Step back in time at Elephant Pepper Camp, a glorious tented camp hidden in a grove of giant ebony and elephant pepper trees overlooking the Masai Mara Plains. Modern comforts are set amidst hurricane lamps, and sumptuous meals served under a ceiling of stars.

The View Out

The camp is situated in the heart of the protected Mara North Conservancy, a spectacular wilderness area on the northeastern border of the Mara National Reserve. Here now for 20 years, it is one of the original, very small and exclusive tented camps, and is located away from other lodges. With only 9 en-suite tents, this magical camp maintains the atmosphere that is usually felt only on a traditional, mobile luxury safari.

The View In

What They Are Doing

Elephant Pepper Camp was built with sustainability in mind. There are no generators, cement, or any permanent structures, making the camp completely movable. Nestling almost out of sight under its canopy of trees, it closes for two months a year to allow the ecosystem to regenerate.

The Masai Mara

Elephant Pepper was instrumental in the formation of the Mara North Conservancy, a spectacular 28,000 hectares on the northeast border of the Mara National Reserve, a core parcel within the Masai Mara ecosystem. For the exclusive use of its 12 member camps, it provides some of the Mara’s prime game viewing in complete privacy. At the same time it guarantees the more than 700 Masai landowners stable revenue, with the camps paying $112,000 a month in fixed lease payments, or $1.3 million annually. Almost twenty percent goes to conservation management with employment of rangers, vehicle surveillance, and maintenance of infrastructure.

Zebra on the Mara North Conservancy

The camp has worked with the local Masai community for nearly 20 years, with the creation of the conservancy being the latest development in preserving this vital wilderness.

Among the initiatives the camp has spearheaded and participated in: Water from Wildlife, bringing water to schools without damaging the ecosystem; it has also introduced water-catchment and -collection systems, as well as the concept of shallow wells to support the local communities.

Place of Rest

When the area surrounding the camp was designated a wildlife conservation area by the Masai, Elephant Pepper was instrumental in helping the local Masai relocate to their new homesteads. The camp also transported their building materials for them, in order to reduce the need for tree felling. It supports the Aitong Primary School, which has, since 2007, added a new classroom, kitchen, and new desks and chairs.

Guests are encouraged, whenever possible, to go on game walks instead of drives. This experience is unrivaled, especially as all of the guides have the prestigious SilverLevel qualification, making them some of the best in the country. Over eighty percent of the staff are employed from the surrounding communities.

The camp relies on solar power, ecofriendly toilets, and traditional bucket showers. Food is sourced locally as much as possible; glass is separated and sold to a recycling plant in Nairobi, all of whose funds are donated to the East African Women’s League to support a family planning program managed by the North Lake Branch in Naivasha.

Africa’s Eden was largely – if not entirely – responsible for Gabon’s rise in the last decade on the world travel map. It had not only created camps such as its flagship Loango Lodge and Evengué Lodge, but it had contributed extensively to conservation projects, including studies of the lowland gorillas.

In September, Africa’s Eden announced that the hiccups had been sorted out, and that it would be back in business in Gabon. More than $1 million is also being spent to improve the camps, extend the runway, and increase the capacity of the local school. Loango will reopen for business in mid-December.

A Pool in a Place Like No Other

Who They Are

The unforgettable Ibo Island Lodge lies just north of the mainland city of Pemba in pristine northern Mozambique, and the island is one of 27 that make up the breathtakingly beautiful Quirimbas Archipelago.

Ibo, 1912

Remote and untouched by commercial development, Ibo is one of the most fascinating, idyllic, and romantic islands – adjectives that easily apply to the lodge too. For several hundred years Ibo was a prosperous Arab trading post on the east coast of Africa. Three forts, a beautiful old Catholic church, and numerous ancient trading buildings stand guard over the sea.  Pirates, ivory, intrigue and the never-to-be-forgotten slave trade are a part of its rich history.

