Desert Elephant conservation in Namibia
| country: | Namibia |
| departures: | Departs two to three times a month except for December and January when the project takes a 2 month break |
| price: | From £640 (2 weeks), £1130 (4 weeks) - £3170 (12 weeks) excluding flights. We can offer advice on flights |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
This project gives you the chance to visit a unique location and get involved with real spearhead conservation work.
This project takes you to Namibia, Africa and the north-western regions of the Namib Desert, traditionally known as ‘Damaraland’. Here in this harsh tribal wilderness that runs parallel to the Skeleton Coast National Park, a small population of desert-adapted elephants have come into conflict with the local human population, and it is the aim of this volunteer project to manage the conflict and assist in its resolution
This project is not about being an observer of conservation from the comfort of a game drive vehicle. Volunteers will spend days out in the desert on patrol, camping wild and living close to the earth, elephants and people.
This project’s emphasis is on the building of protective structures around communal water points, creation of additional water points for elephants, assisting with, and teaching the farmers how they can financially benefit from tourism in the area, researching elephant movements, distribution and compiling identikits on herds and individuals. All work takes place in the vicinity of the rustic base camp in the Ugab River, at the foot of the majestic Brandberg.
In general, the project is split so that in a two week period you would do one week of building/community work, and one week of elephant patrol. However, volunteers will be working where they are most needed, so be aware that you should be flexible as this schedule is subject to change.
To cheat the heat, we wake up early for our first cup of coffee around the campfire. After the team member on duty has served breakfast, we head out to our project site for the day. Activities will include building a wall around a local farmer's windmill, teaching some farmers wives to make paper using elephant dung, doing work on our base camp.
For each volunteer group the projects will be dependent on where the greatest need is at that time. Then we head to our camp for lunch and a bit of a siesta. You could be tasked to update data forms, or be on kitchen and camp duty for the day, or have to work out an educational play for the local school. The evenings are spent around the camp fire eating and talking about the day’s events. We live closely in our desert camp.
After a few days of hot and tiring work the weekend is spent relaxing at base camp in the Ugab River. The next week is spent on patrol, so we pack some basic camping equipment in the 4x4 and set off looking for the elusive elephants. On patrol, we camp wild and sleep under the stars. We follow elephants on foot, sometimes for hours, under the desert sun, and sit patiently observing from some rocky outcrop whilst they laze away in the shade!
At the end of patrol week volunteers and staff head to Swakopmund (usually for 3 nights) to relax and buy supplies. Some volunteers may be finishing that weekend whilst others will return to the desert and another two week rotation will commence.
This project takes you to Namibia, Africa and the north-western regions of the Namib Desert, traditionally known as ‘Damaraland’. Here in this harsh tribal wilderness that runs parallel to the Skeleton Coast National Park, a small population of desert-adapted elephants have come into conflict with the local human population, and it is the aim of this volunteer project to manage the conflict and assist in its resolution
This project is not about being an observer of conservation from the comfort of a game drive vehicle. Volunteers will spend days out in the desert on patrol, camping wild and living close to the earth, elephants and people.This project’s emphasis is on the building of protective structures around communal water points, creation of additional water points for elephants, assisting with, and teaching the farmers how they can financially benefit from tourism in the area, researching elephant movements, distribution and compiling identikits on herds and individuals. All work takes place in the vicinity of the rustic base camp in the Ugab River, at the foot of the majestic Brandberg.
a day in the life of a volunteer
In general, the project is split so that in a two week period you would do one week of building/community work, and one week of elephant patrol. However, volunteers will be working where they are most needed, so be aware that you should be flexible as this schedule is subject to change. To cheat the heat, we wake up early for our first cup of coffee around the campfire. After the team member on duty has served breakfast, we head out to our project site for the day. Activities will include building a wall around a local farmer's windmill, teaching some farmers wives to make paper using elephant dung, doing work on our base camp.
For each volunteer group the projects will be dependent on where the greatest need is at that time. Then we head to our camp for lunch and a bit of a siesta. You could be tasked to update data forms, or be on kitchen and camp duty for the day, or have to work out an educational play for the local school. The evenings are spent around the camp fire eating and talking about the day’s events. We live closely in our desert camp.
