Silver Otter for Kawaza Village
from the Indaba Section (page 9) of Travel Africa, Edition 15, Spring 2001 www.travelafricamag.com
TOURIST VISITS to African villages generally fall into two categories: either the village has been built specially, a sanitised theme park with none of the noise, smells and grubbiness of the real thing; or it is a genuine village where being led around by your guide and encouraged to peer into people's homes is always a painfully self- conscious affair. Kawaza Village, on the edge of South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, is different.
You can stay overnight in Kawaza, sleeping in the village itself in a thatched mud hut, where the only concessions to European ways are loo paper and a bed raised off the ground. You eat simple meals made from village food with no western garnishes or alternatives. This single act of staying with the villagers changes the entire experience and it is possible to go round Kawaza without any feelings of voyeurism. You can try your hand at any of the many jobs, from pounding maize to painstakingly drawing water; you can consult the healer and visit the school or take a guided walk in search of medicinal plants.
These village visits came about largely as a result of the villagers' own initiative (after a little prompting from Jo Pope of Robin Pope Safaris), and the experience is genuine and impressive - so impressive that Kawaza has won the annual British Guild of Travel Writers award, the Silver Otter, for the year 2000. The award is given to a new international tourist project which not only has tourism potential but is of direct benefit to the local community.
A stay at Kawaza Village is very easy to organise through Robin Pope Safaris. The year 2001 will be marked by a Celebration of South Luangwa from 19-24 May and every full moon thereafter. The renowned wildlife artist David Shepherd will be the main guest at the initial meeting and the people of Kawaza Village will be playing a major part. Proceeds will be donated to conservation programmes and used to improve the local clinic.
Michael Woods