Position at Sunset

The lodge takes up three magnificent mansions, each over a century old and located right on a prime waterfront site, where dhows sail out to sea at high tide. Each of the 9 en-suite rooms is individually designed, large, air-conditioned, and they boast antiques and handcrafted furniture with marvelous wooden doors and shutters that evoke the original design. Guests can immerse themselves in the unchanged, ancient culture of Ibo and the rare chance to interact with the wonderfully hospitable islanders.

Meals feature fresh Ibo-grown organic vegetables, fruits and produce, traditional specialties, and, of course, seafood. Romantic dinners are served on the wide tranquil verandas or on the roof terrace restaurant, both with awesome views over the sea.

The Sand Spit off Ibo

What They Are Doing

Ibo Island has 4000 inhabitants, of whom only a small number had formal employment. The lodge has made a significant impact on the local economy, employing and also training up to 150 employees during the construction and development phase.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5vEjN3WKBI

Click here for more videos about Ibo.

The Main Lounge

Before the lodge’s nascence, the community had no exposure to tourism or the outside world. Few had any education and in many cases did not even speak or write Portuguese.  The lodge has provided a solid training facility with the development of the Ibo Island Community Training Centre, delivering education programs that deal with, among other things, English literacy, guiding techniques, tourism etiquette, small enterprise development, and the presentation of the unique cultural and historical features of Ibo. The facility is free to all community members.

Jewelry Made by Ibo Silversmiths

Making use of the old Arab coffee plantations that still exist on Ibo, the lodge hand grinds and open-fire-roasts its world-class coffee. Its agricultural project will focus on the production of coffee, as well as a market garden producing fresh vegetables, herbs, and fruit for the lodge.

Even the Decay is an Artwork

A marine turtle research project aims to support international research efforts into turtle biology and ecology and to protect marine turtles, and turtle eggs, from illegal and inadvertent harvesting on Ibo.

Silversmiths, part of an ancient tradition here, hand-craft exquisite intricate jewelry using old Arab techniques and tools. The key element to sustain this craft is providing high quality raw materials.  In order to do this, the lodge has set up a distribution network with a company in Cape Town called Africa Nova who will be able to provide a far greater return for the silversmiths. This jewelry is found no where else in the world and guests can observe the art and commission pieces from the lodge’s silversmith project.

By creating jobs where there were none, Ibo Lodge has had other positive influences, reducing the reliance on fishing as a primary source of income and food. Among other projects the lodge is involved in is a local Montessori school.

Rooftop View

In Their Own Words

“As the first tourism investor on Ibo Island and specialist tour operator to the Quirimbas Archipelago, the company believes that it is critical that local communities benefit from tourism development. One of the key approaches of Ibo Island Lodge has been that of supporting and creating projects on Ibo that will serve to create income and livelihoods for other members of the communities.”

Watch the Trailer and $10 Goes to Save Lions

It’s a fact learned by few people who go on safari. They don’t realize that the animals they are watching, enjoying, enthralled by, might not be there for their own children to one day see. And that’s what the Jouberts, who have been filming predators in southern Africa for twenty years, mostly for National Geographic, are trying to do with The Last Lions. They want to make people aware of the beauty and irreplaceable richness that will die when the predator cats do.

The Jouberts follow one lioness, who, with her three cubs, flees a pride of females and settles on Duba island in Botswana. The rest of the movie is about her battle to keep her family alive, to feed them, and to fend off attacks by other cats and a massive herd of buffalo. It’s a story of Africa’s wildlife, heartbreaking at times, but it reminds you what’s at stake. Lions in all their glory.

Financed by National Geographic, which has launched Cause an Uproar in order to spread information about the plight of lions.  Also, The Big Cat Initiative, which was started by the Jouberts and National Geographic, is working in Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya, and other countries, to try and halt the decrease in the number of cats. As Dereck Joubert says, “We are fighting for one cat at a time.”

But the Jouberts also do their own share.

As stakeholders in the Great Plains Conservation, which owns properties in Botswana, Tanzania, and Kenya – such as Duba Plains, where the movie was filmed, and Ol Donyo Lodge – the company puts money back into conservation and cat programs and anti-poaching. To support their company and its properties is to support wildlife.