After a few days of hot and tiring work the weekend is spent relaxing at base camp in the Ugab River. The next week is spent on patrol, so we pack some basic camping equipment in the 4x4 and set off looking for the elusive elephants. On patrol, we camp wild and sleep under the stars. We follow elephants on foot, sometimes for hours, under the desert sun, and sit patiently observing from some rocky outcrop whilst they laze away in the shade! At the end of patrol week volunteers and staff head to Swakopmund (usually for 3 nights) to relax and buy supplies. Some volunteers may be finishing that weekend whilst others will return to the desert and another two week rotation will commence.
travellers' tales
The elephant human relations project in Namibia was absolutely outstanding. Definitely *****. I would recommend this project to anyone... All staff involved were passionate, knowledgeable, and motivated. (more)
volunteer travel - what's it all about?
Are you looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world. Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
how this holiday makes a difference
 This project is part of a long-term initiative to find solutions to the ever-growing problem of facilitating the peaceful co-habitation between the subsistence farmers, and the desert adapted elephants through: research, education and development. By joining this project and assisting these communities by constructing protective structures around water points, educating community members about elephant behaviour, creating alternative drinking points for the elephants and promoting tourism in the affected areas, your contribution will alleviate the current pressure facing communal farmers. In turn this will help to promote the future of the desert dwelling elephant in harmony with the continuous positive development of the conservancies and their ideals. Desert elephants often damage unprotected windmills leaving communities without access to water. This angers locals and makes it easy for elephants to be labelled as a problem and then shot. Volunteers solve this problem through a simple solution – a wall is built around the windmill which protects it but still allows the elephants to drink. The patrol week is important as you will GPS herd movements which display which farms are visited and require protection. The research provides invaluable information for the government on Elephant numbers and identifications - all integral to the successful management of the Desert elephants. This project is part of a long-term initiative to find solutions to the ever-growing problem of facilitating the peaceful co-habitation between the subsistence farmers and the desert adapted elephants through: The project was launched in December 2001, as a result of the escalation in competition for natural resources between the desert-dwelling elephants and human inhabitants of the northern Erongo and Kunene regions. Through concerted efforts by the ministry of environment and tourism (met), IRDNC, Save the Rhino Trust and other NGO’s over the past 20 years, the population of desert-dwelling elephants in the region has grown from as low as 52 members, to a current population of over 600 elephants. As a result, elephants have expanded their range to the south and east into territories they have not occupied for many years. Subsistence farmers husbanding mainly cattle, goats and sheep traditionally occupy these areas. This has caused an escalation of the competition for water and grazing and, inevitably, has resulted in conflict between the farmers and the elephants. Depletion of the natural water table with increasing human use, has led to less available surface water for consumption. Therefore, man-made water points located close to the riverbeds have become the target for elephants in their quest for fresh water. In their search for the source of such points, elephants cause extensive damage to windmills, dams, reservoirs, hand-pumps and wells. As the farmers’ homesteads are normally located close to the water source, secondary damage is also caused and the lives of humans and livestock are threatened. With the escalation of tourism as an increasing potential earner of revenue for these communities, the value of elephants and other wildlife in communal areas has increased dramatically. The project believes that through assisting these communities by constructing protective structures around water points, educating community members about elephant behaviour, creating alternative drinking points for the elephants and promoting tourism in the affected areas, they could assist in alleviating the current pressure facing communal farmers. In turn, this will help to promote the future of the desert-dwelling elephant, in harmony with the continuous positive development of the conservancies and their ideals. We are dedicated to responsible tourism, and all of the projects that we support directly benefit the environment, the local community, or both. All projects are carefully chosen to offer our volunteers sustainable and responsible travel, with specific attention being paid to their involvement in the sustainability of all their practices / project goals. All of our projects and expeditions issue the participants with clear guidelines on responsible tourism and ecotourism, all specific to the particular environment / region. These cover a number of issues, ranging from waste disposal in remote areas, recycling materials and buying from local businesses to not exploiting the area’s wildlife or harming the environment. |
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