Living in harmony at Zighy Bay

Sea Turtles & Marine Conservation

Zighy Bay is home to many marine species, including the endangered Green Turtle. In collaboration with Olive Ridley Project, we research the local population of sea turtles, their habitat use, and their residency in our bay. But to fully protect this species, we must eliminate one of their largest threats, trash and discarded or lost fishing gear floating at sea, known as ‘ghost nets’. In partnership with the Ministry of Environment, our team successfully removed 18 ghost nets and 1,700 kilograms of trash from the ocean in 2024. Guests and local community members are invited to learn about the marine life during snorkeling trips or turtle talks by our on-site marine biologist, or by joining one of our regular beach clean-ups. 17 green turtles were successfully released by our marine biologist while monitoring bycatch with our neighbor fishermen when pulling their nets back on shore.

Animal Welfare

Goats are an integral part of the local Omani culture and found everywhere. Zighy Bay is no exception. 11 small farms account for an approximate 685 Zighy goats, roaming around freely in the bay and mountains. In 2022, the infamous foot and mouth disease largely impacted our neighbor's goats population. To aid the local farmers, Six Senses Zighy Bay donated vitamins and antibiotics, resulting in rapid improvements. Since then, a large-scale yearly vaccination was organized for all the Zighy Goats in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture. Their favorite food are Neem tree leaves. Feel free to give them a treat during your next visit!

Coral Restoration Program

Six Senses Zighy Bay is fortunate to have access to many secluded reefs in the local area, including one right on our doorstep, known as our ‘house reef’. Unfortunately, the reef sustained some damage from an earlier significant storm but it’s now showing great signs of natural recovery! To help it along the way, we kickstarted a project in early 2023 to replenish the coral population.

By the end of 2024, we placed 562 coral fragments — that had naturally broken off from their parent colonies at our nearby dive sites — onto the house reef to be cared for and monitored by our marine biologist.  In addition, we continue to promote awareness about the challenges corals face. 

The ultimate goal of this venture is to reintroduce species of coral previously present on the reef, with the hope that they reach maturity, spawn, and repopulate the entire reef to become a renewed self-sustaining ecosystem. So far, so good.

Zighy Village

Since its beginnings, the resort has played an active role in supporting the Zighy Village, from building new houses to creating road access and supporting the local Mosque. In 2019, the resort supported the local hospital in Dibba by building a new radiology unit. In addition to that, we provide basic medical necessities for villagers. As well as helping fund costly equipment such as hearing aids, we also offer financial support for particular medical cases.

Locally sourced

When we can't grow it or raise it ourselves, wherever possible, the resort sources produce as locally as possible to limit our food miles. In fact, you’ll often see the resort's chefs down at Dibba fish market at dawn. Not only does sourcing locally provide a living to locals, but it’s also good for the environment and helps us bring unparalleled freshness to our guest’s plates. 

Supporting Zighy Villagers to Gain Income

In addition to providing financial support, the resort also has multiple initiatives aimed towards assisting the local villagers to gain a reliable and sustainable income themselves. These include the Zighy Training Program, a 2-year training program to provide skills and experience to local fishers to diversify their income with training in all hotel departments, and a Special Needs Project, assisting Zighy villagers with hearing impairments to communicate and gain jobs suited for their abilities. 

Women's access to education

We support Zighy Village and local schools in the neighboring township of Dibba, both in monetary contributions, in kind, and in supervising longer-term education and social projects. Examples include hiring a full-time teacher to assist two local schools, infrastructure funding and strategic aid to support the education of students at the local Girl’s School, Sakina Bent Al Hussein, and at the local Dibba School. We also sponsor programs and activities that improve women's equality, we support their mission to upgrade their skills and therefore their future prospects, while giving them new sustainable tools to raise awareness within their families and communities.

Women’s Economic Independence

We work closely with the Dibba Women Association – managed by local women for women – which runs a preschool for children aged 3 to 7 years old and in addition offers a place for social gathering for local women. Instead of limiting our involvement to only cash donations, a program was implemented to help the association become financially independent. Together, we created a new guest activity “Sense of Oman, through a Woman’s Eyes”. Guests can visit the association for an immersive experience in the Omani culture and try all kinds of different local handcrafting activities lead by the local women. 100 percent of the profits return to the Association to improve their facilities. Additional donations from our guests enabled them to create a new sustainable playground for the children. Get involved and visit the Association that is so meaningful to many women and children in Dibba.