Gabon’s tourism – most of it sustainable tourism – will quite possibly vanish by the end of August. The sudden withdrawal of Africa’s Eden, the main creator of tourism to the country, spells disaster for many people’s dreams, the country’s name, and a section of the economy. The marketing director for Africa’s Eden, Jacqueline Van den Broek, answers questions about what went wrong.

A World Different How long have you been in Gabon?

Van den Broek Africa’s Eden grew from a pilot project named Operation Loango, initiated in 2001, with the aim to conserve the pristine nature of Gabon through small-scale tourism. Loango National Park was one of the 13 new parks created in 2002, and it did well thanks to thanks to the efforts of SCD (Société de Conservation et Développement) and its parent company, Africa’s Eden.

AWD What kind of money and infrastructure did you put in there”

Van den Broek Fifteen million Euros for aviation, tourism, education infrastructure (we built school in the village, educated eco guides), and three million Euros went directly to conservation projects.

AWD Why did you choose Gabon as a venture?

Van den Broek Rombout Swanborn, Africa’s Edens’ owner, grew up there, saw the beauty and fragility of the ecosystem, and wanted to protect it via an entrepreneurial and sustainable way.

AWD Can you say a little about the owner of Africa’s Eden?

Van den Broek Rombout Swanborn spent part of his childhood in the Gamba region of Gabon. When he returned to Gabon after many years, he realized that west central Africa is one of the few places on earth that has remained relatively untouched by humankind, and that it deserves to be conserved for current and future generations. Africa’s Eden’s approach aims to establish and sustain west central Africa as a unique global destination for tourism, in order to conserve and protect its natural and cultural heritage.

AWD What has gone wrong now in Gabon?

Van den Broek The move is a result of the failure of negotiations following a dispute between the Gabonese civil aviation authorities (ANAC) and Africa’s Eden’s sister company, SCD Aviation, which ran a regional airline charter company to transport tourists from the capital Libreville to the park. Even active support of key members of Gabonese government could not prevent the severe consequence of a malfunctioning civil aviation authority that failed to create the conditions necessary for regular and safe aviation transportation: SCD Aviation was consistently refused the renewal of its Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC), even though all requirements were met.

Another consequence of this problematic situation is the fact that the European Union blacklisted all Gabonese airlines in 2008 when a large number of deficiencies were reported with regards to the capability of ANAC “to perform their air safety oversight responsibilities. More than 93 percent of the ICAO standards were not implemented.” This was the lowest percentage of all audited countries, and makes ANAC in Gabon one of the poorest performing civil aviation authorities in the world.

AWD You have the support of some of the government, though?

Van den Broek Correct. But ANAC is a fairly independent operating agency which apparently is hard to control from government side. This remains, however, also one of our own questions.

AWD Gabon got a lot of publicity in America and elsewhere the last few years as a travel destination. Do you think that was largely (if not solely) due to Africa’s Eden?

Van den Broek Africa’s Eden has always actively sought publicity and welcomed journalist and film crews from all over the world. Publications in National Geographic and documentaries on BBC and Animal Planet contributed to create awareness. Apart from that we went to all the large travel trade shows to promote Gabon.

AWD Do you think this is going to change things for the country?

Van den Broek Yes, they will lose their spot on the tourism map, I’m afraid. Without a decent tourism infrastructure in the national parks, tourism development as a serious economic sector will not happen.

AWD Is this a typical case of African corruption or how do you see it?

Van den Broek I am not the person to make these kind of qualifications, we can only see the result of this conflict by no longer having international tourists visiting Gabon. Other countries like Malawi, Cameroon, Sao Tome and Principe won’t stand still. In other words, if you don’t develop other countries will.

AWD Africa’s Eden is strongly in favor of sustainable tourism, isn’t it? Was this having a positive effect in Gabon?

Vandenbroek Very much so. One only has to consider the conservation projects conducted. Apart from that we created many jobs and education and provided a stable economic base for people in Gabon.

