Serengeti Watch, a project of Earth Island Institute, is funding a community conservation program for Maasai women to help increase milk production through improved breeds of cattle. USAID was interested, and it seemed that there was funding on the horizon. Now that’s vanished.
But there is another source of funding that’s helping fill the gap – travel companies!
Members of our travel association, Friends of Serengeti, are stepping up with donations from their travelers and their member dues. Special thanks to the following members who will fund a good portion of this year’s training program:
- Natural Habitat Adventures
- Holbrook Travel
- Wilderness Travel
- Cheesemans’ Ecology Tours
- Journey Into Africa
The project they support, founded by and for Maasai, seeks to reduce overall herd size, increase milk production, and introduce new methods of land management. Moreover, it empowers women to send their daughters to school. The program addresses a critical need. The human population around the Serengeti has increased dramatically, tourism adds impacts from within, and climate change is bringing more droughts. Maasai are under pressure to leave their traditional homeland unless ways can be found to reduce impacts on the ecosystem.
Getting involved and giving back is the proper response for the travel industry. The Serengeti is at a pivotal moment, and it needs the support from those who use it. This is especially true now that the current US government has significantly reduced its role in humanitarian and conservation efforts globally.
Your company can make a real difference and stand out to travelers. Consider joining Friends of Serengeti. For membership information, contact David Blanton.