Namibia self drive vacation, big cat conservation

Planet

The lodges that we use support a variety of projects to protect their environment, and use income generated from tourism to support such projects. For instance, in Damaraland, one lodge planted indigenous plants which are harvested and replanted around the lodge and waterhole. They reduce, reuse and recycle all refuse and use energy saving bulbs as well as solar geysers to reduce their carbon footprint. The lodge was also designed with this mind – a high roof and ventilation ducts - resulting in a temperature change from inside and outside, of no more than 5 degrees on hot days.

One of the lodges we use in Sossusvlei once stood on an area used for subsistence goat farming, with very little indigenous wildlife remaining in the area. By creating a reserve, the land and its wildlife have returned to their former glory. This camp is powered by a hybrid system, combining solar energy and a diesel-powered generator. Thanks to the solar energy, the generator only needs to operate for eight hours a day as opposed to 24 hours. In addition, each guest tent has its own solar geyser that provides hot water. Every effort to conserve water has been made by using water efficient devices in the camp for both guests and staff. Reducing our need extends to power, as energy-efficient lights and appliances have been used. In order to reduce our use of bottled water, reverse osmosis filtration is done on site to provide guests with high quality drinking water.

In Etosha National Park, one of the lodges we use has developed an Anti Poaching Unit - in response to an increase in poaching rhinos on their reserve. Since the APU has been on site, they have seen a drastic decrease in poaching instances. Due to their conservation initiatives, they have successfully apprehended poachers on multiple occasions and continue to collect evidence to assist in successful prosecution.

People

All visits to the rock art sites in Damaraland are lead by local guides and fees paid for these tours are reinvested directly back into the local community. There is little employment in this area and tourism brings in much needed revenue.

We use accommodation that is small and locally owned, ensuring that the costs are retained in the local economy. Our local ground handler is particularly supportive of local community projects and the company has formed a partnership with the Windhoek SOS Children’s Village which offers a home to around 118 orphaned children aged between 3 & 18. We encourage our clients to bring a few gifts such as clothes, shoes, toys, English books, crayons and colouring books. In addition, SOS supports the local community to help children who have lost one or both parents to be cared for in their own extended families wherever possible. The aim of the trust is to give tangible assistance to African people and their environment in their efforts to achieve economic viability without doing harm to natural habitats and wildlife, thus utilizing both on a sustainable basis for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations.

The lodges that we use have a variety of projects to support local communities and the environment: for instance, in Damaraland, one lodge is currently in the process of setting up a community vegetable garden from which they can purchase their vegetables for their restaurant.

In Etosha National Park, one of the lodges we use has provided the local community with the opportunity to economically benefit from operations on their reserve. As well as creating jobs at the lodge, they created a 500-hectare vegetable farm located on the borders of Etosha and Oshivelo township. Currently 94 hectares are under irrigation and Oshivelo Farming aims at developing another 150 hectares in the foreseeable future. Water is sourced from strong boreholes on the property. The farm has been developed to the extent that it is now one of the top 5 vegetable producers in Namibia. The farm employs 180 local people (80% women) who were previously eking out an existence, unemployed.