Newsletter 08/2011
Choose the right DMC
Whether it’s an Incentive, Conference or Leisure trip, travelling with Terra Nova is not just a brief stay in Namibia – it’s a real connection with the people, the landscape, the culture, the food and the environment. We design travel to Namibia with “responsible” in mind: How can local communities benefit? What change effect are you looking for? How hands on do you want to be? Let’s be honest, how hands off do you want to be – it is a holiday after all! Responsible travel is about re-discovering how to experience nature by being a part of it, feeling it, smelling it and learning about it rather than just looking at it. Make your trip count by giving something back. Creating something special. Growing something significant. Choose the right DMC: Working with Terra Nova DMC offers an opportunity to see first-hand how sustainable tourism works and how effective sustainable development can improve the lives of the local people while providing a general insight into Namibia, its culture and its people. Being able to participate and connect with the local…
read full articleWe assist you in booking eco-friendly accommodation
Eco awards Namibia is a mark of distinction for accommodation establishments that are planned and managed according to eco-friendly principles and we support them wherever we can. The programme promotes the selective and careful use of our resources, promoting reducing, recycling and reusing. In the process an establishment can improve its profitability, often with very little additional expenditure. Skeleton Coast Camp is one of the most remote and unusual camps in Southern Africa and calls to the intrepid explorer seeking only the most remote wilderness experiences on the planet. The camp is aptly named, with its stark, incredibly beautiful shoreline dotted with bleached whalebones and other skeletal remains, as well as a host of shipwrecks. It is a wild, desolate environment, yet it supports a host of incredible adapted wildlife – from enormous colonies of Cape fur seals to the ancient welwitschia plant. Skeleton Coast Camp won the category for Best Overall Environmental Management System at the 2007 Imvelo Awards for Responsible Tourism for its minimal impact on the ecosystem here. Exclusivity here is at its peak with Wilderness being…
read full articleSupport Community Based Tourism
There are fascinating community-projects across Namibia where you can guarantee that your monetary contribution is going directly to the people who need it the most. We support ventures that are part of Nacobta – Namibia Community Based Tourism Assistance Trust. The organisation helps poor rural communities that want to generate an income from holiday-makers. Their projects range from making paper out of elephant dung to numerous campsites. And from organising local guides to partnerships with up-market Lodges . Many of the projects offer the opportunity to have genuine encounters with members of Namibia’s indigenous tribes and the chance to learn about their cultures and traditions first hand. Namibia is the first country in the world to incorporate environmental protection into its Constitution. From this commitment many Community Based Tourism options have sprung forth, each providing real monetary and social benefits to the local communities who provide them, and ultimately a more authentic Namibian experience to the tourists who visit. Come discover local habitats and wildlife or celebrate traditional cultures, rituals and wisdom. Leave knowing your tourism dollars will have a real,…
read full articleWalking rather than Driving
A Desert Rhino and Elephant Walking Safari is a journey through a magical part of northern Namibia, in support of one of Africa’s most important conservation organisations. You will not get closer to black rhino on foot (black rhino are rarer, and reputedly more aggressive than white rhino). The fact that you can enjoy an amazing walking safari adventure and support the conservation of the earth’s last remaining free roaming black rhino population is a great opportunity for all environmentally conscious travellers. Our company exists to provide inspiring adventures in wild places and in doing so, supports nature conservation efforts wherever we can. Come and experience this incredible walking safari and in doing so, help to develop and support conservation and tourism ventures in other special parts of Namibia.
read full articleExperience Rural Homestays
We are committed to promotinng peace by creating inspiring opportunities for indigenous communities in Africa to share their lives with people from different cultures, in ways that generate employment, uphold personal and cultural dignity, and are mutually enriching. Our rural homestays enable you to get a first-hand experience of rural African life as it is lived in Namibia today. Accompanied by a host who has extended family in a rural area, you will be integrated into family life and not treated like a visitor. This means you will participate in daily chores, outings, rituals and celebrations, providing you with the invaluable opportunity to immerse in African culture and to make firm and lasting friendships. With the help of your host, who will be the bridge facilitating your entry into a different culture, you will feel what it is like to be an ‘insider’ in Namibia.
read full articleAdopt a Cheetah
The AfriCat Foundation was founded in 1991 and officially registered as a non-profit organisation in 1993. AfriCat ran the largest cheetah and leopard rescue-and-release programme in the world – in the last 18 years 1060 of these predators were rescued. AfriCat has grown significantly since its inception and has over the years identified the need to include a focus on education, community support, research and rehabilitation as being essential to accomplishing their mission – the long-term conservation of Namibia’s large carnivores.The Okonjima Nature Reserve is dedicated to environmental education and to the research and rehabilitation of captive carnivores.All regions of Namibia are populated with wildlife, including large carnivores, although population numbers vary dramatically in different parts of the country. Namibia is home to approximately 25% of the world’s cheetah population of which 90% live on farmland. Namibia’s other large carnivores, namely, leopards, lions, wild dogs and brown and spotted hyaenas, are not believed to consist of such large percentages of the world’s population; however, they also reside on the unique farmland ecosystem. It is the inevitable conflict with humans on…
read full articleIncorporate sustainable gifting
Everybody likes to buy souvenirs. How about purchasing something meaningful? Women in Namibia suffer from a low social status, which makes it difficult for them to find a job. As a result, the entire family lives in poverty. This vicious circle is often strengthened by a physical handicap or by diseases like tuberculosis and HIV AIDS. Penduka Project tries to break this negative circle by providing these women with work. This way they can support their families and as a result their social status will improve both within their family and within their local community. Penduka is a non-governmental development organisation working with women in Katutura, the former black township of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. The ladies sew and embroider pillow cases, placemats, bags and other beautiful items with colourful African motives. You can visit the project when you are in Namibia and you do a workshop led by Penduka women. When you are in the Penduka village and you grind mahango with a big wooden pestle. Or when you stay over after having listened to centuries-old stories that…
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