Despite some laudable examples of large companies supporting sustainable development projects in the Sinai, isn't what is really needed a larger public plan, asks Amira El-Naqeeb The term "sustainability" has long carried a lot of baggage with it, especially for business leaders and large corporations, for which it means the possibility of making profits while at the same time helping society to develop. Sustainability thus has come to mean that everyone can be a winner. However, if sustainability has sometimes sounded only like a dream, today this dream is giving way to a sophisticated understanding that good environmental and social practices can yield strategic advantages in the interconnected world of business and community services. In Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, for example, hundreds of hotels flourish on tourism, and for these businesses putting something back into the community has become a necessity rather than just a luxury. Some hotels have sustainable development plans, while others improvise on the spot. According to Gamal Hassan, manager of the Mercure Dahab Bay View hotel, one of the hotel chain's core philosophies is to play a role in the world in which it operates. The owner, Accor, is one of the leading players in the world tourism industry, running some 4,200 hotels and resorts in almost 140 countries. As an environmentally conscious company, Accor hosts an Earth Guest Day in its hotels every 22 April. On this day, Accor staff, along with guests, dedicate time to serving the environment. According to Hassan, activities carried out at his hotel range from removing garbage from the streets and taking volunteer divers to clean the sea and reef to increasing greenery through helping guests plant a tree that they can then put their names on. Every Accor hotel has its own Earth Guest Day, but last year's was particularly special for Accor Egypt, since it saw the inauguration of a well for the local Bedouin. Although financial contributions came from across Accor Egypt, the well was the brainchild of Coralia Club Dahab, which adopted the initiative and followed up on implementation. Located 300 metres from Dahab checkpoint in the direction of Nuweiba, the well is easily seen, having two white containers on top and a big sign. It is 100 metres deep and has a concrete chamber in the ground that can hold up to 25 cubic metres of water. According to engineer Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, who supervised the operation, the well's location has several advantages. Since it is close to the checkpoint, the well is under constant surveillance, and it is easily accessible from the main road. Perhaps most important of all, the well is estimated to contain enough water to last up to 20 years. The construction team building the well faced problems, Abdel-Aziz said, since the soil is rocky and difficult to dig. The water itself is deep below ground level, and so far the well water is only available for irrigation due to the high quantities of dissolved solids that it contains. Plans are now afoot to build a desalination plant for potable water, Hassan said. Sheikh Moussa of the Al-Maziena tribe, one of the Bedouin living in the vicinity of the well, said that it had saved them both time and money. The Al-Maziena is the main tribe in Dahab, centred in Mashraba, Asla and Zarnouq. "We used to go to Beer Saghier [small well], which is 55km from Dahab, to buy water that cost LE6 for 60 litres. We still go all the way to St Catherine's to buy water for LE10 since this contains fewer dissolved particles," Sheikh Moussa said. Yet, despite its importance to the surrounding community and to the Bedouin, the hotel's project was not without its share of difficulties. "Sinai is a sensitive area because of its strategic location, so even goodwill projects have to be authorised by the relevant authorities," Hassan explained. An expert from the Ministry of Water Resources advised carrying out surveys to choose the best location for the well, and experts were available at the time the well was dug. The surveys cost around LE30,000, Abdel-Aziz saying that three different locations were looked into before this one was chosen. Cost estimates for the project were, however, exceeded, and when asked about Accor's contribution Hassan explained that the chain "has more than 4,500 rooms across Egypt, and what we have done is to dedicate part of the revenue from these rooms from the beginning of April to 22 April to the project we are helping to support. Occupancy rate is around 80 per cent at that time, and the money is put into a separate project account." Not to be outdone, Marriott Hotels and Resorts are also helping to develop the community. Employees of Marriott Hurghada contributed financially to some 10 low-income families living in Hurghada, for example, and though the company itself did not contribute financially it did give moral support to the initiative. Hassan Hosni, accounts manager at Marriott Hurghada, started the Marriott project with friends, his aim being to sponsor under-privileged families that he knew deserved help. Sameh El-Garf, the hotel's general manager, was particularly interested in helping orphans, and when Hosni mentioned that he was supporting some of the local families with friends, El-Garf urged that word be spread within the company. Hosni wrote an article in the Marriott Magazine, which contains news and events for Marriott staff, explaining that he had visited 10 needy families in the area and was raising funds for them. "I did my research with the help of a sheikh from the area, who knew all the people," Hosni explained, and in his article Hosni urged fellow staff members to donate whatever they thought they could afford. That was some three years ago, and donations have been steadily rising. A fixed amount is given to each family each month, with extra money being made available for exceptional costs, such as school fees, school uniforms or food in Ramadan. On Orphan's Day, the Marriott hosts the orphans and gives them a special recreational day. The Marriott Taba hotel also has a community project, this time educating Bedouin who don't have the opportunity to go to school. According to Marriott Taba Human Resources Manager Ibrahim Abdel-Motaleb, he used his connections with the heads of the local Gedaan tribe, the main tribe that inhabits the Taba Heights region, since he knew that some families could not send their children to school. "The schools are in Nuweiba, and many families refuse to send their children that distance by themselves. Bedouin society is a conservative society, with many traditions and customs," Abdel-Motaleb explained. One night in Ramadan three years ago, Abdel-Motaleb had breakfast with the heads of the Gedaan Tribe and their families, during which he suggested the idea of a local school. As a result, a one-room school was set up for Bedouin, and Abdel-Motaleb's volunteer teachers give up an hour twice a week to teach children and adults. There are currently six children, both boys and girls, ranging in age from eight to 15 in the school, together with eight adults, ageing from 20 to 30 years old. A volunteer training coordinator teaches Arabic and English. Asked about the future of the class and if there was an opportunity for expansion, Abdel-Motaleb said that the capacity of the class was still only 15 or so, since they only had one room available. According to AUC professor and Chairman of the Forum on Dialogue and Participation in Development Salah Arafa, while education is the essence of development, in order for it to be sustainable it must be continuous. "Sustainable development is not a form of a charity. It should be a national obligation," Arafa pointed out. According to Arafa, the sustainable development of communities has to be undertaken using a properly organised approach, and it should ordinarily start by listening to people express their difficulties and then aim to help them meet their needs, particularly in healthcare, education and employment. The role of large investors should be to help spur equitable growth, create jobs, and supply poor communities with better services, Arafa said. They should become involved and have a say in how surrounding communities grow. How many businesses operating in the southern Sinai have policies requiring a percentage of their workforce to be Bedouin, for example? According to Arafa, figures are not available, and a further issue, he said, was training. "Why not train the Bedouin to work in the tourism industry? They are used to dealing with tourists, and they know the environment better than anyone else," Arafa said. Such a policy could be part of a larger plan to upgrade small communities leading to the real sustainable development of the peninsula.
