271 | LIVING NEXT DOOR TO ELLIES (ELEPHANTS), LIANSHULU BUSH LODGE

271

Art. # 271

SUPPORT AWARD (Welfare, Conservation and Tourism division)

NATURE CONSERVATION MEASURES (Conservation division)

AIDING WINGS (Welfare division)

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM (Tourism division)

TRAVEL & HELP (Tourism division)

Living next door to ellies (elephants), Lianshulu Bush Lodge

Photos and text by Stefan Rust

2014

(In terms of the Geneva Convention the copyright of these texts belongs to Stefan Rust)

Conservation is not only the responsibility of the government and NGOs. It is also the obligation of every citizen, especially people in the tourism sector.

      

The aim of the Support Award project is to let people feel that their action in taking responsibility gets recognized. Every practice in the interest of welfare, conservation and tourism, no matter how big or small, counts.

Lianshulu Bush Lodge, situated right in the Mudumu National Park, uses an effective technique to live next door with elephants, chili bombs. Mixing elephant dung 50/50 % with broken chilli produces a chilli bomb. In the event of elephants coming close to the lodge infrastructure, hot coals are placed on the bombs, and the intensive smell keeps the giants at bay. Another method is to soak material in a mixture of old engine oil and chillies, and hanging them from wire, forming a ‘chilli fence’.

This way the lodge is safeguarded and staff together with their valued guests doesn’t come into confrontation with the elephants.

With these sustainable techniques the Lianshulu Bush Lodge protects elephants and contributes to establish wildlife corridors through which, in this case elephants, can move freely.

The chillies needed for these practices are bought from small-scale farmers, assisting to make a difference to rural households.

For these novel management methods, BirdsConTour honored the Lianshulu Bush Lodge with all three Support Awards, the Welfare Support 2014 Award, Conservation Support 2014 Award and the Tourism Support 2014 Award.