Camel Dive Club & Hotel have been pioneering eco-friendly ideas in Sharm el Sheikh for a number of years thanks to their owner, Mr. Hesham Gabr who cares greatly about environmental issues in the local area.

This revolutionary move, which was driven by the amount of non-biodegradable plastic straws that were found during the companies regular underwater clean ups, caused research to begin into reducing plastic straw use at all Camel Dive Club & Hotel Food & Beverage outlets (Camel Bar, Pomodoro restaurants and Vanilla Café). During this deep research, Camel Dive Club realized that their outlets had used 32,150 plastic straws in 2017. In the words of owner Mr. Gabr, “This has to stop”.

The fact that there are no reusable or biodegradable straw suppliers in Egypt limited Camel in their choice of alternative. Their final decision was to only provide stainless steel straws on request by the guest or for drinks that maybe tricky to drink without a straw, for example milkshakes or certain cocktails.

The small boutique hotel for divers, located in the heart of Na’ama Bay, also features solar panels on the roof that provide energy to heat their swimming pool that was designed especially for scuba training.

Another unique feature in Sharm el Sheikh, is that all the rooms feature double glazed windows as opposed to the standard single glazed. This helps maintain a low noise level but more importantly when we are discussing the environment, it helps to maintain an even temperature in the rooms, therefore making air-conditioning units in every room more energy efficient.

The attached dive centre, Camel Dive Club noticed that another major contributor to underwater debris was the electrical tape that had been used to indicate whether the scuba cylinders were full or not. Camel Dive Club decided to remedy this issue by using pieces of plastic hose; by tying them to the tanks, these original looking caps are a reusable and reliable method for marking the cylinders and reducing the amount of debris that ends up ultimately in the Red Sea.

The waste noticed in the surrounding Sinai desert, mainly caused by one-time use water bottles inspired the Camel Tribe Boat. Designed purposefully with divers and the environment in mind, she not only features solar panels to charge onboard electronics but also features a reusable water bottle system. Guests on board are provided with one bottle of water and a water bottle cover with a number (made from up cycled wetsuits). Guests are then encouraged to drink as much as possible to stay hydrated in the beautiful sunshine of Sharm el Sheikh and once their bottle is empty, to refill it from the chilled water cooler on the dive deck.

To celebrate this innovative outcome of reusable straws in Sharm el Sheikh and Egypt as a whole, Camel Bar will be hosting an event on World Oceans Day, June 8, 2018.

The evening will start at 6pm in Camel Bar as part of the regular Divers’ Night. The evening will start at 6pm and guests will have the opportunity to enjoy a Quiz (in aid of Project AWARE), FREE PEANUTS with every drink, FREE Finger food buffet and Happy Hour from 6pm – 8pm.

Camel Dive Club & Hotel hope to see you there.

Hate Plastic Straws? Love Camel!

For more information about Camel Dive Club and Hotel, visit their website by clicking here.