AWD How many people came to Gabon as a result of Africa’s Eden having camps and lodges there?

Vandenbroek Africa’s Eden realized 8000 bed nights a year

AWD What is your next move?

Vandenbroek As long as there is no reaction or action from ANAC or government, the lodge will remain closed.

Gorilla, Goodbye?

The small Central African country of Gabon has been getting a lot of great publicity over the last few years. A tourism jewel, magazines and newspapers called it. This was mostly due to the efforts of – and 15 million Euros paid by – one man, Rombout Swanborn, the low-key Dutch businessman and conservationist. Investing in aviation access, tourism infrastructure, and nature conservation in Gabon, he had lodges and eco-camps built, staff trained, and he made way for research and monitoring groups to study the area, especially the rich Loango National Park.

But no more.

Swanborn’s company Africa’s Eden, has announced it will pull out of Gabon on September 1, 2010. Behind it the company will leave a country to which it, as the main tourism operator, has helped introduce thousands of tourists. Through Africa’s Eden they saw Gabon’s magic rich forests, lowland gorillas, and rare beaches.

The sudden move - a serious blow to sustainable tourism in the region – comes as a result of “the failure of negotiations following a dispute between the Gabonese civil aviation authorities (ANAC) and Africa’s Eden’s sister company SCD Aviation, which ran a regional airline charter company to transport tourists from the capital Libreville to the park.”

In a strongly worded statement, Africa’s Eden called ANAC a “malfunctioning civil aviation authority that failed to create the conditions necessary for regular and safe aviation transportation.” As a result of this, the EU blacklisted all Gabonese airlines in 2008 and it got “the lowest percentage of all audited countries (which) makes ANAC in Gabon one of the poorest performing civil aviation authorities in the world.”

Swanborn said numerous efforts had been made to come to an agreement, but they had failed. The inability of his company’s planes to function properly in Gabon had crippled the company and led to severe financial losses.

“We are highly disappointed,” he said, “as a solution would have benefited all parties involved. In the end, the Gabonese people. ”

Africa’s Eden is no longer promoting Gabon as a tourism destination. At least 125 people will lose their jobs when the company leaves. And conservation research, which has so far been helped to the tune of 3 million Euros in the study of whales, manatees, lowland gorillas, and chimpanzees, will lose a crucial benefactor.

(See A World Different’s Q&A with Africa’s Eden’s Jacqueline van den Broek.)

Campi Ya Kanzi is a lodge in the Chyulu Hills section of the great Kilimanjaro Ecosystem, a 280,000-acre reserve where Ernest Hemingway wrote The Green Hills of Africa.

Up to sixteen guests can be accommodated in six cottages and two suites, all set on wooden platforms and underthatch, with large en-suite bathrooms (with solar-heated water). The African decor has Italian accents, reflecting the background of owners Luca Belpietro and Antonella Bonomi. There is also Kanzi House – with its own swimming pool and Jacuzzi – that can accommodate up to ten people.

What They Are Doing

In 2000, Luca and Antonella formed the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. Its mission is to support the preservation of biodiversity within the Maasai tribal lands of East Africa by promoting conservation, education, and health services within the Maasai community. A $100 conservation fee per guest per day is paid to the trust. (Watch Luca talk about the trust in the video below.)

Campi employs 152 Kenyans, and the trust is involved in education, health, and conservation.

Forty teachers are employed in 14 local primary schools. A gifted-pupils private school is run for the best pupils. A total of 22 secondary-level scholarships are offered to the best pupils. The trust runs a public school it built and which is attended by 722 pupils.

The trust employs a doctor and four nurses to look after three dispensaries.  One of them has been provided with solar electricity and a bore hole.

The trust has set aside a private conservation area of 5,000 acres on this traditional Maasai pastoral land to ensure the preservation of one of the earth’s most diverse ecosystems and the fascinating traditions of the Maasai people.

The trust employs 60 anti-poaching scouts and eight other scouts to monitor the lion population.

