Chaminuka

Established in 1978 as a family retreat, Chaminuka Lodge was named after an enchanting village in Kabompo of the North Western Province here in Zambia. Andrew had spent a great deal of time there during the formative years of his life, and it holds a special place in his heart. Chaminuka means small hill or hump.

The lodge is built on a knoll overlooking Lake Chitoka, in pristine miombo woodland and savannah. It is one of the rare pieces of land that remains untouched in Lusaka and its architecture and layout are inspired by the design of an African village. Like all Zambian villages, Chaminuka was intended to blend into its surroundings and become part of it, and so everything in the village is part of it as well: from the landscape to the horizon and the sky above. The typical African village does not have conventional houses as such, but it has huts to sleep in and ‘insakas’—covered structures that have a roof but no walls—where people sit to chat and relax. It is the ingenuity of the construction of these insakas that have become central to the design of Chaminuka.