Ecolodge Casa das Garças

A center for research and responsible tourism

Ibo island, Quirimbas National Park, Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique
2015—2018
GFA 1000 sqm
Beneficiaries Quirimbas National Park and Ibo community
Partner Istituto Oikos onlus
Funds Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Among its numerous objectives, the PHARO project (2014-2018) aimed at the economic development of Quirimbas archipelago through the improvement of responsible tourism. Quirimbas is a marginalized area in the North of Mozambique, featured by an extraordinary value in terms of biodiversity. The ecolodge Casa das Garças is located in Ibo, an island of the archipelago. Further, Casa das Garças is part of PHARO project, and it aims at properly representing the worth of local culture and natural resources. The peculiarities and the difficulties of the island context have become an opportunity to develop sustainable and integrated building solutions, as well as to use local resources without exploiting them (as coral stone, bamboo, mangal, coconut wood, coconut fibers, and lime) .

Casa Das Garças is an ecolodge hosting tourists and researchers. It was built revisiting and improving local techniques –as makuti and pao pique–according to principles of sustainability and innovation. 40 members of the local community –both men and women– were trained during the construction process as well as for the furniture design and production phase. Simple but effective sustainable and bioclimatic principles, as passive free cooling, rainwater harvesting and use of solar energy were implemented.