The Bushcamp Company

The South Luangwa Conservation Society (SLCS) is a non-profit organisation that is committed to the conservation of the wildlife and natural resources of the South Luangwa National Park and surrounding Game Management Areas. SLCS is partly sponsored by the safari operators in Luangwa (LSA), but it relies heavily on individual donations to cover most of its costs.The Bushcamp Company helps fund-raise for SLCS, primarily through the LCCF, and also pays for scouts to conduct anti-poaching patrols in the areas around its camps during the rains. In addition we ensure that our guides and camp staff report any signs of poaching. In 2011 The Bushcamp Company sourced funds to buy SLCS a Cessna 180 light aircraft (to share with the Zambian Carnivore Programme), to help them with law enforcement, research, monitoring and anti-poaching work. In 2011, the Luangwa Conservation Community Fund raised enough to cover almost one third of SLCS’s operating budget!

The Zambian Carnivore Programme (ZCP) is a non-profit Zambian registered trust dedicated to conserving large carnivore species and their habitat in Zambia. The Bushcamp Company helps fund-raise for ZCP, and our guides work with their researchers to report carnivore sightings as part of the ongoing Luangwa Valley Carnivore Monitoring Programme. The Bushcamp Company’s support of ZCP ranges from direct field support of camera trap surveys, providing daily sightings and photographic data from our camps, assisting with and supporting lion collaring and de-snaring. We also help fund-raising by contributing auction prizes. In 2011 The Bushcamp Company sourced funds to buy ZCP a Cessna 180 light aircraft (to share with the South Luangwa Conservation Society) to help them conduct surveillance, wildlife research and monitoring flights over the park.

The Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) was formed in 1999, when the Government took the decision to transform the former Department of National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) into an autonomous body under the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources. ZAWA’s main objectives are to improve the quality of the life among communities living close to wildlife, maintain sustainable biodiversity in protected areas, reverse the decline of wildlife resources, improve wildlife resource management and co-operation with the private sector and local communities in so doing. The Bushcamp Company is proud to work with ZAWA to achieve these objectives in the South Luangwa. As well as generating revenue for the park, through lease and park fees, we have worked in collaboration with them over the past few years to improve the road networks around our camps, build an airstrip down in our area, and we have implemented an extensive tsetse fly reduction programme. We must also not forget the ZAWA escort scouts based at each of our camps throughout the season, who play a vital role in keeping our guests safe and happy on their walking safaris!

Conservation Science Africa (CSA) is a conservation organiation that works regionally in Botswana, Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Their focus is on community-based Eco-Initiatives in and around Africa’s wildlife and wilderness areas. By encouraging alternative land-use practices, that bring additional benefits to the lives of the targeted communities, CSA hopes to address the threats of global climate change, resource depletion, and environmental degradation. CSA is working with The Bushcamp Company to implement Eco-Initiatives to conserve and rehabilitate the areas surrounding the South Luangwa National Park and to enhance the living standards, food security and living conditions of the communities in Mfuwe. In 2009 they partnered with Chiwawatala Basic School to construct an environmentally friendly organic market garden that provides Mfuwe Lodge and our Bushcamps with organically-grown vegetables for our guests to enjoy. The CSA Eco-Initiative Training programme allows members of the community to benefit from learning new skills to provide organically grown vegetables whilst preserving the environment.

Being based inside the National Park, we have always tried to build and run our Bushcamps and Mfuwe Lodge in a way that fits with their magnificent natural surroundings. In recent years we have also tried to make our operation as ‘green’ as possible, introducing solar technology throughout our Bushcamps and also where possible at Mfuwe Lodge. Each chalet or tent has its own solar water heating system, and at the camps we predominantly use solar panels for power; for lighting, charging, fridge-freezers and to pump water. On top of this we always try to ensure that we follow building environmental best practice whenever possible; using sustainably sourced timber, cement (rather than wood-fired) bricks. We also try to ensuring that waste (water and solids) has a limited impact on the immediate environment around each camp. At Mfuwe Lodge we run a ‘worm farm’, where our kitchen and organic waste, is composted down to produce an organic fertiliser, which we use for our tree planting programmes and when setting up new Eco-initiative. For years we have been encouraging members of the local community to plant trees and have started several tree planting programmes. We are proud that our guides have the conservation of their park at the forefront of their minds. Luangwa’s guides are considered to be among the best in Africa; they have undergone

