Eco-tourism: Is it just a buzzword?
- Lu McCance-Price
- Feb 12
- 6 min read
Updated: Feb 25
Eco-tourism means your presence helps protect the place you're visiting. At Mawimbi, that's not aspirational - it's our way of life. Your stay at our bush camp funds conservation work, supports local communities, and contributes to something larger than the experience itself. Thank you for being an integral part of our journey.
What it means to be a guest at Mawimbi
Well, it's more like you're part of the family! When you stay at MAWIMBI, you're not simply visiting Kafue National Park. You're funding the protection of 22,400 square kilometres of African wilderness, supporting the reintroduction of animals like black rhino, and helping to rebuild healthcare infrastructure for the communities who live here.
This isn't abstract. It's measurable, wonderful and conservation in Kafue is bringing tangible results to the park as wildlife numbers increase and visitor numbers grow.
Your stay funds real conservation work
African Parks manages Kafue under a 20-year partnership with the Zambian government.
African Parks - looking after 22,400 sq kms
Since 2022, African Parks has invested in anti-poaching patrols, road restoration, law enforcement and wildlife recovery. In 2026, they're reintroducing black rhinos to Kafue. It's a huge undertaking.
The patrols, the infrastructure, the wildlife monitoring, the species recovery programmes are vital and sustainable tourism revenue makes it all possible. Your stay funds this important work.
Every guest who stays at MAWIMBI pays a per-night bed levy and conservation park fee that go directly to African Parks. We also guarantee a minimum annual contribution regardless of occupancy, because conservation work doesn't pause when guest numbers are low. River trips include an additional conservation fee.
African Parks partners include The Zambian Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), Elephant Crisis Fund, (ECF) and The Wildcat Foundation among others, with Board Members who care passionately about their work, including Prince Harry.
Experience authentic travel
We're unfenced. Lions, leopards, elephants, hyenas, hippos, and snakes move through camp whenever they choose. This shapes everything about how we operate - guest safety comes first, always. The wildness is wild and beautiful to explore - perfect for Walking Safaris, Game Drives and River Trips.
With only four tented suites, you're one of eight adult guests maximum at MAWIMBI, in a park the size of Wales.
It's pretty special when you can sit for hours watching a pack of wild dogs relaxing in the grass without having another vehicle pull up next to you.
MAWIMBI creates bespoke safari packages
The walking safaris are led by trained guides and African Parks scouts who know this landscape intimately and are a mine of information on the fauna and flora, as well as the cultural and medical significance of plants and trees in the park. They are a joy to work with.
African Parks assigns trained armed scouts to MAWIMBI for Walking Safaris.
In Zambia the minimum child age to explore on foot is 12, and your safety is our first priority.
Our chefs prepare the most delicious food, delivered to your table with a huge smile (you may even get a recipe conjured up in a dream the night before) and an elephant could delay lunch if he decides to sample the leaves from his favourite tree in camp. Our ingredients are sourced from Lusaka suppliers, and also bought directly from local communities selling produce at Nalusanga Gate at the entrance to Kafue National Park.
We have a small kitchen garden where we grow herbs and vegetables (when the elephants allow it) and we're trying various ways to make it less enticing for them, like putting chilli plants around it. This is a small taste of the challenges working in a remote and wild environment presents, and we have to continuously be creative in solving problems that arise.
Creatures great and small
MAWIMBI is built on a termite mound and these little insects are quite remarkable with voracious appetites for any wood which hasn't been treated. They even come up through the concrete!
When the rains come in November, the termites start to fly - thousands of them. It's a sight to behold, and Zambians countrywide eat this delicacy.
Weather and wildlife dictate the rhythm at MAWIMBI, not us! Early November 2025, we had 10% of Kafue's annual rainfall in under four hours. The river rose 30 centimetres. The wetland filled from an elephant mud bath to a birding paradise! Roads became impassable.
We adapt, we adjust, and we navigate it with humour and a team who love being in the bush.
“There is no power greater for change than a community discovering what it cares about.” ― Margaret Wheatley
Infrastructure with eco-integrity
MAWIMBI is built using Malapa's modular eco-systems - the same camp builders who created Thorntree River Lodge, Ngala TreeHouse, Liuwa Plains Camp, Tawana, Zambezi House and Chicari among others. This is low-impact deployment at its best, designed for wilderness areas where conserving the natural environment is the primary concern.
Water comes from the Kafue River, filtered and treated through a complete storage and distribution system. Drinking water is ozone-filtered, which has eliminated single-use plastic bottles almost entirely.
Wastewater is processed through an extensive sewage treatment plant where the final output is almost cleaner than the input! The way you can help is by using our complimentary plant-based guest amenities provided in your tented suites, - they are completely biodegradable and 99.4% total ingredients from natural origin and 66.9% total ingredients certified organic. We have a cocktail of wonderful ingredients from natural Rooibos (as in the tea!) Mongongo, Shea butter, Coconut, Mint and Orange.
Power is solar - a system designed for 30 guests but serving a maximum of eight. Battery storage means we run entirely on renewable energy under normal conditions. There's a diesel generator for extended periods without sun, but it's genuinely backup.
At MAWIMBI we are creating as small an ecological footprint as possible, to keep the Kafue wilderness as pristine as possible.
You can reduce your MAWIMBI footprint - it all adds up
Bring your favourite reusable water bottle - we'll keep it filled with ozone-filtered water throughout your stay. Reuse your towels during your stay. These small choices help us minimise water and energy use.
Our local MAWIMBI Team and Community upliftment that makes a difference
Our staff are Zambian, from towns like Mumbwa and Itezhi-Tezhi, and a little further afield in Lusaka.
Our team (who love being in the bush) live on site during thir rotation whilst looking after guests. Their accommodation is built in the same red Zambian brick and traditional thatched roofs with grass that the guest areas are made from.
We employ trained walking safari guides, chefs, housekeeping, and front-of-house staff. Zambia's tourism law mandates a 10% service charge split equally among all qualifying staff. It's direct revenue sharing by MAWIMBI, separate to discretionary tipping from our lovely guests.
Professional development is built into how we're growing the team. We're just launching, so we're doing this properly from the beginning.
In addition, each guest community upliftment fee contributes to local projects, funding something specific.
First on the cards is upgrading the Health Clinic at Chunga (a local community health centre only 45 minutes from camp). This is a partnership between African Parks, the Zambian Health Ministry, and MAWIMBI is getting involved with equipment and ongoing support. We will be rolling out other initiatives as we grow.
Turning ethos into action - where your stay at MAWIMBI makes it possible
There are very few places left where tourism operates this way - funding serious conservation outcomes, supporting local communities with tangible projects, and offering an experience shaped by genuine wilderness rather than managed spectacle.
Your presence is helping to protect one of Africa's great wild places and supporting the people of Zambia, who live and work here.
Staying at MAWIMBI Bush Camp is where your travel means something beyond the experience itself - you're helping to preserve Zambia's natural heritage and leaving a legacy to be proud of.
Come and stay!
We'd love you to join us on our journey as the adventure unfolds at MAWIMBI Bush Camp. Please check availability at reservations@mawimbibushcamp.com.
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