Natwange Community Bush Camp ● c/o Box 450001 ● Mpika ●

Republic of Zambia ● Email: info@natwange.org ●

Website: http://www.natwange.org

Project Plan Natwange Community

Bush Camp July 2017

(updated version August 2018)

“The continued existence of wildlife and Wilderness is

important to the quality of life of humans” (Jim Fowler, American Zoologist)

[Pick the date]

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Contents

List of Tables ........................................................................................................................ 2

1. Foreword........................................................................................................................ 3

2. Chief Mukungule & the Mukungule Community .............................................................. 5

3. History & current situation of Natwange Community Bush Camp ................................... 7

4. What does Natwange Community Bush Camp has to offer? .......................................... 8

5. Objectives of the Natwange Community Bush Camp ................................................... 11

6. Can you trust us? ......................................................................................................... 13

7. What do we need and what are the costs?................................................................... 15

8. Primary Contact ........................................................................................................... 17

9. Appendix ...................................................................................................................... 19

Appendix 1: Cost estimate for one ablution building ............................................................ 19

Appendix 2: Certificate of Registration of Natwange Community Bush Camp ..................... 20

Appendix 3: Certificates of Mr. George Chiluba, Manager of Natwange Community Bush Camp .................................................................................................................................. 21

List of Tables Table 1: Objectives of Natwange Community Bush Camp .................................................. 12

Table 2: Current members of the Community Resource Board ........................................... 13

Table 3: Current Financial Committee ................................................................................. 14

Table 4: Statement of the costs of objectives in Zambian Kwacha & USD .......................... 16

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1. Foreword

When the two American scientists and bush-lovers Mark & Delia Owens (“Cry of the

Kalahari” and “The Eye of the Elephant”), who graduated in biology through the

University of Georgia, arrived at North Luangwa in 1986, Mark described this area as

a place “where civilization ends”.

Since that time, North Luangwa has experienced some development, but it is still

wild and remote and considered as one of Africa’s finest natural wilderness. This is a

place where visitors can find untouched savanna wilderness areas. This is the place

where visitors can find large buffalo herds, elephants, lions, leopards, Africa’s

greatest concentration of hippos and over 400 species of birds. This is also the place

where visitors can find an encouraged and exceptional community - the Mukungule

Community. This community runs the Natwange Community Bush Camp, just one

kilometer from the Mano Scout Post, the northern entrance to the North Luangwa

National Park.

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To open and to run a campsite in this part of the world is very challenging, because

Community Based Tourism in Zambia is still in its infancy. But the Mukungule

Community has recognized the potential of Community Based Tourism in this area to

ensure both –to protect wildlife and to increase the quality of human lives. Therefore,

the Mukungule Community is a pioneer in this area.

In order to make the most of its potential, the Mukungule Community does need your

support. Please, learn more about us and our intentions in this project plan.

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2. Chief Mukungule & the Mukungule Community

The Mukungule Community is named after Chief Richard Mboloma Mukungule who

was working together very closely with Mark & Delia Owens. When the two biologists

arrived in 1986, the human-wildlife-conflict was on its peak. 100.000 elephants had

been shot by poachers in the Luangwa valley within the previous ten years. Game

scouts were outnumbered by poachers and some of the scouts even poached

themselves. People did not just poach for ivory but also to feed their families or to

have enough meat for weddings or funerals. Europeans would call wildlife “game”,

Africans call it “nyama” which is the Bantu word for meat. The human-wildlife conflict

poses serious challenges to conservationists, local communities and wildlife.

Research efforts to resolve this issue are critical to ensuring the survival of many

threatened species and protecting human lives and livelihoods. One of the most

common human-wildlife-conflict in this area is the conflict with elephants, where

damage to crops and human deaths led to retaliatory killing of elephants in the past.

It can be very difficult to understand the concept of wildlife with a hungry stomach.

People in this part of the world are poor and it is life threatening when the crops,

which should feed the whole family for the next few months and for what they have

worked for very hard, is getting destroyed by elephants just within minutes. But

despite all those challenges Chief Mukungule understood that poaching negatively

affects nature and tourism. He realized that the area may not be perfect for tourism

yet, but that tourism development had a more promising future than poaching.

