Jobs In MFUWE

This was taken in the Mambwe District in Zambia, about a half hour or so from Mfuwe Village. There are small businesses like this in Mfuwe, but not enough of them. The businesses in Mambwe do not depend as much on the safari trade. Mfuwe Village attracts a lot of people who come to the South Luangwa Valley looking for jobs in the safari industry, but there are always more people seeking jobs than there are jobs.

People who come to Mfuwe and can’t find jobs often try to live by farming a few acres of cotton, peanuts (ground nuts), corn (maize), and tobacco. But they depend on rain, and have little access to fertilizer or others soil amendments. They also risk losing their crops to raiding elephants. People who subsistence farming must raise enough to feed their families and trade for other products like clothing and cooking oil.

Conservation South Luangwa works with farmers to protect their crops and helps build granaries to protect their small harvests. They plant chili fences outside their crops because elephants hate chili peppers, and as it turns out, a variety of potato that elephants don’t like to smell.

A new vision for the South Luangwa Valley for the future provides jobs without stretching the safari industry. Africa Hope Fund exists to help preserve wildlife and help Zambians find ways to prosper without being tempted to poach their wildlife because they don’t see any other options. 

When you donate, you help fund creative ways to help Zambians build a new future where there are jobs and a thriving wildlife environment. Their children will see elephants instead of learning about them in books because they went extinct.

Written by Patricia Cole

An Africa Hope Fund board member for 7 years, Pat is a writer and a conservation activist. After traveling to Zambia, she became dedicated to helping Africa Hope Fund provide education to the next generation of Africans and ensure their future by protecting wildlife. Find Patricia on Facebook and Twitter, or on her websites www.writepatwrite.com and www.patmcole.com.

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