Although education is free from Grade 1 to Grade 7, many of the families living in the rural communities in and around Mfuwe cannot afford the basic additional requirements of uniform, exercise books and pencils. There is a very high percentage of orphans in the area who are looked after by their extended family, who often struggle to feed the children, let alone pay for their education. If a child is educated there is a much greater chance of them being employed and being able to support their family in the future. The want for education is overwhelming and everyday application letters for sponsorship are left at Mfuwe Lodge. By Grade 9 many girls have dropped out of school as they are required to help look after the family, do chores in the house and also they face the challenges of teenage pregnancy and early marriage. If girls could continue their education to Grade 12 there is a much brighter future for them and more of a chance for them to take ownership of their lives and in turn set examples for the next female generation.We feel that education is the key to a successful future, and so as well as supporting three schools in the vicinity of the park, we also provide sponsorship to pupils from the area. With help from our own ‘Charity Begins at Home’ fund, The U Foundation, The Sausage Tree Charity, The Dreike Scholarship Fund, Dazzel Africa, the ‘Austrian Kids’ fund, as well as individual guest donations, the ‘Mfuwe Lodge and The Bushcamp Company Pupil Sponsorship Scheme’ is currently responsible for putting more than 260 pupils through 30 different primary and secondary schools in the Eastern Province. We also sponsor a number of students in tertiary education – focusing on trades and skills that can be used to benefit the community - for example teaching, nursing, plumbing, carpentry, electrician, mechanics. Pupils are monitored on a termly basis and must provide their reports at the end of term.

Chiwawatala Middle Basic School is situated on the main road that connects the National Park with Mfuwe Airport, that cuts through Mfuwe village itself. The school takes around 800 pupils from Grades 1 to 9, being taught by 18 teachers (a ratio of over 44 pupils to 1 teacher) - of these children, more than 300 are orphans. The Bushcamp Company has supported the school since 1999; initially assisting with the purchase of stationery supplies, but now, with our help, the school offers probably the best facilities of any Basic School in Mfuwe. In 2009 we helped connect them up to mains electricity and in 2011 boreholes were sunk, supplying clean running water to the school.Currently, with the help of guests’ generosity we sponsor about 80 children here through school; paying for their uniforms and other school equipment. Our School Fund also pays five teachers' salaries, to supplement the Government-funded teachers. The Bushcamp Company has also helped with renovating the school: building teachers' houses and recently with the help of the Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust and The U Foundation built the Carly Pinder Library, complete with computer room, in 2011 we used some of the LCCF funds, collected in 2010, to renovate several of their classrooms buildings. To encourage a conservation mindset within the children, the entire school is taken on a game drive once a year, and in the low season our guides also give conservation-orientated talks at the school. In partnership with Conservation Science Africa (CSA), the school also has a small vegetable garden from which The Bushcamp Company & Mfuwe Lodge buys some of their herds and fresh vegetables. Our generous supporters have also helped provide the school with sports equipment and to equip classrooms. And many guests, with a little space in their luggage, have helped to supply us with small gifts that are used as motivational prizes at an end of term prize giving awards for hard working pupils.
At the start of 2013 we introduced and funded a chidren's "feeding programme" at Chiwawatala School. This ensures that 800 children receive at least one nutritious meal ever day.
Guests are very welcome to come and visit the projects at this Chiwawatala School during their stay at Mfuwe Lodge - please let us know in advance and we will try and make arrangements.

Chilongozi Middle Basic School takes around 300 pupils, from Grades 1 to 9, with only by 8 teachers (a ratio of around 37 pupils to 1 teacher) - of these many of the students are orphaned. The school is in the very remote Malama Chiefdom, in the GMA on the other side of the Luangwa River to our Bushcamps, where human-wildlife conflict is a major issue. As the crow flies Chilongozi School is somewhere in between Chindeni & Bilimungwe Bushcamps - on the eastern side of the River. Since 2000 The Bushcamp Company has supported the school, giving assistance with the purchasing of the school’s stationery supplies, and with the help of guests’ generosity we send 6 older children (Grades 10 & 11) each year to High School by paying their school & boarding fees, uniforms etc. The Bushcamp Company, with support from the The Sausage Tree Charity, also pays three teachers' salaries to supplement the Government-funded teachers and have paid to have a new teacher’s house built and to sink a borehole. We hope to build more houses and a classroom in the future. To encourage a conservation mindset within the children, in 2009 we started what we hope will be an annual event, by taking 100 kids from the school on a game drive and hosted them for lunch at Bilimungwe Bushcamp.

We are afraid that Chilongozi Scool is too far away and remote for guests to be able visit during their stay at Mfuwe Lodge.

Mfuwe Day Secondary School is situated in the centre of Mfuwe village and is the only Secondary School in the area. Over 650 pupils attend the school, in Grades 8 to 12, with pupils coming from all the neighbouring chiefdoms, many kids travel long distances - some up to 15 km – other pupils live up to 50km away, so approximately 150 pupils board at the school. The school ‘developed’ from Mfuwe Basic School, which is situated next door, in 2001, as the need for secondary education in the Mfuwe area became increasingly in demand. The Secondary School had almost no classrooms of their own and had to come to an arrangement with the Basic School to borrow a few of theirs; which was not an ideal situation!A new Head Teacher was appointed in 2010, Mrs Beatrice Chabala, who was raised in the Copperbelt area and completed her Secondary Teachers diploma there. When she first arrived at the school she faced the challenge of having to accommodate and educates over 650 pupils in 5 classrooms with only 24 teachers - an impossible task. The school had two main challenges: a lack of building infrastructure and lack of materials. Both of these factors made it a real struggle for teachers to teach effectively, and the school desperately needed support in order to improve the quality of essential local secondary education. A long term plan for improving the School was necessary, with the emphasis focused on providing the basic needs of classrooms and essential materials and equipment. Between 2010 to 2012 The Bushcamp Company & Mfuwe Lodge, along with several other safari operators in the area, with the kind support of our guests and dedicated supporters, have made huge improvements to the School, including building 3 classrooms and 2 dormitories (housing 48 pupils per dormitory). Plans are also underway to construct an ablutions block, library and science block in the near future. The improvements have already installed a greater sense of pride in teachers and pupils alike. We also currently sponsor roughly 60 pupils at the school.

