Fund and Carbon War Room (for more information see the Virgin Green Fund page 49 and Carbon War Room page 76).

Travelife

Virgin Holidays target:

For all its top tier suppliers to be Travelife award winners by 2012.

is a scheme set up by the Federation of Tour Operators and supported by the EU, to encourage sustainability in tourism. Its principal function is to audit tourism business for sustainability, reward those taking action and drive improvements across the industry.

For more information see

www.its4travel.com

This effort is

spearheaded by Eve Branson. The Eve Branson Foundation aims to help the local people in the long term by setting up sustainable enterprises.

160 audits have been completed worldwide, with 44 Travelife Bronze, Silver and Gold award winners.

Pride ‘n Purpose*

organises trips for guests to the local area around Ulusaba Private Game Reserve in South Africa. All proceeds are directed back into the community and so far the charity has:

• drilled an extra bore hole

• installed two water pumps

• part-funded the new Bhubezi clinic for the communities around the game reserve

• built two homes that house orphaned and vulnerable children

• established two crèches, another eco- crèche and a day care centre

• repaired a school roof

(*Pride ‘n Purpose is jointly funded by Virgin Limited Edition and Virgin Unite)

8. Its4travel.com

9. The Air Travel CO2 calculator at climatecare.org

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