Wolwedans
NAMIBRAND NATURE RESERVE, NAMIBIA
WOLWEDANS
Eco Lodges
Since december 2011
Since November 2011
Stephan Brückner built Wolwedans in 1995 with four canvas tents and no map to follow. His father, Albi, had established the NamibRand Nature Reserve in the 1980s, and Wolwedans existed for one reason: to help pay for it. There were no benchmarks in Namibian tourism at the time, no competitors to study, no market trends to lean on. Stephan calls it starting on a blank canvas.
And yet in 2011, by making sustainability the heart and soul of who they are, the Wolwedans team earned the prestigious Global Ecosphere Retreat® certification.
Three decades on, that founding instinct, profit as a by-product rather than a purpose, has grown into five camps spread across 200,000 hectares of protected desert, and a training academy that has put close to 250 young Namibians through hospitality and culinary careers. It has also produced a philosophy that asks guests to do what its founders did from the start: slow down, and pay attention. "Wolwedans wants guests to go slow, and disconnect to reconnect," Stephan says, "with themselves, with nature, and with humankind.”
Wolwedans 4C Commitments
CONSERVATION
Wolwedans has planted over 200 trees as part of its ‘Adopt a Tree’ programme.
Over 2500 km of farming fences have been taken down and truckloads of old scrap have been removed as part of a huge landscape restoration effort.
COMMUNITY
Employs an all-Namibian team and trains the next generation through the Hospitality Training School, the Desert Academy.
All visitors are invited to the Wolwedans' "back-of-house" operations tour in the spirit of transparency and raising awareness.
CULTURE
A strong internal culture is prioritised by generating a sense of community among employees, and continually improving living conditions. For example, employee accommodation has been rebuilt.
Sharing and celebrating local lore and traditional practices of the Namib desert with guests during immersive walks with local guides.
COMMERCE
Ambitious targets set out in the AridEden Project to direct and progressively drive a sustainability mission.
80% of the water used at the Wolwedans Village is recovered and treated for reuse through a central wastewater treatment plant.
Wolwedans Highlights
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Step out on a guided walk across the NamibRand and the desert stops being scenery. Local guides share the lore, plant knowledge and everyday practices that have shaped this landscape for generations.
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A vegetable garden tucked into the desert supplies each of the lodges with fresh, home-grown produce
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New staff housing was built with one brief: make it a genuinely good place to live. It's part of a wider push to put employee wellbeing on equal footing with guest experience.
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Old farm fencing and decades of scrap infrastructure have been stripped from the land, reopening migration routes and letting the Pro-Namib begin to heal.