With the effort of local people like Chief Mukungule, governmental and non-

governmental organizations and private persons the awareness for wildlife tourism of

the local people changed over the past years. Case studies to assess the patterns of

the human-elephant-conflict took place, maps of conflict hotspots were generated

and the use of several elephant deterrents were tested. Some of the Mukungule

villages were part of those studies and played an active role in creating effective

deterrents to keep elephants away from the crops. Despite the animosity felt by

many farmers towards elephants, many people in Mukungule Community are now

aware of a number of positive effects living with elephants. One of these effects is

that a certain percentage of tourist park fees is paid to the Community Resource

Board and then distributed to communities in form of schools and clinics. People

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understand that economic benefits from wildlife in general are important to

compensate farmers and do potentially increase people’s tolerance towards conflicts

with wildlife. Saving the wildlife does mean supporting tourism in this beautiful wild

area and supporting tourism does mean generating income from visitors. It was no

other than Chief Mukungule who started the Natwange Community Bush Camp with

the help of the North Luangwa Conservation Project (NLCP) and the Frankfurt

Zoological Society (FZS). For his great effort the village and later on the whole

community is named after this exceptional person: his honorable Chief Richard

Mboloma Mukungule.

Chief Richard Mboloma Mukungule and his wife Rhodah, 2015

The Mukungule Community is a large community which covers twenty two villages.1

Around 3,000 people are living in those twenty two villages, most of them are

farmers. People are poor and the unemployment rate in some villages is reaching up

to 40 %. Some of the community schools are far away, they do not meet the national

standards and they are in lack of teachers. The generated income from the

1 Those villages are Chobela, Chipundu, Mukungule, Kamanamisombo, Kashaita, Kaluba, Ngalande, Katibunga, Nkomba, Chishala, Kambili, Matala, Chikumbi, Lushinga, Mumposo, Chilyaba, Kaswende, Muluka, John, Munenshi, Mwafushi and Kakoko.

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Natwange Community Bush Camp will support people in this community by

supporting schools, health posts, education and employment.

3. History & current situation of Natwange Community Bush Camp

The Natwange Community Bush Camp is an initiative of the Mukungule Community

and started in 2002. The focus is to benefit the wider community by creating

employment for the local people, by reducing poaching and by supporting

conservation efforts in this beautiful region. Zambia is fortunate to have highly

desirable natural tourism attractions based on wildlife, waterfalls, landscape scenery

and wilderness experiences. There is a wide range of roles in which the Mukungule

Community can participate in tourism and increase benefits to the poor from tourism.

The vision of the community is to protect wildlife and to increase the standard of the

local people through tourism. The generated money shall be used to reduce the

unemployment rate in the villages by training and employing people for the bush

camp, to employ village scouts to help control poaching activities and to support

schools and health posts.

In 2014 the money generated from the bush camp was used for constructing a

health post at Chipundu village. In 2015 the community bought six tents including

mattresses for the bush camp to increase local tourism especially for school children.

It is crucial for this area to teach the next generation about the importance and

protection of nature and wildlife. In 2016 the Natwange Community Bush Camp saw

74 foreign and local guests and generated 9.900 Zambian Kwacha (around 1.000

USD). This money was used to pay village scouts and to finish a house for teachers

at Chobela village. This teacher accommodation is located on the school campus

and ensures a safe stay for teachers who usually live far away from this area. Only

like that, is it possible to attract skilled personnel to teach in remote areas such as

Mukungule.

In the first few years of the bush camp, the Mukungule Community had to face the

challenging problem of lack of experiences and managerial skills to run a Campsite.

Tourism is not an ideal entry-level business for rural communities with little previous

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experience. It is a demanding business and can take years to be successful. It took

time and patience to improve knowledge and expertise in this regard and Chief

Mukungule was in conflict what to do with the bush camp. During that time the

Mukungule Community was lucky and received great support by a German doctor

and therefore they could continue with their efforts to run this unique campsite.

Dr. Andrea Hufschmidt, a German doctor with her own practice in Switzerland,

donated around 15.000 USD. 10.000 USD was used to buy the land of the campsite.

With this support the bush camp officially belongs to the Mukungule Community.

Furthermore she donated 2/3 of the amount which was needed to buy a 4x4 vehicle.

This car is important to transport material, but further more to pick up school classes

from Mpika town and drive them to the bush camp and into the park. The other 1/3

for the 4x4 vehicle was donated by Chief Mukungule himself. Dr. Hufschmidt started

a website for the Natwange Community Bush Camp, so tourists can get informed

before they travel to this region and can make reservations in advance

(www.natwange.org). She supported a pre-school building for children from the age

they are not carried anymore on their mothers back until they officially can go to

public schools. She supported the training of two pre-school teachers which are now

officially qualified to take care of the toddlers during the time of the day their mothers

earn some money. Dr. Hufschmidt furthermore donated sewing machines so the

women in the villages can tailor the school uniforms for their children themselves.

