Our drinking glasses on Mumbo are made from the wine bottles used on the island. Lately our island staff have learned how to make these glasses. During the quiet hours of the day, they make the glasses by tying a strip of linya (recycled strips of car tire) around the bottle and then heating it up by causing friction as two guys pull on it. They then splash the heated area with cold water and the bottle breaks cleanly. The edge is then finely sanded. We pay the guys for each glass made and either use them on the island, or sell them in our shop and to other lodges on the beach. How is that for true recycling? (Full story below)

Unlike many upmarket lodges throughout Africa, where the emphasis is on spending vast amounts of money on interior designers and first world finishes, on Mumbo we have used only locally made decor. All the cushions are covered in local chitenjes, the cane chairs and beds were made in Malawi, the wooden bedside cupboards were made by our workshop and the mats in the tents are woven by communities nearby. The large wooden tables and basins in the bathrooms and dining area were carved in our workshops from gum trees (not indigenous) that were felled during road works and left at the side of the road. And our glasses are made from the wine bottles used on the island.

Lately our island staff have learned how to make these glasses. During the quiet hours of the day, they make the glasses by tying a strip of linya (recycled strips of car tire) around the bottle and then heating it up by causing friction as two guys pull on it. They then splash the heated area with cold water and the bottle breaks cleanly. The edge is then finely sanded. We pay the guys for each glass made and either use them on the island, or sell them in our shop and to other lodges on the beach. How is that for true recycling?