Lugenda Agenda

The Lugenda River snaking peacefully in the early morning as we had a look around the base camp for the conservation operations here. In 2012 there was nothing except a tree that Wim, his wife Chelene and their two young kids camped under as the first basic infrastructure went in. The speed with which a functional base has been established in the past few years has been impressive and Wim runs a tight ship that is having disproportionately good impact compared to other less well protected parts of the Reserve. In somewhere as remote as Chuilexi, nothing is easy and none of life's logistics can be taken for granted. This photo was taken outside of the little home built for Graça the HR Officer. In which other organisations would you have to build accommodation for such a staff member who could normally just hop on the bus home?

The day was spent reflecting and planning about the partnership between my organisation FFI and Chuilexi Conservancy. We made some good headway on the agenda and resolved some practical issues, and I was more sure by the end of the day how I am going to support the work here from what will become my usual base in Maputo. To start with I will try and visit here semi-regularly, to build my relationship with the site-based team and so they see me as a trusted collaborator. We handle all of the fundraising applications and reports for the Conservancy so need to have direct access to information arising from activities. Only with some slow infiltration (in the nicest possible sense) will it start to work well.

As I write this whilst attempting a very early night, I can hear at least one elephant slowly crashing through trees nearby, on a nighttime feeding excursion.