Damian formed a safari company in Tanzania over 20 years ago called Sokwe. It became a leading ecotourism company that with others pioneered partnership tourism agreements with local communities to enable these communities to benefit from tourism, value wildlife and look after these resources.
With this experience, Damian realized that the future of the ecosystems requires a harmonious balance with human livelihoods and conservation of natural resources, and that tourism could play a big role. He established the Honeyguide Foundation that exists to create mutually-beneficial partnerships among Tanzanian communities and tourism, in order to conserve wildlife and natural habitat by using a holistic approach to business enterprise. Honeyguide believes in the continued co-existence among local communities and wildlife though the utilization of innovative approaches to conservation using social business and conservation initiatives, thereby creating an economic environment favorable to wildlife conservation and economic development.
Current projects include one in the western Serengeti, where a densely populated community living alongside the Park that depend largely on bush meat. Honeyguide has developed a project that enables these communities to make an income by growing and selling food for the tourism camps in the park through the establishment of a community business center. Another current project is in the eastern Serengeti ecosystem, where Honeyguide has developed Tourism Management Plans for the Maasai communities that live in Loliondo and Lake Natron using a holistic approach. With a broader focus, the Foundation in partnership with others is creating an association that will provide guidelines and accreditation for responsible tourism businesses in Tanzania.
Positioned just south of Amboseli is Longido where due to the proximity to Arusha and the Kenya border, the poaching has become extensive. The game scouts that are in place are underfunded and have insufficient coordination strategies with all the other scout patrols and with the teams in Kenya. Honeyguide in partnership with BIG LIFE will support the Maasai communities’ game scouts and the various organizations and administrations involved in conservation the same objectives. The Honeyguide Foundation will develop a unifying structure of collaboration and effective community conservation and improve the communication, coordination, resources and training of these game scout teams.
Damian lives in Arusha with his wife and two children, and can be reached at
