We understand that you would like your holiday to benefit rather than impact the environment and the local community.

That is a belief we share and we work to ensure we have a good relationship with others living and working on the island, and focus on minimizing our environmental footprint.

 
 

Our connections with the community

We are happy to be part of the island community and try to use our connections and relationships to make the island a better and more environmental friendly place.

We work closely with the local villages, supporting and consulting about transportation, responsible rubbish disposal and other activities that affect the island. Where possible we buy local products and the fish that we serve in the restaurant is often bought from members of the fishing association.

The Lodge supports and assists the village school and the dispensary on the island. In case of emergency, we arrange transfers to Nosy Be.

Many of our employees are from Nosy Sakatia and our massages and babysitting services also provide work.

For the island walks, the money is split between your guide and the Association of Guides for Sakatia, which helps to support the local community.

Ways you can help

Bringing notepads, pens, pencils and crayons for the local school

Making a donation to the school or dispensary (ask our staff how to do this)

Getting involved with the local turtle project by taking and sharing photos of any turtles that you see while diving or snorkelling

Take home used batteries that we collect in the village, so they can be properly recycled

Take an island walk with one of the local guides

 

Recycling

We collect batteries from the Lodge and the local community to ensure they are recycled in proper facilities. You can help with this by taking some home with you.

We have also set up a Reef in a Bottle project, which is a way to recycle our wine bottles while providing an area to encourage the growth of new hard corals.

We are now seeing some coral growth and lots of unusual creatures in this area, from turtles to nudibranchs.

 

Sunset talks

Turtle talk at Sakatia Lodge

Our passion for the environment doesn’t just extend to building relationships and minimising our environmental impact.

We also want to share our knowledge with others.

On certain evenings our dive team runs informal sunset talks, sharing information about the marine world, covering a range of topics:

  • Turtles: test your knowledge of the different species, understand more about their lifecycle and how to identify them, and even find out how to get involved in the project to build a database of turtles in Madagascar

  • Mangroves: these amazing trees live in saltwater. Find out how they survive in that harsh environment

  • Coral reefs: is it an animal or a plant, what is bleaching and how does it happen, and how can we protect our reefs before it is too late

  • Reef fishes: learn to identify what you see when you are diving or snorkelling, and understand more about their lives from their body shapes

Ask our dive staff or at the bar to find out when the next talk will be.