Towards sunset we met up with one of the founders of Calabash Tours, Paul Miedema, for an ice cold beer or two and dinner at KweKwe’s Shebeen.
Paul and his wife Thandi, together with Marion Gate, started the business in 1997. In 2004, four of their products were accredited by FTTSA: – both the Real City and the Shebeen Tours, and two of their volunteer projects – Community Care and School Support. Through Paul, FTTSA also created a set of good practice criteria for “˜voluntour’ programmes throughout the country.
I asked Paul about the auditing process through which Calabash goes every 18 months in order to keep their accreditation.
“It’s a mission!” he laughs, taking a long pull at his beer. “When Lisa Scriven (FTTSA’s current auditor) visits she stays for two days – she interviews our staff and interacts with those community members involved. We have to give her everything in writing – staff contracts and other documentation. But it actually provides us with the motivation to keep good governance in-house – we constantly need to ask ourselves if we are being fair; if what we are doing is sustainable”
Kat from FTTSA explains: “With companies like Calabash on the ground, dealing with the realities of trying to run a business to our standards, we learn what works and what doesn’t.”
Paul continues, “The whole FTTSA process gave us the language of sustainability – from the beginning we wanted to run our company ethically in all aspects and FTTSA helps us to continually achieve that. It also gives us credibility, and yes, there are marketing benefits but those are secondary to ensuring good practice.”
Coming back with another round, Monga puts in his opinion: “People in the community do notice a difference between us and some of the other Township Tour companies. They know they can trust us and that we honour our agreements with them.”
As we head inside for a delicious chicken dinner, Paul finishes the “˜shop talk’ with the following: “We try to build long, deep relationships with service providers, and we help them to get up to the standard that tourists expect.”
As with all FTTSA affiliated businesses, Calabash Tours strives to create sustainable projects that can be run for the community, by the community. This is why their motto “˜At the heart of responsible tourism’, rings true.
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