For more than 15 years a dedicated dive resort in North Sulawesi has been supporting their local communities, learn more below.
Founder of Lembeh Resort Alex Rorimpandey always believed in supporting local communities in North Sulawesi. From the beginning, Lembeh Resort and Critters@Lembeh have provided ongoing training and employment for people from our local villages. We encourage villagers to cherish the natural environment both above and below the sea, as well as their traditional cultures.
We do our best to promote viable livelihood opportunities now and sustainable ones for future generations.Lembeh Resort and Critters@Lembeh employ and train many local villagers on Lembeh Island. The resort staff are given the opportunity to experience diving in hopes it will cultivate a greater appreciation for our unique and precious underwater ecosystems. Diving Lembeh Strait affords our staff a deeper appreciation of why people travel from around the world to experience critter diving in Indonesia and why Lembeh Strait is considered the best muck diving and macro diving destination in the world.
In keeping with his commitment to the community, Alex donated materials to build the local church in nearby Pintu Kota Kecil. This mutual cooperation has helped forge a strong bond between the resort and the people of Lembeh: Today, Lembeh Resort provides electrical power for the church and Sunday school, which plays an important role in most of the education on the island. We also host occasional barbecue parties for our guests, at which children from the Sunday school provide musical performances. The children save their earnings from performances to buy something for everyone’s benefit.
Very often our guests ask how they can help the local communities. We think the most useful materialistic contributions are school materials (such as crayons, paper, colored pens, pencils, very simple English dictionaries, or very basic children’s books in English) and sports accessories (such as soccer balls or other group sports accessories). What else could be helpful? The new school year starts each July. Uniforms are mandatory in Indonesia, and a complete set costs, on average, $55.00 USD. This expense is quite difficult for some families to afford and donations are happily accepted.
The two nearest villages Pintu Kota Kecil and Pintu Kota Besar are populated with the families of small-scale fishermen. We are currently building a learning center with a small library filled with Eco Literature and a computer with a USB modem for internet access. If many generous people give a modest contribution, the learning center will soon be within reach!
If you wish to contribute financially or offer specialized help with of any of these projects, please contact us or visit our donation page.
The warm and welcoming people of North Sulawesi, as well as the glorious natural resources here, make Lembeh such a special place. Please keep an eye on our website for updates on the progress of these and future projects.