Visit a Village
The Heart of Conservation...
The Diwa Zambezi endeavour began with a passion for conserving an area we know well, that being the Zambezi Valley. Owing to a complex history, burgeoning human populations, regional political instability and simple economic mismanagement, Africa's natural heritage is under enormous threat. Deforestation, poaching (both subsistence and commercial) and over-development are but three manifestations of these root issues. We have a favourite quote here at Diwa Zambezi which is, "the greatest threat to African wildlife is the belief that someone else will save it." We know this to be the mindset of many and it is a reason why the global response to the rapid decline in wildlife numbers has been so belated.
Successful and effective conservation initiatives are rooted in the knowledge that involvement of communities is paramount. Remember that that in addition to being symbols of national pride, national parks are an important revenue source and ultimately some of the revenue should be invested in the welfare of the citizenry. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case in nations such as South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique and Botswana. That onus has been adopted by responsible tourism providers who assist communities in the regions of the national parks in which they operate. This assistance comes in the form of ranger protection and family housing, crop protection, revenue sharing programs so that villagers are able to purchase basic goods and excursions into the national parks themselves. In addition to partnering with these tourism providers, we also give you the opportunity to visit a village yourself. It is a wonderful accompaniment to any safari itinerary and in doing so you'll come to understand directly and intimately, the intricacies and complexities of the human-wildlife relationship.
