Mountain Manor Guesthouse and Executive Suites, situated on the lower slopes of Table Mountain, just above the
hustle and bustle of Cape Town city.We constantly strive to develop and be part of the current conversations around responsible and sustainable tourism.
In our small way we do the following.

Water: We consider ourselves to be a water-wise establishment. We have filters in all of our taps to soften the force
and lessen the amount of water flow. We also have buckets available in all of the rooms so that you can catch your
excess shower water which we will then use in the gardens to water our plants.
We have a small face basin in the handbasin so you can run the amount of water you need for brushing your teeth and
washing your face without leaving the tap flowing.
We also have water tanks outside connected to our gutters to harvest rainwater for watering our gardens.
We also offer and add to water solution for guests wishing to have non-chlorinated water. We do this in the way of an
Air to Water machine which filters the air, condenses and filtrates to beautiful soft drinking water.

Food and trees:We love the fact that our properties are surrounded by trees as this keeps the city noises away and protects us from the
winds.We recycle our food by that we mean we collect the seeds from the fruits and vegetables that we serve for breakfasts
and lunches, and we plant them and regenerate the fruits and vegetables.
We also compost everything biodegradable and have a wonderful earthworm garden going in our compost area. We
save our eggshells and crush them into fine powder to add calcium to our soils. Our banana skins are soaked in water to
dissolve the nutrients and the whole package is added to our composting soils as well.
We propagate our plants and are in the process of creating a nursery at the property for resale into the community. For
this we have employed a previously disadvantaged person and are helping him develop a small business.
We source our fruit and vegetables from a community garden based just down the road, which employs homeless
people, thus giving them income.

Carbon emissions: Because of where we are situated, it is walking distance to many of the tourist attractions and hired cars are not
encouraged. This clearly assists in less traffic and mobilising our community taxi’s, Ubers and tourist transports that are
available for local employment.

Single use plastics: We try our best to avoid single-use plastics so as to contribute to current conversations.

Souvenirs:South Africa has a list of endangered fauna and flora and it is best not to support the use of these products in gifts and
souvenirs.
http://redlist.sanbi.org/stats.php – to find the red list of endangered plants.

Eating out: Seafood – http://www.fishthesea.co.za/fwfish/endangeredspecies.htm – It is wise not to order these foods when eating
out as soon these species will be extinct.

Fairtrade: We support Fairtrade. This means the trade between companies in developed countries and producers in
developing countries in which fair prices are paid to the producers.
“supporters believe that fair trade is making a significant positive impact in the world”
While most (96%) Fairtrade products are agricultural goods, such as coffee, cocoa, bananas, cotton, sugar and flowers,
they include clothing, cosmetics and beauty products, gold and consumable goods, such as soft drinks, wine and ice
cream.

Blue Flag Beaches: Cape Town has for many years boasted the most Blue Flag beaches with full status in South Africa. Popular beaches that
have  Blue Flag status – Bikini Beach, Camp’s Bay, Clifton fourth beach, Fish Hoek, Llandudno, For the full list, please visit

Host Cultures: South Africa is a very diverse country with many different cultures. It is important to learn some of the basic body
language meanings as they differ from culture to culture. For example in the African Xhosa culture it is rude to look
somebody in the eyes. One should be aware of this when you have a waiter or waitress who is from a Xhosa tribe.

Human rights and labour laws: We work to the national guidelines for labour laws and pricing and try to uplift our staff and engage with the
community as much as possible.
Projects we are involved in:
For those that wish to donate we have various programs in place and a small donation can go a far away.
1. We have a basket downstairs for excess clothing or shoes which we pass on to a young African woman who
then sells them to get money to feed her children.
2. We often do donations for food within the community or at our local stores to be able to pass on to the
homeless organisations in the city.
3. We work closely with many NPO organisations in the city and do collection drives when required, for example
we collected for Anchored Lives NPO, an entrepreneurial training programme, gas bottle and hot plates,
sewing machines for woman on the street who were having to prostitute to pay their children’s bills. They
have now been put into employment making gifts and clothing and thus not having to prostitute their bodies.
4. We have our own NPO called the Growing Sports Foundation Trust which offers sports into the currently
disadvantaged schools mainly in District six.
5. Through this we are very involved in the local disadvantaged schools educational side and we offer a large
support base for them to access funding, networks, programs and training to mainly primary and high school
children.
6. We host pop-up restaurant evenings at the Guest House in our outdoor spaces so that Covid concerned guests
can feel safe from the virus. In this way we engage with local chefs that who are out of work and are able to
create an employment opportunity and an offering to guests and the community.
7. All during COVID – we have housed a “homeless” project at our BackPackers lodge – housing 31+ people who
have had nowhere to go other than the streets. In this time, 87% have found jobs and are paying to stay in the
Lodge.

Local attractions:
We try to recommend local tour guides who are reliable and informative about what Cape Town has to offer as well as
recommend authentic experiences that will make your visit to Cape Town a memorable occasion.
Interns and Volunteers:
We engage closely with a company called Intern Cape Town who specialises in bringing in Interns to do volunteer work
in corporate companies and in NPO’s in South Africa. https://interncapetown.com – Rebecca Cameron is the owner –
info@interncapetown.com

Safety in Cape Town:
We are on-hand to advise you where is safe to walk and how to commute safely. As in any major city in the world, one
needs to be vigilant when moving around the city.
Here’s hoping you wish to engage further with us for your accommodation and an authentic stay in Cape Town, and
further conversations around relevant, current trends.

www.mountainmanor.co.za
info@mountainmanor.co.za
+27 21 461 7200
+27 083 274 8682