Introducing Ourselves
Regenerative Hospitality’s Missing Half
Who are we building the future of hospitality for?
SOLM was born from a simple belief: hospitality should leave people and places better than it found them. In many destinations shaped by tourism, communities carry the weight of both its promise and its cost. We created SOLM to help shift that balance by reducing harm and actively repairing and revitalizing the social, cultural, and ecological fabric of the places we call home.
We are a nonprofit working alongside women, youth, and local residents to shape a more regenerative approach to hospitality. Our work centers on honoring local voices, traditions, and environments through collaboration rather than extraction. We see hospitality not just as an industry but as a relationship that can heal, strengthen, and sustain when shaped with intention.
Why Cabo Verde?
SOLM’s first home is Cabo Verde, an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa. Known for its ecological richness and layered cultural history, Cabo Verde is also experiencing a rapid tourism expansion- often without adequate involvement from local communities.
In particular, São Vicente, one such island, stands at a critical juncture. With its artistic heritage, volcanic terrain, and growing interest from developers, it risks becoming a site of extraction rather than empowerment. SOLM believes this moment offers a rare opportunity to build a different model for how tourism can serve rather than displace.
We are not here to impose solutions. We are here to co-create and restore.
What We Do
Education
We support access to skills, knowledge, and resources that empower people to participate meaningfully in the local economy through the lens of hospitality. This includes capacity-building, hands-on workshops, and learning experiences designed to unlock long-term opportunity.
Creation
We enable innovation and collaboration that contribute to community-led development. By bringing people together across backgrounds, ages, and disciplines, we support new ideas and shared initiatives that strengthen local resilience.
Preservation
We honor traditional knowledge and sustainable practices that hold the wisdom of place. By recognizing and safeguarding cultural and ecological heritage, we help ensure that communities and environments can flourish far into the future.
Our Board
SOLM is guided by a multidisciplinary board of 11 members with expertise spanning Hospitality, Communications, Agriculture, Media, Design, and Technology. Their experience also includes circular economy frameworks, women’s health, entrepreneurship, and luxury brand development.
What unites them is a shared vision to build regenerative systems from the inside out, led by the people who call these communities home. Together, they support our mission of centering women and youth in the future of tourism and development.
SOLM is still at the beginning of its journey. Every step, every partnership, and every shared conversation brings us closer to the future we imagine: one where hospitality regenerates, uplifts, and protects. One where local communities lead the way.
