Sustainable Conservation
CONSERVATION
Zawadi is a family-run business in South Africa and has been supporting wildlife conservation for many years.
Having been born and raised in Kenya, wildlife is close to our hearts.
In 2014, due to our love of wildlife, we purchased a lodge in the Gondwana Game Reserve on the Garden Route outside the town of Mossel Bay. The GCF (Gondwana Conservation Foundation) is based there, and we have got to know the directors well and the incredible work they do.
At the first homeowners’ AGM that we attended in Gondwana in 2015, we proposed a fundraising auction and donated one of our bronze sculptures, a small rhino, to raise funds for the Gondwana Conservation Foundation. This was the start of fun-filled and successful auction evenings which are now held annually. Our contributions have steadily become more meaningful over the years and other donors have now also come forward adding even more to these fundraising events.
ONE OF THE GCF’S GOALS IS TO EXPOSE OVER 200 CHILDREN PER YEAR TO ACTIVE CONSERVATION PROJECTS.
To see all the areas that the GCF is involved in please visit their website: www.gondwanacf.org
In 2019, we were asked if we could donate one of our pieces for an auction to be held at the premises of the Royal Geographical Society in London. The beneficiaries were the Tikki Hywood Foundation and the GCF.
We decided to donate our large life-size silvered bronze cheetah, which was then personally taken to London as ‘luggage’ by a fellow Gondwana homeowner, who was also instrumental in organising the auction. This auction was held simultaneously online as well and together with various other donations, raised much-needed funds.
Zawadi continues to donate accent pieces of their collection on a regular basis to help raise funds for various conservation groups at auctions or other functions.
CHARITY WORK
We have a long track record of supporting charities going back to 2004 when we started supporting CHOC in Johannesburg. This was tied up with an international organisation named Cowparade, for which we were appointed the South African agents.
We offered to donate a further percentage of the sales of the collectable ceramic cows to CHOC, who Cowparade had chosen as the beneficiary charity in South Africa. We were told by Cowparade that none of their agents had ever done this before – Zawadi was the first agent to offer this additional funding.
In 2008 we decided to allocate a percentage of sales of another range of ours to the charity OPERATION HUNGER.
FAIR EMPLOYMENT
Zawadi prides itself in paying our staff salaries above the average remuneration levels in the industry we operate in. We operate 40 hours per week, as opposed to the 45 hours per week that our industry applies, and annual salary increases have always been above the official inflation rate.
In addition to salaries and wages, incentive bonuses are paid on a regular basis.
All staff members are registered with the UIF (Unemployment Insurance Fund) and contributions are duly paid by Zawadi.
Zawadi believes in upskilling its staff and send them on training courses. We regularly have experts in banking and related matters come and give advice to our staff on how to manage their finances and plan for their future.
Many of our staff members have been with Zawadi for well over 10 years.
SUSTAINABILITY
In 2013 we realised the importance of LED lighting in achieving energy efficiency. South Africa was at the initial stages of manufacturing this technology locally but was not able to meet demand. We therefore decided to import LED globes and started raising awareness of the benefits of this technology. We offered our customers free LED globes when placing orders, which also helped our sales, a typical case of a win-win. This offer became popular, but we had to end it after a few years as high import duties were applied, to protect the local manufacturers.
Our factory and offices are fully fitted with low-energy LED lights. The cost of replacing the old globes was recovered in a relatively short time due to the savings we achieved. In 2023 we installed a large solar power and battery system at our factory, which generates enough power for our total usage. We are constantly advising people to do the same, as this not only reduces the carbon footprint in generating electricity, but makes economic sense as well !
MATERIALS
Zawadi does not stock any items made of plastic. This decision was initially made in 1996 because we wanted to offer our customers a range of higher-quality products. Having seen the damage that plastic is causing, we are actively trying to eliminate it everywhere possible, including our packaging.
Our new designs replace traditional materials such as hardwoods (that deplete our natural resources.), with recycled and recyclable materials.
NATURE IS NOT A PLACE TO VISIT. IT IS HOME.
Gary Snyder