Gangga Island Resort & Spa is located on the island of Gangga, off the coast of Manado, North Sulawesi. There are just 2 villages on Gangga Island, Gangga I and Gangga II, with a population of just over 40,000. In these villages there are 3 government and 3 private schools that take students from Kindergarten all the way through Senior High School.

As the only resort on this small island, Gangga Island Resort takes great pride in the social initiatives that they have been running for many years now. We employ around 60% local staff and actively help to improve the health, education and skill development of the people of the island.

Gangga Island’s Schools

Over the past years we have helped with the renovation of one of the private schools and also built a kindergarten. Now we pay the salaries for the kindergarten teachers and all kindergarten students’ fees.

To help those who struggle to pay school fees Gangga Island Resort also awards scholarships for poor families and single parents to encourage them to keep their children in school.

These initiatives are paid for with a portion of the profits from the resort, but there are also voluntary donation envelopes in each room. The community development & education programs run with these donations are explained to the guests upon arrival, and if they feel like giving to a worthy cause they can leave a little something in the envelope. Donations from guests are mostly used to buy school materials like paper, pencils and books.

Environmental Programs at Gangga Island

Apart from these school programs, Gangga Island Resort’s management also spends time creating awareness and educating the locals on Gangga and nearby islands on the importance of protecting marine habitats. Not too many years ago locals were still fishing with explosives, which brought in large catches but destroyed the reefs. There has also been a serious issue with rubbish disposal, as is a problem all over Indonesia.

To combat these problems, the resort now employs sea gardeners in the village that help with activities like ocean and beach clean ups. Getting the community involved is so very important. This empowers the people and also ensures sustainability for their island home and the tourist industry.

We also take the regeneration of the reef seriously and have made some incredible progress with the Biorock program, which was initiated in 2015. If you’d like to learn more about how Biorock is bringing healthy coral and marine life back to the island please click HERE.

Making a Change by Staying at Gangga Island Resort

So, you can see staying at Gangga Island Resort & Spa is much more than just taking a wonderful holiday. The social initiatives run by the resort actual make changes to the lives of the local islanders and the health of the environment. Without tourists staying in the resort the standard of education and the wealth of incredible marine life wouldn’t be as it is now.

When you choose a resort is it important for you to choose somewhere with social and environmental initiatives like this? Leave us a comment below to tell us why (or why not).