Mafia Kinasi Lodge

Peter Byrne

Kinasi, who was built by Peter Byrne, and the staff of Kinasi Lodge all have at least two skills. All the former builders took up permanent roles in the hotel after its completion! So Oscar the Barman and Sheby and Sudi the Chefs are our masons, whose skills are so evident in Kinasi's design. Peter and the gang continue to make improvements and extensions all the time and this is one reason so many of our guests return - to see what new ideas have come to life.

Furnishings, style and guest management belong to the expertise of Antonella Balestra, Peter's partner and co-shareholder. Kinasi started as a home for friends to enjoy themselves on an island paradise and the lodge retains this air and functionality. Peter is Australian and Antonella Italian. Their third partner is Jan Ter Haar, a Dutchman, who first came to Mafia in 1988 and met Peter on the beach where Kinasi is now located.

The lodge supports various primary and secondary schools along with community programmes for villages. It maintains natural resources of the environment such as sea creatures and cultivation.

We support primary and secondary schools as well as other community programmes with the Lion's Club, such as eye sight and dental programmes, and donate various materials for educational purposes. 

In Bweni, a village far north of Mafia, the village leaders have put into effect strict controls on the use of natural resources. Lobster harvesting with equipment is prohibited, to evade over-fishing; drift, drag and moored fishing nets are prohibited because of their negative impacts.

Rigorous policies are functional to tree and construction of houses, boats and canoes using poles. We maintain these inventiveness's with harmonizing activities which are requested by the village leaders.

We also have been requested to planting plants that are beneficial to the environment such as teak and casuarinas (to support the apply of hardwood poles) and adding value to support in the fishery refrigeration.

We are also working with Bweni and Kanga villagers, north of Mafia to change their old habits of negative utilization of blaze by pioneering the use of permanent tree crops such as passionfruit, grapefruit, vanilla, tangerine, pumelo, oranges, mulberry, black pepper and cinnamon that are best suited for Mafia.

We also support Carbon Footprint, solar power for generating energy, reduction in power consumption, use of Bio-gas and compost for energy production, water consumption and Grey water recycling, tree planting programmes (No more use of Charcoal), waste management, pest and mosquito controls.