On the banks of the Zambezi River, in a beautiful but remote location, about 30 kms upstream from Victoria Falls in Zambia there is a very unique safari lodge – Royal Chundu. The lodge is the brainchild of Tina Aponte who envisioned a Relais & Chateaux guest experience managed, staffed and run by Zambian locals, led by Aggie Banda. Today Royal Chundu is a community run Relais & Châteaux property, the first and only in Zambia.
Since the lodge’s opening in 2010 Tina has cultivated relationships with the surrounding villagers who traditionally were simple subsistence farmers and fishermen. Today the community supplies the lodge with all their fresh fish, fruits and vegetables. This has created a steady income for the villagers and a means for them to educate their children and even send them on to university.
Royal Chundu reinvests its profits into the community. It has built a medical clinic and a school. They have a seed program whereby seed is donated to the farmers who in turn sell their produce to the lodge at market prices.
Royal Chundu has a training program for the young men and women graduating from high school. They are taught hospitality skills (chefs, wait staff, housekeepers, guides) that they can use to find employment in the industry. Many have gone on to become professionals like doctors, lawyers and engineers. Today, 100% of the management and staff (except for Tina) are Zambians.
In 2020 when Covid decimated the industry, Tina and Aggie launched a company called Zambezi Joy Society. Zambezi Joy Society’s heart is wrapped in the most boisterous and beautiful chitenge, the name Zambians give to the bold, bright, and blissful fabric used in their products.
Worn by women traditionally as a sign of respect, chitenge is wrapped around the waist, chest, over the head as a headscarf, or even as the most snuggly baby sling. Zambian women also use this fabric to make beautiful outfits which are used for celebratory occasions.
The spectacular spectrum of colors and sometimes discombobulating designs on the fabric were originally made using traditional techniques, and have evolved to include more modern practices. The ladies manning the sewing machines and the men carving the artifacts are all from the local villages. They have found steady incomes from this amazing project.
The impact from this community involvement is the immediate upliftment of the people who live right beside the lodge – and the families that rely on them. Everyone is invested in the lodge and rather than being a place to work, the lodge is something they are entwined with, in heart and soul. The lodge has a uniquely, proudly and distinctive Zambian flavour, look, sound and feel. It is found in the food, in the colors and patterns, in their words and smiles, in the stories and music and dance.
If you have travelled with Mushinda in recent months you may have received the colorful packing cubes made exclusively for our clients by the ladies of the Zambezi Joy Society.
In November my husband and I visited Royal Chunda as it had been several years since my last visit. We can safely state that Tina has clearly met her goals. This is a fabulous lodge in a most unique setting. What is most remarkable is that it has achieved the coveted Relais Chateaux award with a staff made up entirely of local villagers who (under Tina and Aggie’s guidance) have risen through the ranks to become the absolute best in their chosen professions. Watch this video.
Tina states “Instead of having a high street experience we want to have that local flavor and feel, but to do that you actually have to educate and empower the people. And that’s what we’ve done.” About 70% of the fees that guests of Royal Chundu pay are funnelled back into the local communities.
At Royal Chundu, the villagers not only provide, but also run, support, drive and benefit from the lodge. This is a community-run lodge, one of very few of its kind in Africa. It’s a model that is creating massive positive change across Africa.
DID YOU KNOW?
You have all heard of the “Big Five”. Elephant, Buffalo, Rhinoceros, Lion and Leopard. Did you know there is also a “Little Five”?
They are the Elephant shrew, the red-billed Buffalo weaver, the Rhino beetle, the Antlion and the Leopard tortoise.
