Gorilla photography holiday in Uganda

Environment

We make a donation of £500 from each of these trips directly to Gorilla Doctors whose work is so vital to ensure the long term future of mountain gorillas. Participants will have the opportunity to meet one of the vets from this organisation who will give us a talk about their projects and also accompany us on our gorilla trek. A percentage of our gorilla permits and national park fees is given to local community projects near to mountain gorilla habitat. The same is true of our chimpanzee permits. In Mbamba swamp all of our guiding fees go directly to the local project which has partnered with Bird Life International to protect this important area. Near to Kibale forest we visit the Bigodi wetland project which has trained a number of local people as wildlife guides. All of the money raised from this project funds conservation and community projects and has recently enabled the village to put in a water pipe to supply the village with clean water. As a company we donate tens of thousands of pounds to projects which support great ape conservation including The Jane Goodall Institute, Gorilla Doctors and the Orangutan Foundation. We make sure that all money raised goes directly to supporting projects which not only make a genuine difference to wildlife conservation but also empower local people to help protect what is after all their own land.

Community

Where ever possible accommodation on this trip is Ugandan owned and staff in each lodge are employed locally. Food is sourced from the community nearest to the lodges. These two factors help to create employment and ensure that money goes back to families and villages that would not otherwise benefit from tourism. Our driver and the various wildlife guides we use throughout this trip are also all Ugandan. Some of the money from our gorilla and chimpanzee permits goes directly back to park staff and local community projects. Properly equipped and trained rangers are vital to stop poaching and this has had a positive effect on conservation. In the last mountain gorilla census their numbers have increased by over 10% since 2010. We also encourage people on this trip to use a porter to carry their day bag on our mountain gorilla trek and you pay these people who are all from the local village directly at the end of the day. In villages near to mountain gorilla habitat people have been encouraged to start enterprises such as craft shops and we'll make stops here to give participants the opportunity to buy souvenirs and artifacts.