This is much cheaper than buying uniforms somewhere else. The women are even

able to generate some money out of the tailoring to support their families.

Lots of progress was made by the joint effort of the Mukungule Community and the

support of Dr. Andrea Hufschmidt and her German and Swiss friends. For a

successful continuation of this unique Natwange Community Bush Camp, the

Mukungule Community does need more stakeholders which support the next steps

with generous donations – stakeholders like you.

4. What does Natwange Community Bush Camp has to offer?

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There are five basic campsites at Natwange Community Bush Camp, two of them

are in operation.

Impressions of the Natwange Community Bush Camp

Two of six campsites, all located right next to the Mwaleshi river

Per campsite, six people have enough space to enjoy the uniqueness of this

beautiful surrounding. The shady sites are located under beautiful trees and invite

visitors to swim in the Mwaleshi river. The present two campsites share one small

ablution block. Natwange Community Bush Camp is mainly made for self-catering

tourists who bring their own food and drinks. There is no electricity at the camp yet

and the shower water is heated with a donkey boiler. Due to the inaccessibility of this

remote area during the rainy season the Natwange Community Bush Camp operates

only from May to November.

The camp manager, Mr. George Chiluba, is not just a qualified secondary teacher

and trained in tourism, he is also an excellent certified safari guide with the

distinguished knowledge of flora and fauna in this area.

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Mr. George Chiluba with his wife Mary and their son Trinity

George and his team offer private walking safaris into the wild. In this way, visitors

can experience one of the finest wilderness area Zambia has to offer. The area

around the Natwange Community Bush Camp and the North Luangwa National Park

is wild and untouched, visitors can be unobtrusive witnesses to this natural beauty.

The Mukungule Community has great tourism potential in their cultural tradition and

historical heritage. Therefore George and his team offer visits to the surrounding

villages where visitors can experience the real and unique way of Zambian life. They

can participate in the daily village life, see some traditional cultural dances, can

involve themselves in the preparation of some food and enjoy a traditional Zambian

meal made from Nshima (maize porridge), vegetables and meat. Visitors always get

a very warm welcome and feel home immediately. If someone would like to stay

overnight in one of the villages she/he is very welcome to do so.

Visitors are very welcome to the Mukungule Community

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Preparation of traditional Zambian meals

5. Objectives of the Natwange Community Bush Camp

To be able to manage and to operate the Natwange Community Bush Camp in a

more sustainable way in future the Mukungule Community has established several

short- and long-term approaches. Some of them are already very specific others are

a future vision.

1. Teach and educate more villagers Training of one or two persons in International Tourism in Livingstone for six

month to ensure support for the management of the bush camp.

Training of at least one more tour guide to have at least two certified tour

guides available.

Training of a bookkeeper to support the financial management for the bush

camp, the financial committee and the Community Resource Board.

Training of a receptionist to have a qualified person welcoming visitors and to

improve customer service.

2. Build more ablutions to ensure proper sanitation To provide appropriate sanitation and privacy for guests three more ablutions

with shower and toilet are needed. Right now there is just one small ablution for

two camp sites available.

3. Purchase of two solar panels & one water pump One water pump is needed to distribute water from the river to the ablutions.

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Two solar panels are required for the water pump which provides water to the

ablutions. So far two water boys are responsible to carry the water buckets from

the river to the ablution. With more ablutions this will be difficult and hard work.

A solar panel can also be used to charge batteries and phones.

4. Extend activities to more villages So far 10 out of 22 villages within the Mukungule Community are involved in the

Natwange Community Bush Camp, respectively in the activities the bush camp

has to offer. Walking trips shall extend to other villages because there are more

tourist attractions in this area which need to be developed. Examples are the

Kapamba Falls at Chobela village and the hot springs at Nkomba village. The

long-term approach is to involve as many villages as possible into human-

wildlife-protection.

5. Attract local tourism Another long-term approach is to attract as much local tourism as possible to

educate Zambian pupil in conservation and tourism. So far this plan is working

out with school classes, which get picked up with the 4x4 car in Mpika town, get

transported to the bush camp where they can sleep in provided tents and get

fed by the villagers.

