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This itinerary is wildlife focused and we are extremely concerned to ensure that the local community in Zambia as well as our guests better understand and appreciate the wildlife on their doorstep.
Poaching and in particular the crude use of snares has been a significant problem in the South Luangwa valley for some years. Snaring is one of the worst kinds of poaching as it is indiscriminate and targets virtually every species. Although most snares are laid to catch smaller antelope for meat, many snares are set for buffalo and hippo and more often than not other animals such as lions, hyaenas and elephants are also caught.
A poacher may lay up to thirty snares at one time but when checking them a few days later he might only remove the first or next few snares if something has been caught. The remainder will be left and any animals that are caught are not even used. Snaring is also one of the most gruesome ways to kill an animal, as unlike shooting where death is usually immediate, death by snaring can take anything from days to weeks and sometimes even months. The pain will be excruciating and the animal eventually dies from starvation and infection. The lodges you will stay in during this itinerary are promoting an anti-snaring awareness campaign to sensitize children and adults within local schools and villages. A combination of drama, raffle competitions and sports days are held and slide shows and are presented.
By building links with the local community tourism sponsored conservation is making huge strides in the area. In 2003 The Honorable Chief Kakumbi gave away a plot of land adjacent to the South Luangwa National Park in order to house the SLCS scouts and build a base camp to operate from. 35 Kakumbi Village Scouts now conduct regular patrols in and around the national park and have removed thousands of snares over the years that they have been operating.
One of the reasons why the local community do not fully appreciate their spectacular wildlife as a tourist resource is that they very rarely get to see the animals in the park for themselves. Children grow up with an attitude that animals are only a resource for eating or even that they are a nuisance in destroying crops and village homes. For every booking that is made on this holiday we will make a donation to the lodge enabling them to take a local school group on a game drive or walk with a fully qualified safari guide to explain the importance of the wildlife on their doorstep. This is an opportunity they would never normally have and hopefully the education received will inspire them to appreciate their natural resource and perhaps even train as guides themselves after their schooling.
The company who run the Bushcamps used in this itinerary contribute funds to two school projects – Chiwawtala in the local village and Chilongazi in the remote bush. The two schools have over 600 pupils between them and only 6 teachers! Cash and goods donations from the lodge have helped sponsor more teachers and fund orphaned children through school. Students have also been encouraged to tend vegetable gardens and sell produce to the local tourist lodges. Bushcamp Company are also involved in a local tree planting project. Local people are encouraged to plant not only fast growing commercial species but also indigenous species that contribute to the conservation value of the area.
Chiawa Camp Projects - A large portion of the Chiawa Camp's revenue and resources is reinvested into protecting the Lower Zambezi by supporting and implementing programmes involving conservation, anti-poaching, wildlife education, and the improvement of the surrounding village communities. One project in particular is the AIDS orphan sponsorship. Last year some of the camp's revenue was used to sponsor the primary education of 90 children of one local school, who have been orphaned through AIDS. Each year a new school is added to this scheme.
For all of our tours we provide customers with an itinerary specific responsible travel guide aprox 4 weeks before they depart. This includes a generic travellers code of conduct which emphasises basic responsible travel advice – e.g. reduction of waste and consumption of natural resources, purchase local produce where possible etc. Our holidays are specifically designed to bring guests into direct contact with locals from a range of different tribes and cultures across Africa. We also therefore provide destination specific guidance including advice on local customs and some key phrases in certain languages (e.g. Swahili). We also offer guidance on how to barter responsibly for local curios and what curios should be avoided (e.g. certain wildlife artefacts such as coral, turtle shells etc.). As all of our guides and groundhandlers are local we also give guidance on what a fair and reasonable level of tipping would be at the end of the holiday.
We support the work of Tourism Concern both in distributing their advice to customers and as an active participant in the Ethical Tour Operators Group. Our managing director sits on this group and is a regular attendee of meetings contributing to work towards developing industry wide fair trade standards. We also distribute materials to customers and make periodic donations for the following charities: Tree Aid; International Fund for Wildlife and Survival International Trust. In Southern Africa we support the Southern Africa Sustainable Seafood Initiative and forward their guidance to all customers on which seafood is sustainable when offered a choice at restaurants.
Whilst volunteering on a coral reef in Tanzania, the founder of this company fell in love with Africa. Using her academic background in environmental science, she decided to do something practical and help the continent develop a sustainable tourism portfolio. She developed holidays which combine the obvious itinerary highlights with more unusual experiences such as home stays and township visits. She believes that there are great benefits to travel: it is a chance to widen your horizons, learn about other people and see a bit more of the world than just that little place you call home.
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