Results Of The Adventure To Tsavo West
Category: Community Conservation, Eco-tourism, Ex-poachers, Tsavo West Sustainable Development Programme, Uncategorized | Date: Aug 16 2009 | By: gvikenya
There has been a lot happening recently on our sustainable development programme on the edge of Tsavo West, where we are working with former wildlife poachers in Kasaani, Kidong and Mahandakini to find alternative ways to earn a living that enhance conservation rather than threaten wildlife. We have very exciting news to report from Kasaani but will start with Kidong…
Our team returned from Kidong very excited and clutching a box of new aloe vera soaps! One of the key objctives of our visit to Kidong had been to assist the community with the final stages of producing and packaging natural soaps to sell to tourists in Kenya… and we did it!
The community of Kidong learn how to make soap over a year ago; however more recently GVI has been helping the community group develop this recipe in to a higher-end product that could be marketed to tourists. The soaps are made start to finish by members of the ex-poacher community group and are packaged using natural materials including sisal fibres and recycled paper made using elephant dung for the labels. The looks of surprise, contenment and achievement on the face of some of the older men of the Kidong group as they wrapped soap with sisal string, tied beads on and stamped their recycled paper was very special.
The rationale behind producing soaps that can be sold to tourists is to enhance the markets and profit margins for the group. The community will continueto make their more basic neem soaps for the local market in and around Taveta which means they don’t end up wholly dependent on tourism which is not necessarily the most reliable market in Kenya.
The other key objective of the trip to Kidong was to was to continue to assist the group with the development of their cultural centre as a community-based eco-tourism initiative. It was a succesful week teaching the community how to cook panckaes with honey-carmel sauce and other ‘exotic’ dishes for tourists including guacamole and salsa. After some giggles from the community over the food that tourists might like to eat, we mnaged to uncover some talnted chefs within the group. Pancakes with honey-caramel suace were an absolute winner and with a bit more work we hope to see them served up to tourists at Kidong Cultural Centre by the end of the year!
Tags: alternative livelihoods, ecotourism, Kidong, soap making, sustainable developemnt, tavo west
Our Tour of Taveta District
Category: Community Conservation | Date: Feb 04 2009 | By: gvikenya
Greetings from our Tsavo West Community Develpment Project. I’ll be honest, there’s not really any work to report on today. Instead we treated our team to our tour of some of the areas best, but little known sights.
Our day started with a short trek up to the rim of the crater lake at Chala and then down to edge of the turquoise waters. This stunning lake which lays hidden in an old volcanic crater has to be one of Kenya’s better kept secrets. And Tanzania’s for that matter as it straddles the border.
Next stop was Taveta market, always bustling colourful and friendly. We stocked up on supplies and went on a mission to bring back a little something - the cheaper and tackier the better in our opinion - for our colleagues left holding the fort back at the coast.
Then on to the lesser known but equally beautiful Njoro springs, where the Kilimanjaro waters emerge from underground for a freezing, but exceptionally refreshing swim on a hot Taveta day!
We squeezed in a little work at Tunza Mazingira, a tiny local tree nursery that is one of the most beautiful peaceful spots I know of. Full of young trees and pretty plants arranged in neat rows under tall shade tees, it represents a little haven of green cool paradise by hot dusty Taveta. We bought neem trees, which we plant each time we visit Mahandakini. It helps improve their environment, offers a small grass-roots contribution to combating climate change and significantly the group here were sponsored through GVI Charitable Trust, thanks to Rachel our former base manager, to learn how to make soap from the neem tree which is renowned for its medicinal properties. This represents one form of alternative income for these ex-poachers.
Finally, we ended our day with a cold beer at Ziwani Voyager tented camp sat by a pool of hippo, crocodile and wonderful bird life, with impala and waterbuck at the water’s edge. Zebra on the drive back to Mahandakini would have been the perfect end… Except that we were treated to an exquisite yellow sunset behind Kilimanjaro’s lower slopes.
In case you hadn’t noticed, I love it out here!
Tags: lake chala, neem tree, njoro springs, soap making, taveta, tree nursery
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