6. Offer drinks & snacks / build a little Bar A little Bar which provides cold drinks and some snacks at a well selected spot

on the terrain could be another asset. Usually travelers in this area bring their

own food but to offer some quick local snacks would be –according to many

guests- very welcome. To include a Bar into the camp life is another long-term

plan. But a Bar needs power for a fridge which is not available yet. Table 1: Objectives of Natwange Community Bush Camp

Future ideas for Mukungule Community are to extend the Community Bush Camp to

a second place, to the beautiful scenery at Kapamba Falls. Another idea, even

further in future, is to build some chalets for tourists who would like to take a break

from sleeping in a tent or who come without their own vehicle and would like to enjoy

full board service in this beautiful area. Until then, lots of water has to flow down the

Mwaleshi river because there is still a long way to go. People need to be trained,

facilities need to be constructed, revenue has to be generated and donors have to be

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found. The Mukungule Community is aware that success does not happen overnight.

Therefore, it is crucial to take one step at the time and to develop the business of

Natwange Community Bush Camp in a clever way and well thought through.

6. Can you trust us?

Yes, you can!

Donors always would like to be sure that their money is well invested and that it

doesn’t vanish into some dark channels. The Mukungule Community does agree

very much to that concept. To monitor finances and the utilization of revenues and

donations, several committees were established:

1. There is the Community Resource Board of which the honorable Chief Richard

Mboloma Mukungule is the patron. The Community Resource Board gets elected

every three years. The 10 new members of the Community Resource Board

which were elected in March 2017 are:

No Name Function Village 1. Mr. Bornface Chibulu Executive Chairperson Katibunga Villae

2. Mr. Ernest Chipalo Vice Chairperson Kaluba Village

3. Mr. Ernest Malama Secretary Kaluba Village

4. Mr. Teddy Mulenga Vice Secretary Chipundi Village

5. Mr. Work Kalulu Bookkeeper Nkomba Village

6. Mr. George Nkatya Member Mukungule Village

7. Mr. Tobias Chitumbi Member Kakoko Village

8. Mr. Charles Chikoti Member Kashaita Village

9. Mrs. Evalyn Chinkalanga Member Mwafushi Village

10. Mrs. Jenet Mwabala Member Chobela Village Table 2: Current members of the Community Resource Board2

2 Next Board election : 2020

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The Community Resource Board is an entity coordinating and monitoring all the

projects and revenues regarding the Mukungule Community. During their

quarterly meetings, the members of the board meet with village representatives

to listen to their issues and concerns to achieve a better common understanding

and to discuss, how to use the generated money intelligently. The Community

Resource Board employs community workers, does hold additional meetings in

the communities to teach people about conservation, conducts small trainings on

poultry and fish farming and does encourage people to cooperate with each

other.

2. There are village representatives of each involved village. Those representatives

monitor the use of the money in the villages and report back to the Community

Resource Board.

3. There is a financial committee in place which knows exactly how much money is

spent for purchases, salaries or construction work.

No Name Function Village 1. Mr. George Nkatya Chairperson Mukungule Village

2. Mr. Work Kalulu Bookkeeper Nkomba Village

3. Mrs. Jenet Mwabala Secretary Chobela Village

4. Mrs. Evalyn Chinkalanga Member Mwafushi Village

5. Mr. Ernest Chipalo Member Kaluba Village

6. Warden/Ranger of Zambia Wildlife

Authority (ZAWA)

Advisor person changes

frequently Table 3: Current Financial Committee3

All these different groups, the village representatives, the Community Resource

Board and the Management of Natwange Community Bush Camp jointly decide for

what purposes the generated money will be used. In the same way the involved

parties would discuss the best use of donated money. If donors have certain wishes

3 Next Committee election: 2020

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how to spend their money (e.g. just for trainings or just for a water pump etc.) the

community is certainly open to such requests. However, please be aware that the

best overview what is most needed within the Mukungule Community still lays with

the people of Mukungule and their selected committees. It might be possible that the

suggested names, mentioned in table 1 under heading 5, change if the candidates

change. Therefore the people of Mukungule ask for openness and efficient

cooperation of possible supporters regarding their donations.

