The Traveller's Friend : Travel the Zambezi - Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Tuesday 11 February 2014

Community and conservation news from African Bush Camps

Hwange H20 Campaign Update - Umkawuzaan Solar Project up and running

In partnership with Elefence International, the installation of a solar panel and pump was completed in December 2013 at Umkawazaan Pan within the Somalisa Concession. Elefence International Director, Dick Houston was in Zimbabwe and on site when the installation was done. The pan is looking spectacular, the water is pumping, aiding the already good rains Hwange is experiencing, and the wildlife is already frequenting the waterhole.

In 2014 we look forward to further developing our partnership with Elefence International as we embark on developing more solar boreholes in the most desperate areas of Hwange National Park.

Mambanje Community Development and Solar Project

Mambanje Community is one of the most remote communities in the greater Hwange area but also in very close proximity to the National Park, making it a very vulnerable community with regards to human/animal conflict. We embarked on a large range of grassroots development projects with the community in 2013 including improving the grade 7 pass rate of the school (which went from 0% in 2012 to 15% in 2013), building adequate accommodation for teachers, building another classroom block so that each grade has its own classroom, and building a road to the community and school.

In 2014 African Bush Camps Foundation will continue with these developments and in addition have embarked on a new project in collaboration with Elefence International, to install a solar pump for the borehole and at the same time providing the school with solar power for the classrooms and the teachers accommodation. African Bush Camps Foundation is focused on sustainable development to ensure that the communities surrounding the National Parks are benefiting from the Tourism Dollar so as to preserve the area and its wildlife for future generations.

African Bush Camps Foundation - New Partnership

Thank you Pam Goosen and Mawabeni Designs for their support. The first round of new products using the Vukani Projects recycled beads are now ready for sale.

Vukani is a Ndebele word meaning 'to get up and do it for yourself.' This is a group of 14 men and women who are unemployed and have teamed up to engage in self-help income generating projects. The group is based in the village of Dete, just outside Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. They started with an organic gardening project and now also makes beads using recycled paper and fashions jewlery including bracelets, earrings and necklaces from these beautiful beads. The money they raise is used to help disadvantaged people in the group such as the widows and orphans who are under the care of the members. Beside the welfare of its members, the group is targeting to take care of two widows and 14 orphans and four disabled under the care of the group.

THE VUCHE VUCHE CRAFT PROJECT 

The Vuche Vuche Basket Weaving Co-operative began in January 2011. The group was started by Maggie Zambo and a few other ladies and aimed to create employment for women who were either not employed or only employed on a part time basis, but who had financial obligations to their families, for example, educating their children. The group now consists of twenty ladies, some of whom are widows and having to take care of their families solely and others who are taking care of orphaned children or their elderly parents. The money earned helps with the building of their craft shop and the surplus is used for food and education for the ladies’ families.

Their materials are harvested from the bush around the nearby village of Satau and all dyes used are natural. By collecting these reeds it helps the growth of the plant, making it sustainable for the environment. It can take anywhere from three days to a month to create the baskets. At the moment, the ladies’ only market is self-drives who visit Chobe National Park or people who know about the group. They are hoping to expand this with the building of their craft shop and by selling their wares through African Bush Camps accommodations in Botswana & Zimbabwe.

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