Guests are very welcome to come and visit the projects at Mfuwe Day Secondary School during their stay at Mfuwe Lodge – please let us know in advance and we will try and make arrangements.

Since 2004 we have produced a fund-raising calendar each year, using paintings done by pupils from the schools we support in Mfuwe. The children had various themes to choose from over the years, mainly focusing on wildlife, conservation, tourism and of course the South Luangwa National Park. The area has very limited resources and the schools rely on donations and fund raising efforts for their survival. After holding a competition at the schools, the winning entries are made into a calendar, which is very kindly printed with the help of the U-Foundation. The calendars are available at the Mfuwe Lodge Curio Shop or online, with all proceeds from the sale of this calendar going directly to various school projects. The pupils and staff thank you for your support!

Our local staff are our most important asset, many of them have worked for Andy, our co-founder, for over 20 years. We train them to be the best that they can be and encourage them to progress and develop their skills and responsibility. All of our staff and their families are entitled to assistance with school fees through our “Charity Begins at Home” scheme, which allows each of our contracted staff to nominate at least one child to attend secondary school. It also offers bursaries to relatives of our employees, allowing them to attend tertiary education. Each year we send two members of our all-Zambian guiding team, or senior local staff members, to the UK, as a ‘thank you’ and for them to experience ‘the world’ that many of our guests come from. In the future we hope that, by building capacity in our local staff, they will play an increasingly valuable role in the company. Many of our guides have ‘risen the ranks’ through the company, starting off as kitchen porters, waiters, store men and even pool attendants; over the years, with help from their fellow guides and through study and hard work and the support of the company they are now some of our best guides!

The Luangwa Safari Association Medical Fund (LSAMF) was set up to enable a doctor to care for staff and guests in the Luangwa Valley and to spend most of his/her time caring for the rural community of Mfuwe at the Kakumbi Rural Health Clinic. What became the LSAMF was started in 1997 as a response to the lack of emergency medical care in the Valley. The service was originally envisioned to serve just the staff and guests of the lodges on an emergency basis only, but the doctor’s position rapidly evolved to include an active volunteer role at the Clinic in Mfuwe village.The LSAMF was set up under the umbrella of the Luangwa Safari Association (LSA), and is run by a committee and funded by donations from the lodges in the valley and from individual subscribers wishing to have the services of the doctor. Clients seeing the doctor are charged a set fee plus any medications. In the rare circumstance of a critical situation, the doctor will assess the need for a medical evacuation. Doctors come for what is usually a three-month stint in the Valley, Mfuwe Lodge contributes to the Medical Fund and provides accommodation for the doctor.

For more information please contact Amy Alderman Amy@bushcampcompany.com

There is no escaping the fact that HIV and AIDS pose a massive threat to the people of Africa, with many premature deaths from HIV and AIDS due to a simple lack of proper nutrition. As an organization The Bushcamp Company is committed to helping its staff to learn more about this disease and the problems associated with it. We help our staff by ensuring they receive the medical attention they require and provide them with food supplements, we also try and educate them on risk factors, distribute condoms and ensure that no stigma is present in the work place. One of our senior staff has established the Kakumbi HIV & AIDS Nutritional Support Project and also co-ordinates counselling sessions that teach our staff about the facts. We also help fund SEKA, a local theatre group, that perform plays to the local community (and guests) about HIV and AIDS.

As a proud member of the Mfuwe Community, and one of its biggest employers, we feel that we have a responsibility to support local businesses. Through our partnership with Conservation Science Africa (CSA), we run capacity building workshops on livelihood guidance and agricultural methods. We also support other community projects that focus on reducing deforestation and encourage tree planting, supporting businesses that promote alternatives cooking solutions, such as solar cooker and ‘rocket’ stove projects. We try and support vegetable market-gardens in Mfuwe, buying vegetable and herbs for Mfuwe Lodge and our Bushcamps locally, as well as buying It's Wild! products, produced in Zambia by COMACO (Community Markets for Conservation); we currently buy It’s Wild! honey, peanut butter, rice, mielie-meal and other products whenever possible. With assistance from the U Foundation we helped set up a Cultural Village in Mfuwe, run by Peter Zulu - our head guide - which guests can visit while staying at Mfuwe Lodge to learn more about rural Zambian culture. When undertaking new building projects we try and employ local workers, builders and thatchers and pay the local community when using their natural-resources. We also support a local theatre group, SEKA, that perform plays to the local community about HIV and AIDS and to our guests at Mfuwe Lodge about human-wildlife conflict. We also support local sports teams, by helping provide