7. What do we need and what are the costs?

Nr. Objective Description Total in Zambian

Kwacha = ZMW (USD4)

1. Training in International Tourism for one person

- Duration 6 month, place Livingstone

- Topics are customer service, development of tourism products, marketing, reservation and ticketing and tourism geography

- Monthly expenditures in ZMW: accommodation 250, transport 200, living costs 300

- Tuition fee 4.000 ZMW

- Books 100 ZMW

- Study tours and research project 1000 ZMW

9.600

(955)

2. Training as a

tour guide for

one person

- Duration 3 month, place Mfuwe

- Costs all inclusive 6.500 ZMW

6.500

(650)

4 Exchange rate July 2018

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3. Training of one

bookkeeper

- Duration 6 month, place Youth Skill Center in Mpika Town

- Training in financial activities

- 1.800 ZMW (all inclusive)

1.800

(180)

4. Training of one receptionist

- Duration 6 month, place Youth Skill Center in Mpika Town

- Training in front office management

- 1.800 ZMW (all inclusive)

1.800

(180)

5. Ablutions - 3 buildings with shower and toilet

- One small building for each campsite

- Subtotal for 1 building 18.520 ZMW

(detailed cost estimation see Appendix 1)

55.560

(5.525)

6. Solar panel - 2 solar panels

- Subtotal for 1 panel 2.200 ZMW

4.400

(440)

7. Water pump/tank - Water pump 3.000 ZMW

- Reserve tank (3.000 liter) 4.500 ZMW

- Water pipes (100 meter) 1.000 ZMW

8.500

(850)

Total amount in ZMW

Total amount in USD

88.160

8.780

Table 4: Statement of the costs of objectives in Zambian Kwacha & USD

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8. Primary Contact

For more information you are welcome to contact Mr. George Chiluba, manager of

the Natwange Community Bush Camp or Dr. Andrea Hufschmidt, a supporter and

friend of the Mukungule Community and of the Natwange Community Bush Camp for

many years.

Mr. George Chiluba Natwange Community Bush Camp c/o Box 450001 Mpika, Republic of Zambia

Email: info@natwange.org or georgechiluba82@gmail.com Website: http://www.natwange.org

or

Dr. Andrea Hufschmidt Niederlenzerstr. 23 5600 Lenzburg, Switzerland

Email: andrea.hufschmidt@hin.ch

This project plan was created by Anja Krbanjevic, Development Aid Consultant, B.A.

Health Care Management and expert in Tourism Management

(anja.krbanjevic@gmail.com) in cooperation with Mr. George Chiluba, to support the

Mukungule Community and the Community Based Tourism in Zambia.

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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the

world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever does." (Margaret Mead, American cultural anthropologist)

“They say that animals are incapable of feelings and reasoning. This is false. No

living thing on earth is void of either. They also say that man is the most intelligent —

and the most superior — species on earth. This is also false. It is very arrogant to

assume that we are the most intelligent species when we keep repeating the same

mistakes over and over again. It has been shown that both rats and monkeys learn

from making errors, yet we have not. Our history proves this. All creatures on earth

have the capacity to love and grieve the same way we do. No life on the planet is

more deserving than another. Those who think so, are the true savages.” (Suzy Kassem, American author, film director, philosopher)

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9. Appendix

Appendix 1: Cost estimate for one ablution building Nr. Material Quantity Single Price in

Zambian Kwacha = ZMW

Total Amount in Zambian Kwacha =

ZMW

1. bricks 1,000 2 2.000

2. cement 15 85 1.275

3. stones 16 wheel barrows 25 400

4. sand 100 wheel barrows 10 1.000

5. labor cost digging of soil ─ 900

6. planks (roof) 8 70 560

7. iron sheet (roof) 10 75 750

8. nails 1 kg 25 25

9. ANT poison 5 liter 200 200

10. door frame 1 800 800

11. sewer pipe 6 meter 100 600

12. water supply system different sizes ─ 1.800

13. transportation ─ ─ 1.500

14. conforce wire 32 meters ─ 250

15. brick force 6 15 90

16. toilet bowl 1 750 750

17. toilet seat 1 200 200

18. toilet paper holder 1 120 120

19. toilet brush 1 20 20

20. shower head and tube 1 280 280

21. labor cost bricklayer ─ 2.500

22. labor cost plumber ─ 2.500

Total amount

Total amount

ZMW

USD

18.520

1.996

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Appendix 2: Certificate of Registration of Natwange Community Bush Camp

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Appendix 3: Certificates of Mr. George Chiluba, Manager of Natwange Community Bush Camp

These certificates are intended to demonstrate the qualifications and efforts of Mr.

George Chiluba. He is a certified teacher, has gained additional knowledge in early

childhood education and in international tourism and he is a certified field guide.

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