Milele Lodge, Grumeti Reserves, Serengeti, Tanzania

Completed in 2024, Milton Group developed this one-of-a-kind 5-bedroom safari lodge utilising the latest sustainable design technologies.

Milele’s contemporary vernacular nestles on a hillside with endless views across the Serengeti National Park. The lodge has 5 suites, a 20m lap pool, private jacuzzis, multiple outdoor dining areas, a media room, and entertainment areas. The project was designed and built to the internationally recognised sustainability framework LEED for homes.

Photos courtesy of Singita

Natural & Social Capital Outcomes

Built Environment
  • 5 bedrooms and supporting BOH – overall footprint 1,800m2
  • 100% of the construction timber was sourced from FSC certified plantations
  • Locally sourced building materials contribute to the overall reduced embodied carbon of the development
  • Treated greywater is supplied to uses not requiring drinking water, such as irrigation and toilets
  • Greywater is treated with a constructed wetland system
  • All windows are double-glazed and thermally insulated
  • Insulation – thermal modelling, glazing and HVAC methodology
  • High-efficiency heat recovery systems utilised for space cooling and water heating
  • The choice of high-efficiency equipment and low energy lighting improves energy performance, at least 40% better than similar code compliant buildings
  • Integration of external shading structures on all glazed facades, lowering excessive solar heat gains
Natural Capital
  • Initiative to attract global philanthropic leaders as conservation partners
  • One Planet Construction Action Plan used to reduce the environmental impact and manage the construction process
  • 100% native species planted – trees 150, plants/shrubs 9,000
  • The lodge’s construction activities were managed in line with the stringent requirements set out in an Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan
  • The green roofs contribute simultaneously to the high biodiversity index of the site, reducing heat load on the buildings, helping the lodge blend into the natural landscape
  • The natural hydrology of the site has been retained through the construction of bioswales and the careful selection of only endemic plant and tree species
Social Capital
  • More than 95% of Grumeti Construction’s labour force on this project was drawn from the surrounding communities
  • >1.93m man hours for construction
  • 65% of materials were sourced locally
  • Construction workers received One Planet sustainability training
  • Trainee programs and skills transfer in construction practices