In line with the commonly held view of conservationists worldwide, we believe that co-operation with the local communities that surround our national park, is a prerequisite for nature conservation to stand a chance of being successful. It is only when local inhabitants feel that they gain substantial benefit from the presence of a national park, that they will adopt a sympathetic stance towards its conservation and even start to actively support our efforts to conserve this unique area for future generations. It is this recognition of the mutual benefits and the need for interaction between the national park and its adjacent communities that stands at the heart of our numerous community-projects, which we have initiated at Luambe over the past four years. Most of these projects are only just beginning to take effect, and whilst there is still much to be done, we believe that the results achieved so far, augur well for the future of Luambe NP. Luangwa Wilderness Lodge offers employment for local people as well as a market for locally produced or grown products and is therefore nucleus for a successful, long-term-sustainable conservation work. Below is a brief outline of just a few of our projects. Our .PDF file contains further information.

The Garden Club

The Garden Club is one of our most successful projects so far. As the lodge is located within the National Park, we are not allowed to grow our own vegetables. In order to be able to provide a steady supply of fresh vegetables for our guests as well as for ourselves, we have entered into a partnership with two families at Chitungulu chiefdom. Their Head Gardener approached us in 2005 with the idea of providing us with vegetables, which we gladly welcomed. We assisted the families with start-up capital to enable them to buy seeds and fertilizer.

Education & Bush Trips for Children

For obvious reasons, we place great importance on the schooling of young children in the area. Since 2006, the lodge has been actively supporting two ‘community schools’ in the Chitungulu Chiefdom - Chocha and Chilubezi. Both schools offer primary education and are growing inline with their pupils. They currently provide grades 1 to 4, but each year, another grade will be added until we have all seven. Part of our co-operation with the schools in Chitungulu Chiefdom is organising excursions for children into Luambe National Park. Since 2006, we have been doing this on an annual basis and the childrens reactions have always been very positive.

The Women's Club

The concept of the Women's Club is to generate income in order to support widows, orphans and disabled people in Chitungulu. The Club now has 14 permanent members. In 2005, the Club approached Luangwa Wilderness for support. That year we were able to provide baking tins for the Club's bakery. The freshest and most delicious buns in Chitungulu are now baked by them! Recently, we helped to set up a tailoring service, as a means to generate much-needed income. In 2006 we donated two tread sewing machines and a local tailor was temporarily hired to teach the women into the finer skills of tailoring. As a measure of the club’s success, it has has now started to produce school uniforms and these will be on sale soon.

Carpentry

In order to add diversity of employment opportunities, we assisted the setting up of a Carpentry Club in Chitungulu. Their products include door and bed frames, furniture etc, all meant for local sale in the village. But, judging from their motivation and ambition, we wouldn't be surprised if their products become famous far beyond their home village!