Blueliliebush Eco-Lodge: Carbon offset through natural systems Part 2 Project 2025 Christo Ollewagen University of Huddersfield | UK Blueliliebush Eco-Lodge is a regenerative tourism and conservation project on South Africa’s Garden Route. It restores biodiversity, rehabilitates wildlife, and supports local livelihoods through eco-tourism, conservation, and skills development. The business plan uses a dual-revenue model, where lodge income funds biodiversity and education programmes. Partners include & Beyond Africa Foundation, delivering hospitality training and community development, and Grootbos Nature Reserve’s Green Futures College. Close to 3 deprived towns and schools, the lodge works with locals in farm-animal rescue, hospitality, food-bank support, and cultural tourism. The site layout reuses old farm buildings for accommodation, offices, veterinary care, and storage, combined with new forest cabins and lodge structures. Rainwater harvesting, composting systems, greywater wetlands, and biodigesters enhance self-sufficiency.From imagining the elements on site, the form was developed to frame the local cultural history. The concept of a bird’s wing was dissected and reinterpreted into a biophilic structure spanning two levels and bridging the river. Locally sourced materials, including reclaimed sandstone from ruins, provide retaining walls, thermal mass, and a tangible link to heritage.Carbon simulations confirm regenerative performance. The courtyard’s forest-like setting, where children play among columns, reflects the aim: architecture that regenerates ecosystems and sustains communities. Tutor(s)