Lunch Box for Safari
One thing Erika and I have felt strongly about when on a safari in Africa is the lunch boxes. More often than not, the food is not very tasty, it’s not very healthy and it’s full of plastic wrapping and plastic containers.
Actually, on my first safari in Tanzania about 2 years ago I was positively surprised about the lunch boxes. Maybe because it was my first REAL time in Africa and I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I found it to be well arranged, neatly wrapped, had quite ok food and in some places we even got to pick our things to bring in your lunch box each morning before going on your safari game drive. But, we have changed our minds about the lunch boxes since then. Especially all the plastics as we are trying to travel more sustainably.
Here’s how a usual lunchbox looks like with all the wrappings for every single thing. And we’ve had worse!
Eco-Friendly Lunch Boxes in Tanzania – Do They Exist?
So what to do? Well, I Googled it…! 🙂 Sustainable lunch boxes // Eco -friendly lunch boxes // Eco-friendly lunch boxes in Arusha, in Tanzania. Nothing came up. Mostly just websites of camps that stated to be eco-friendly, but no mentioning of lunch boxes – Not sure why they appeared actually… Anyway, I kept going at it and eventually came across this Tanzanian advertising website, a very basic website. In there, someone had posted about their new eco-friendly lunchboxes in Arusha – “This N That” they were called but otherwise it didn’t say much.
So I searched for “This N That in Arusha” and found their Facebook page. On there they had several posts about their new product selling eco-friendly Lunch boxes without any plastics at all. Finally, I got somewhere 🙂 So after going through a few of their posts I was convinced 
that this was the best I would find, so I messaged them to ask if they were interested to meet.
We agreed to meet in a coffee shop and the owner, Sandra Vaughan, brought one of the lunch boxes. That way we were able to see it with our own eyes, take pictures and even taste the food 🙂 She was happy to show us the lunch box and explain the background of how she and her husband had come up with the idea and developed this new product of theirs. This didn’t seem easy in a country like Tanzania where Sustainability and Eco-Friendly are still relatively unknown.
The Eco-Friendly Lunch Box for Safari
To be honest we were positively surprised about how well they had been thought out and researched to make sure everything in there is eco-friendly. The most important fact, it has absolutely no plastics at all. They spent the better part of a year talking to and meeting different suppliers, researching different materials that could be used to eventually develop a concept that would work which is truly plastic-free and eco-friendly.
What’s Inside
So what’s in the lunch boxes and how do they keep them plastic-free? Well apart from the food, this is what you will find in there:
- 100% No Plastics – The entire lunch box and its contents are 100% plastic-free and everything will decompose within 6 months.
- Cutlery and food containers look like plastic but are made of PLA (Polylactic Acid). A biodegradable and bioactive thermoplastic aliphatic polyester derived from renewable resources, such as corn starch, cassava roots, chips or starch, or sugarcane. So completely natural ingredients.
- Wrappings are made out of biodegradable paper.
- The box itself is made out of a paper carton.
- The juice carton is made of the normal paper carton without the normal plastic straw.
The only thing in the box which they are still not so happy about is the juice. They still get this delivered with a plastic straw attached to it from the supplier. So what they do instead is to manually remove the plastic straw and replace it in the box with a bio-degradable straw made out of vegetables. And the plastic straws? They are sent back to the factory where they buy the juice so at least it doesn’t go to waste. For all the non-plastic materials such as the cutlery and food containers made out of PLA, they are all imported from the UK as they are not available locally – Still better than all the plastic!
Price of the Eco-Friendly Lunch Box
Considering all this, you might think this lunch box will be a lot more expensive than the usual ones? Well, not really. Or… At least it depends on what you compare it with. There are lunch boxes available at really low prices that any decent company can’t compete with. But what do you get then? Well cheap food and cheap raw materials, lots of plastic, and buying from companies that most likely pay low salaries and benefits. Or you support companies who are likely not paying their VAT or Taxes. This because otherwise, it seems impossible to earn a profit with those prices. (We have been told that In 2018, only 7000 companies in entire Tanzania paid tax, although I haven’t been able to find an actual source on this information yet) So the question is, do you think that is worth the saving?
