J945N African Bush Camps Community Empowerment

The Situation

The project is working in partnership with remote rural communities living adjacent to the fragile habitats of National Parks and Wildlife areas in both Zimbabwe and Botswana commonly referred to as the Kavango Zambezi Trans frontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) where human/wildlife conflict is prevalent and these remote communities are sidelined because of their remoteness. Through realizing and benefiting from the value which sustainable tourism brings to the communities, there is a fostering, understanding and appreciation for long term conservation and community development. This project has been put in place to address the key challenges that include lack of access to quality education, poor community infrastructure, a high prevalence of orphans and vulnerable children, lack of income generation opportunities often resulting in poaching activities.

The Objectives

A fruitful partnership with the greater Dete community has been developed over the past 5 years with the community taking ownership for its development.

1. One of the immediate needs to be alleviated is the provision of running water, solar power and resources for the school being addressed such as furniture, a library and computer lab and adequate accommodation for teachers who live on site in the remote setting.
2. The African Bush Camps Foundation can now develop and build upon the skills acquired, further developing the academic potential of the school, expanding the library and E-learning opportunities, creating an Early Childhood Centre, providing Life Skills, building a Secondary School, introducing Adult Education and Literacy classes.
3. Further focus on sustainable land management with training and implementation of permaculture practices and solutions for human/animal conflict as well as expansion of income generating projects to create sustainable income sources for this largely subsistence farming community.