2008 was Tswalu’s 3rd year of Fair Trade in Tourism certification and in October 2008 we were visited by an independent assessor, to review Tswalu’s compliance with FTTSA principles and criteria. We were thrilled to see an overall improvement on score, up 9% since the 2006 evaluation.

Some areas we really excelled in were 100% scores in fulfilling all legal and general requirements; our compliance with all applicable South African legislation is excellent!   A 100% score recognising our commitment to outstanding Human Resource practices and a 100% scores in our tackling of HIV/Aids and related issues. Tswalu continues to demonstrate great commitment towards managing HIV and AIDS in the workplace, in relation to prevention and assisting infected or affected staff.  Ongoing staff education is provided via the onsite health clinic and the ICAS employee assistance programme which is available to all Tswalu staff and their families.  All Tswalu staff has access to medical insurance,  on site accommodation, nursery schooling for staff children, and an ABET learning centre available to all staff.

Other areas that showed top scores were an excellent commitment to fair labour standards in line with SA labour legislation, an increased staff involvement in procurement decisions and admirable assistance to local suppliers and local entrepreneurs in establishing their own businesses.  Tswalu displayed a superb use of local suppliers and this despite our remote location!

Tswalu continues to score high in financial investment in ongoing social and community projects and in excellent environmental management practices, with all staff and guests receiving ongoing systematic environmental management education and awareness. Our operational measures in place targeting energy and water savings, waste minimisation and biodiversity preservation were also applauded.