Are Tour Operators Willing to Change?
Another relevant question is whether tour operators are willing to pay extra for eco-friendly and plastic-free lunch boxes? Well, we heard an example of a possible new client who, if he decided to change to these eco-friendly lunch boxes, would have paid 80 cents more per lunch box. And because of that, he decided not to change… Remember, we are talking about trips that cost 1000´s of dollars and he didn’t want to pay the extra 80 cents… Even if he couldn’t afford to earn 80 cents less, adding 80 cents on the price to the guests I don’t think will make any difference considering the overall price of a safari.
On a more positive note, we also heard that when This N That decided to change all their lunch boxes to be plastic-free, they got 3-4 new clients right there because of the change. So there is interest around it for sure and hopefully, it’s growing!
A popular detail about the eco-friendly lunch boxes is that they freeze the juice during the night. That way, when put in the lunch box, it will work as a cooling element allowing guests to have fresh cool food and a cold drink for their lunch.
How To Ensure Your Safari Operator Uses Eco-Friendly Lunch Boxes
So you might be reading this and thinking, how do I make sure the tour operator I book with will use plastic-free eco-friendly lunch boxes? The best you can do is to ask about it before you book. And if they don’t offer it but you otherwise like their way of communicating and the offer they gave you, just ask them to get your lunch boxes from This N That and pay that extra few dollars, I’m sure they will accommodate to close the deal and get you as a client 🙂 And not only is it plastic-free, it also tastes better and has more healthy food in there!
Recently, former President Obama visited Tanzania and asked specifically to avoid plastic and to not get any plastic straws. Him asking for that probably creates a bit more attention around it than what you can cause. But still, if you ask it will help create more awareness and eventually make it automatic that all lunch boxes are eco-friendly.
Ask For It
So are you going on safari in Tanzania and wondering how you can make your trip more green and sustainable? Ask for Eco-Friendly Lunch boxes and you have made a good head start!
NOTE: We did receive a free lunch box from This N That but there was absolutely no obligation or requirement for me to write this. I have given my honest opinion and tried to describe everything as I saw and experienced it. With this, I only hope that I can make a small contribution and help promote sustainable travel.
I found this article while also searching online for the makers of this lunchbox. I enjoyed one on safari recently and I was very very surprised and delighted to see a completely plastic free lunch box! It made me wonder why there is still so much single-use plastic in developing countries, especially as the demand for plastic-free is growing so quickly!
At least in African safaris, it boils down to cost but that’s why it’s important that clients request for plastic-free lunchbox to force tour operators to source for this type. The power is in the consumers’ hands 🙂
If it weren’t for the people who put in their all for conservation, we would not have the precious wildlife nor would our children find it. Thanks for the good write up, this should be adopted as culture on safari and a challenge everyone should take up. Not only should it be in the precious Tanzania parks but also all over Africa, primeugandasafaris is the best place to find the best safari itineraries as well as community responsible tourism programmes. Lets always carry only memories and leave only foot steps.
Yes hopefully this and other initiatives to help the environment and the wildlife will become the norm sometime soon ! Were glad you like the article 🙂
It’s indeed helpful. I am so much impressed with this and I will definitely be one of these people to promote it in Uganda.
I think it’s worth it!
Thats excellent to hear! We havent been on safari in Uganda yet but I could imagine the problem is likely the same there. Hope it can be improved.
Very nice article. Doing tourism with environmental concerns in mind is the best thing. Thanks for the innovation which we pray can spread across African parks and tourist places.
Thanks 🙂 We hope so and definitely encourage everyone to adopt more environment friendly pratices. Its needed.
A good read and challenge to everyone.
Thanks! Yes we really hope this will be improved!