Club Makokola

Tourism nowadays has been brought to a completely different level. Individuals do no longer seek for luxurious hotels with pools and anything else that one can think of, but people have become more interested in truly discovering the beauty of nature and that of the culture of the place and the community that one is visiting. This is what it is called ecotourism or sustainable tourism. Visitors are lodged in environment friendly accommodations, usually even within the community they are visiting. This page is more about the Makokola retreat, one of the examples that community tourism is the answer to better and more interesting tourism. The Makokola retreat club has been built while having in mind a strong commitment and dedication to the conservation and to the community. The business was developed a long time ago and it was established as a family business. The aim of the entrepreneurs was to get the community involved and to transform it into one of the main stakeholders of the Makokola retreat. The community answered quite quickly to the challenge and this is how this retreat in Malawi has been flourishing ever since it was first established. There is an estimated 300 families who benefit from the sustainability of the activities that are provided by the Makokola retreat.

Makokola was built with the help of the villagers whom were trained and who contributed in different ways to what has nowadays become the retreat. The villagers proved to have the inspiration and determination needed to provide the visitors with experiences that they will not forget any time soon. They contributed to the development of projects involving embroidery, fabric painting, wood crafts, and recycled glass artwork and so on. This retreat is thus the proof that sustainable tourism is the answer for a better experience from the visitor's point of view and for better chances for development as far as the community is concerned.