More Than a Safari: A Long-Term Commitment to Conservation and Community in South Luangwa
- Ian Dawson
- Jul 1
- 3 min read
For many years, we have returned season after season to the South Luangwa Valley in Zambia — not simply to witness its remarkable wildlife or to enjoy the expertise of The Bushcamp Company’s guides and staff, though these are extraordinary in their own right. What draws us back is something deeper: a profound respect for the company’s enduring investment in the region’s people, environment, and future.
Mfuwe Lodge and its six associated bushcamps offer guests an immersive wilderness experience unmatched in Africa. But beyond the stunning landscapes and the thrill of tracking leopard or witnessing elephants ambling past your tent lies a story far richer. This is the story of a tourism operator that sees itself as a custodian — not just of the land, but of the communities that live alongside it.
Education and Opportunity: Building Foundations for the Future
Central to The Bushcamp Company’s vision is a comprehensive education and welfare programme, known by its acronym ELE — Education, Luangwa, Environment. This is not merely philanthropy, but an integrated, locally-rooted initiative supporting 23 schools in the immediate vicinity of Mfuwe Lodge.
More than 4,000 children receive daily school meals through the programme — a lifeline for many, ensuring attendance and fostering concentration. Infrastructure is upgraded with classrooms, desks, books, uniforms, and school gardens. Crucially, scholarships enable talented students to continue their studies beyond primary school, often against significant odds.
Environmental education forms part of the curriculum, nurturing a generation with a tangible connection to their unique natural heritage. Here, education becomes a conduit for conservation: equipping local youth to become future guardians of the Luangwa landscape.
Crafting Conservation: The ELE Africa Collection
The company’s commitment extends beyond levies and donations. The ELE Africa Collection — an elegant range of jewellery, textiles, and accessories inspired by the elephants that famously roam Mfuwe Lodge — channels proceeds directly back into conservation and community efforts.
Sales fund critical projects: expanding the education programme, sustaining clean water initiatives through nearly 200 boreholes drilled across the region, and supporting anti-poaching patrols led by Conservation South Luangwa. Each purchase is more than a souvenir; it is a contribution woven from craftsmanship and conservation.
The Luangwa Conservation & Community Fund: A Pillar of Support
Since 2009, every guest staying at Mfuwe Lodge or the bushcamps contributes automatically via a nightly levy to the Luangwa Conservation & Community Fund (LCCF). This pooled resource underwrites a spectrum of projects — from anti-snaring patrols and predator monitoring to community health and education initiatives.
Partner organisations such as Conservation South Luangwa, the Zambian Carnivore Programme, and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife rely heavily on LCCF support. Over US$7 million has been invested to date, underscoring a long-term, transparent commitment to the region’s well-being.
Beyond the Camps: Holistic Community Empowerment
The Bushcamp Company’s reach extends still further through its NGO arm, Charity Begins at Home. This entity channels support to local health clinics, HIV/AIDS awareness programmes, and vocational training. It nurtures creative enterprises such as Tribal Textiles and SEKA theatre, the latter using performance arts to engage communities on human-wildlife coexistence.
Such holistic efforts recognise an unvarnished truth: sustainable conservation is inseparable from thriving communities.
Witnessing Impact, Enabling Change
Each year, we bring small groups to South Luangwa not only to experience its wild beauty but to witness this quietly transformative work. The difference is palpable: thriving schools, healthier children, fewer snares, and the steady hum of hope.
For guests, contribution is automatic through the conservation levy. But for those inspired to go further, opportunities abound — from sponsoring scholarships and classroom projects to supporting borehole drilling or purchasing from the ELE Africa Collection.
To understand more, or to participate, visit:
The South Luangwa Valley remains one of Africa’s last great wildernesses — a place of immense natural wealth and complex human stories. The Bushcamp Company’s model demonstrates that responsible tourism can be a powerful force for good. Their work is a reminder that to preserve such places, we must care for the people who call them home.
It is this vision - matched by action and rooted in respect - that compels us to return year after year, proud to stand alongside them.
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