Its Wildlife Protection and Compensation Program strives to protect lions in southern Kenya from the threat of extinction. Losses caused by predators are compensated by the trust to the Maasai landlords, only if the predators themselves were not hunted, thereby assuring a measure of protection to the lions roaming the reserve. It runs the Simba Project, a  scheme whereby landlords are compensated for livestock killed by predators.

Animal Spotting

As a result, the lion population has increased by more than three hundred percent in two years. The presence of lions encourages tourism, and as the Maasai learn to coexist with the lions, they see them as an extension of their lifestyle rather than as a threat.

The actor Edward Norton is the U.S. president of the Trust, which is also supported by the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Fund (a 501(c)(3) organization). The fund is about to invest some $250,000 in health facilities. In 2006, Cartier, together with Norton, promoted its Love Charity Bracelet program to generously provide the trust with a substantial contribution.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0e-s0Kq-60

In Their Own Words

“We began Campi ya Kanzi in 1996 not with personal financial gain in mind, but with the objective of using profits from sustainable tourism to protect and preserve the local ecosystem and to sustain the traditional culture of the Maasai people.”

A Dhow on Rolas Island

Who They Are

Far in the northern extremes of Mozambique, beyond Pemba in the Querimbas Archipelago, lies the beach oasis of Guludo Beach Lodge. Set up by Amy and Neal Carter-James, a young English couple who passionately believed that quality tourism could benefit poor, rural communities, Guludo goes much further in achieving sustainable tourism than countless resorts around the world that are many times bigger.

A Tented Banda by Night

Designed to blend in with the landscape without impacting it, the four types of accommodations all open up right onto the beach. The Adobe Bandas have king-size beds under a high thatched roof, and in the Tented Bandas your lodgings are beautifully furnished bespoke tents under thatch that let you feel a part of nature without losing the comfort. Also, there is the two-bedroom Family Banda and the more private Zala Suite.

The Simplicity of an Adobe Banda

If lazing on the white-sand beach gets boring, or you need a break from scuba-diving the coral reefs,  there are tours to the fascinating and historic Ibo Island and Rolas Island, as well as whale watching and, with the Querimbas National Park right behind you, a hideout to look for elephants.

Under their company Bespoke Experience the Carter-James plan to open other similar properties.

What They Are Doing

The Carter-James’s plans began to take root in 2002, when, at a meeting in Guludo village, community members said they would like to help them realize their dream of creating a lodge that helped the locals uplift themselves. Guludo was built following guidelines on how to make as little impact and be as unobtrusive as possible, and to respect local customs and culture. The lodge keeps in mind the principles of fair trade (such as employing 50 people from Guludo village and acquiring all its produce from within a five kilometer radius).

An Adobe Banda on the Beach

All furniture and furnishings were produced by local artisans on site, and even uniforms were made by a local tailor with locally bought fabric. Guests are encouraged to buy locally. Several groups have been set up in the area to provide products and crafts, including two weaving palm, one weaving bamboo, and one doing ceramics. These groups sell directly to guests and to the lodge, and a craft store is being created. It is hoped this will create work. The lodge also encourages local services, such as taking guests to a lookout to see elephants and promoting local dance groups.

Better Eating, Thanks to Nema

Five percent of Guludo’s income goes to a specially created foundation, Nema, which carries out an array of community and conservation projects. Numerous local issues were identified before Guludo opened – high infant mortality, lack of education, and lack of jobs.

Prior to Nema, less than one percent of children went on to study at secondary school and less than 20 percent completed all 7 years at primary school because of the costs and the need for children to help gather food. Nema is building two new primary schools and hopes to build a secondary school next year. A feeding scheme now provides a total of one nutritious meal to 550 children every school day. This year Nema has given out 79 scholarships, although funds are sorely needed to keep this number up (see how you can help). School attendance, as a result of these efforts, has increased by 350 percent.

The Fascinating Ibo Island

In the Guludo area the average life expectancy is 38, and 30 percent of children do not reach the age of five, many dying as a result of  malaria. In 2007 and 2008 over 4,400 insecticide-treated nets were distributed to each woman in six villages who were either pregnant or had children under five, resulting in over 10,000 people sleeping under nets. In 2010, Nema hopes to reach every woman with a child under five in all 12 neighboring villages.

