CONSERVATION & GIVING BACK

When building and maintaining our camps we venture to use local, sustainable building materials as well as labour. All our recyclables return to Dar es Salaam and sent from paper and cardboard to glass, tins, plastic. Effectively and responsibly managing waste is imperative for the sustainability of our planet.

This initiative was to train how to plant and nurture different trees, including hard wood trees, which had all been eradicated to make charcoal, and also cash crop trees, which could be used for building and charcoal. After this project the Ras Kutani Institute was created to protect the local environment and their good work can be seen today with our Forest Walk. Wildlife is the backbone of our business and protecting these amazing species is not only something we need to do, it is something Selous Safari Company feels very passionately about.

The turtle hatchings at Ras Kutani are supported by staff members, who help protect the nests from poachers and they are also guides for the guests. In Selous Game Reserve, the company augmented much needed anti-poaching patrols, which we continue to support.

Buying supplies from the local community not only helps the camp lower the carbon footprint but also gives a steady trade to the growers and merchants. In Selous, we sponsored a farming project by buying them seeds, equipment, pumps and pipes so they could grow vegetables for the camps in Selous Game Reserve.

To foster a steady economy, Tanzania needs to create the right environment for companies to flourish. Charles Dobie, director of Selous Safari Company, has campaigned tirelessly for over a decade as Vice Chairman and Treasurer of HAT (Hotel Association of Tanzania). For more information on their work please go to their website. Over the years guests have contacted us to ask what to bring for the local communities if they have a few kilos weight limit to spare. This kind gesture has been greatly appreciated and has led some guests to bring suitcases of donations with them!

Donations for the schools, such as stationery, dictionaries and reading books; the children, such as toys, games and footballs; and the clinics, such as basic medical supplies and health charts, are always well received.

However many items have a short life span and only help a few lucky villagers and for this reason we would always recommend supporting longer lasting projects which help the community as a whole. Sometimes the biggest impact in a community comes from a single project, something that simply makes daily life easier. Selous Safari Company have listened to the village chairmen and councils to see what would effect the biggest change and over the years have installed water pumps and wells, giving constant, clean water to the whole community; provided pumps and pipes to create irrigation systems; built a desperately needed police station for a population of over 5,000; and actioned several building and maintenance projects, recently completing new flooring and desks for both teachers and students, at Makifu School near Ruaha National Park.

It is obvious to all that significant changes need to be made but it is imperative that this change is driven by the communities themselves rather than imposed upon by third party, first world organisations, this way the projects will have a chance of success and will lead to sustainable development.

With this in mind, Selous Safari Company has reformed its charitable policy to match these ideals. With the generous monetary donations from guests and also the company’s involvement, Selous Safari Company will endeavour to sponsor sustainable one-off projects within our local communities – collecting all the donations together and addressing each camp community in turn and asking them directly what we could do for them to make a positive change, not just for one life but the community’s life.

These ideas will be driven by the community, but delivered by Selous Safari Company and could take the shape of anything from installing guttering to gather rainwater or new beds for the medical clinic, to a donation of school books or fixing a water pump. We also continue to support environmental and wildlife driven projects with donations to reliable local charities which are already well indoctrinated and require funds to retain their high standard of good work.