The Genuine Difference – November 2016

At the heart of Asilia’s existence is the belief that we make a positive, sustainable contribution to the communities and people of Africa in the areas where we have our camps. By coming on holiday with us you’re having a positive impact on these areas too. Together we can redefine tourism as an essential ingredient in human development and environmental conservation.

Ruaha Carnivore Programme Update

News from our partners, Ruaha Carnivore Programme (RCP), is both hopeful and challenging.

Recently, a group of young men from one local village went for a lion hunt, whereupon the community fined them cattle for trying to kill lions. This shows how the villagers are starting to value the presence of lions. However, during this process, it emerged that there was a lot of antagonism between the young warriors and the elders and very unusually, theyoung warriors refused to accept the authority of the elders.

We’ve learnt that some of the eligible young women have been instigating hunts by telling theyoung warriors they are not brave enough to marry because they have not been hunting. Post-hunt celebrations are a key element in traditional Barabaig courtship, and without hunts theyoung warriors and girls have no structured way to meet and mingle.

RCP is trying to counter this with conservationcelebrationsin communities that have not had a hunt in the past month, enabling young men and women to meet in that way, but it is unclear whether this will be enough. We are looking at other ways to enable young warriors to prove their bravery and physical prowess (for example by chasing lions away when they are seen close to houses, or by implementing a local competition like the Lion Guardian Games) but it may be that we cannot replace this element entirely.

If you have any ideas on how the courage aspect of the courtship ritual can be acknowledged, without harm to carnivores, we’d love to hear it. Please contact clarissa@asiliafrica.com and she will forward your ideas onto RCP.

Ecotourism Kenya – Naboisho wins Gold!

Naboisho Camp has been accredited at the highest level (gold) by Ecotourism Kenya. This is recognition of the camp’s ecotourism principles and best practices especially relating to legal compliance, environmental management and investment in community wellbeing.

Similarly Fair Trade Tourism, an international benchmark for sustainable travel, has entered a mutual recognition agreement with Ecotourism Kenya. This means that Naboisho Camp is recognized at a global level for its contribution to empowering Africa’s wild places.

In other news, Melanie and Bret Lott, guests at Asilia’s Encounter Mara, were so touched by the story of Natii that they decided to sponsor her through school to give her the best shot at determining her life path.

“We wanted to help a child get an education and have choices in their life,” says Melanie, who homeschooled her own children. Read the heart-rending & heart-warming story here>

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