Women Especially are Targeted for Help in Guludo Village

Every day 102 children in Mozambique are infected with HIV and less than three percent will receive treatment. The majority of new infections are in young people, with girls between 15 to 19 three times more at risk than boys the same age. A new local drama group has been trained to perform sketches illustrating the dangers of HIV, and its reception has been incredible, with whole villages turning out to watch the performances. Nema will also start to run HIV workshops, distribute condoms, and will show HIV awareness films. In 2010 it also plans to start a school soccer project to raise awareness among the youth.

Right Behind the Beach ... the Bush

In 2007, around Guludo, less than 50 percent of the population had access to safe water and the majority of pumps were in disrepair. In 2007/2008 Nema completed 28 new or rehabilitated water points and pumps in 12 villages, resulting in the provision of clean water to over 12,000 people.

A Humpback off Guludo

Guludo has also developed a seafood buyers guide to help people decide what non-endangered fish to buy. Guests have helped sponsor humpback whale research, and the lodge helps locals develop kitchen gardens and plans to start working with farmers to be more conscientious of protecting the forest and bush around them.

In Their Own Words

“Inspired by the people living in the Guludo area, Guludo Beach Lodge is just the beginning. Like many entrepreneurs, ideas  always abound and you never quite know what’s just around the corner in their quest of using business to relieve poverty.”

When the Camels Aren't Patroling

Who They Are

Peponi is a small hotel on the exotic island of Lamu in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Kenya. The Korschen family, who still own it, opened the hotel two miles from Lamu town in 1967, and it still retains much of the same original character and charm. Small and personal, it is an ideal place to rest after a safari or simply to use as a hideaway.

Sit and Relax

The 24 rooms are divided into superior and standard, and all of them have ocean views. All rooms have overhead fans, mosquito nets, showers (no baths). Fresh flowers add a nice finishing touch. The hotel is at the one end of the 12-km.-long Shela Beach.

Peponi on the Beach

What They Are Doing

The Lamu Marine Conservation Trust, or Lamcot, was started by Peponi in 1992 to save the local sea turtles, whose numbers were fast diminishing, and is now headed by Atwaa Salim. With the backing of Carol and Lars Korschen and with financial support from conservation organization Tusk, its mission is to reduce the illegal trade of sea turtle products on the black market; increase the survival rate of the hatchlings and enhance beach security in Lamu through regular patrolling; treat sick turtles that have barnacles, tumors and other complications; spread awareness of the turtles as an essential part of the ecosystem and biodiversity, especially among the local community; promote eco-tourism through the trips to see the hatchlings.

Locals View the Hatchlings

Practical work on the ground includes the monitoring of nest sites, hatching of turtles, and tagging of turtles that are caught by mistake. Patrollers, all of them ex-poachers, now patrol the two main nesting beaches using camels sponsored by Tusk. The patrollers work on an incentive scheme, receiving bonus payments for every successful egg that hatches and nest that is protected. Ten years ago, only 20 nests hatched successfully; this rose to 70 nests last year.

Measuring a Turtle

Local fishermen who catch turtles by mistake now bring the animals to the trust headquarters, where they are they are measured, treated if ill, tagged, and released back into the ocean. Each fisherman is put on a register and paid an incentive according to the size of the turtle (in other words, what would he have gotten for it on the black market?).

As with many other Tusk projects its success depends on the commitment of the local community. Here they have taken on the plight of the turtle and changed their fishing and cultural practices. In addition, the trust and Lamcot work with the primary schools on Lamu to establish tree nurseries and run an environmental after-school club. They have also set up a bee-keeping project as an alternative form of income.

Another World - Lamu

Tusk has been the project’s primary donor covering annual running costs since 2000. In addition the trust has purchased a boat, camels, and radio equipment for the beach patrolers. Through donations made by visitors to the project and the sale of merchandise, the project is able to cover the cost of capital items each year.