News from Chipembere Camp, our Base Outside Mwabvi

From my visit in August 2009, big changes and a step up for the team in Malawi

Meet the new team members! 

This year has seen a major shift upwards in progress at Mwabvi. And the best part for us has to be the appointment of Barry Kerr and his wife Adele as Conservation Manager and Marketing Manager for PAW in Malawi.

Barry and Adele, their 2 girls Courtney and Kirsten – and dog Sasha – moved from Shamburu Reserve and predator orphanage in South Africa in August to join us. They are living in what was the office building – see them standing at the entrance - until we can build them a permanent home.

Barry and Adele have worked in the bush for a number of years, on private reserves and in their own businesses. Barry has already proved his Land Rover repair skills, always an essential requirement at Mwabvi! But his role will be to oversee our growth over the coming years as we develop the Wildlife Protected Zone and the eco tourism lodge near the Mwabvi gorge.

Encroachment and National Parks

The parks and reserves in the Lower Shire in southern Malawi don't have buffer zones or management areas and people live and farm right up to the boundaries. This August a group from the Wildlife Society visited the new extension area of Lengwe National Park - an area not unlike Mwabvi with sandstone outcrops. I was fortunate to be with them and we saw for ourselves how the local people were farming and rearing livestock on land inside the park's official boundary. We know that we have similar encroachment at Mwabvi, though hopefully not as extensive.   The DNPW game scout who was guiding us spoke to the one farmer we met and the incident was noted. The law in Malawi is clear that farming, or taking domestic livestock into a National Park, is prohibited. When you are on the ground a long way from the office, living in an area or a game scout working there, it is difficult to enforce the law. This incident reminded me that our work with the local communities is vital. We have to offer them alternative short and long term economic benefits from conservation, as well as encouraging people to enforce the law.

21st Century Mwabvi

For those of you who have visited Chipembere previously, this photo may come as a surprise............now the full satellite link is made we have not just land line phone comms and broadband internet access but also a 32" widescreen TV.  

I leave you to decide whether the latter is progress........

And finally….. 

A picture of a beautiful baobab tree at the side of the Illovo sugar plantations just north of Mwabvi. Normally it would be hidden behind the trees at the side of the road but the road is being resurfaced right now so we get to see it on the road diversion route.

 By November 2010 the road will be resurfaced down to Bangula. Some of us can’t wait! 

Visit the Gallery for more pictures from my visit to Mwabvi.

warm regards

Gaynor