Situated in the scenic village of Nqileni, overlooking the Indian Ocean with its ancient forests and rolling hills speckled with colourful huts, Bulungula Lodge celebrates two decades of successful community-driven tourism along the rural Eastern Cape coast.
At the end of 2002, after a two-week exploratory walk along the Wild Coast, Dave Martin discovered an abandoned fishing lodge at the Bulungula River mouth. This discovery led to a meeting with the community, and the agreement to transform the site into a community-run tourist business together. The goal was ambitious: to use tourism as a tool for rural development, reinvesting the Lodge’s profits back into the community.
After two years of detailed negotiations, the project received the green light, and construction began on May 2, 2004. Using local skills and techniques, 40 community members worked on a weekly rotational basis so that everyone had a chance to earn an income and participate in building the Lodge. Remarkably, the building was completed in just three months and Bulungula Lodge was open for business.
Unlike luxury lodges with strict employee qualification requirements that often limit local job opportunities to menial tasks, Bulungula Lodge employs 100% of its staff from the community. Staff are selected by the community to ensure jobs go to those who need them most, such as widows, and to ensure fair distribution among our village’s clans and families. The Lodge is entirely community-owned, with profits managed by the Nqileni Community Trust to improve village life. These profits have been used to purchase a large tent for ceremonies, a tractor and a trailer to boost farming and assist with hut-building materials.
Since opening, Bulungula Lodge has welcomed over 130,000 guests, which provides an authentic experience of rural Xhosa life. Visitors are embraced by the rhythm of village life, sharing in the vibrant culture and stunning natural beauty of our area. The authenticity is a direct result of the Lodge’s community ownership.
The 20th-anniversary celebration was a heartfelt event. Community members reflected on the Lodge’s journey to becoming a leader in sustainable tourism. Many stories of trust and perseverance were shared, highlighting the Lodge’s role as a catalyst for greater development initiatives in our community like creating a road in the community, and launching the Bulungula Incubator, the many tried and whimsical car/transport ideas (who remembers the hovercraft? 😀) which has now resulted in our solar-powered shuttle. In our community, Bulungula Lodge is viewed as the “mother” that has birthed and nurtured tremendous growth over the last 20 years.
The success of Bulungula Lodge is a powerful reminder of what can be achieved through cohesive and dedicated community effort. The inevitable challenges of running a tourist business have been met with determination and unity. We are incredibly proud of how the Lodge has evolved over the past twenty years. It is a source of joy, tranquillity, connection and inspiration for our community and guests from around the world.
Do you have a Bulungula story? We’d love to hear it! Please share your stories, pictures, or videos of special Bulungula moments with us at info@bulungulaincubator
