By Life Connected is a not-for-profit Grassroots organisation in Zambia that focuses on empowering communities around the Greater Kafue Ecosystem. We partner with them to create alternative sustainable livelihoods that are supported by the tourism and wildlife economy of Kafue National Park. By Life Connected’s mission is to create an active link between wildlife and communities such that engagement is direct, strong and sustainable. As a result, threats to wildlife like poaching and deforestation can be mitigated because they are a direct result of high poverty levels.

How?

We have two connected, initial projects which will be implemented in Nalusanga, the entrance village to Kafue National Park. The ‘Farm to Table’ initiative and the ‘Waste to Wealth’ initiative. The first initiative will focus on helping local farmers sell their products to the tourism and wildlife institutions in the park. Currently, these products are bought in the capital because of a lack of organization between the local farmers.

The second initiative will collect the waste from the park institutions. This waste will be locally reused as a resource to make new products and subsequently create alternative sustainable livelihoods. It will also improve waste management, as currently the waste is burned locally, brought to a landfill or dumped in the environment.

Combined, these initiatives will create a circular system where products are bought locally and waste is disposed of sustainably. Since initial funding in January 2020, there has been a lot of development. The details of this development can be found in the half-year report, that is published HERE.

READ MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT…

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During our three months of travelling through southern Africa, we have used a Nikon D3300 with a 18-300 mm Sigma lens for our photography. All photos on this website, instagram and facebook are our own and copyrighted. All our photographs are for sale and can be printed on poster, fine art or other kinds of wall decoration in collaboration with Saal Digital (links show the options and formats). Click here for the price list.  All the proceeds will be invested in creating a sustainable future for Zambians and the natural world in and around Kafue National Park.

On our instagram account you can find most of our images. A sample of our pictures is shown below. If you are interested in prints or buying stock photographs, please send us an email. We are happy to give you advise if necessary. Include the following information in your email.

  • For prints: your name, shipping address, e-mail address, the image(s) you want (their number/name) and how you want the images to be printed (material and format).
  • For stock photographs: your name, e-mail address, phone number, the image(s) you want (their number/name) and what the images are going to be used for.

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After finishing their Master’s degree in Forest and Nature Conservation at Wageningen University in the Netherlands in 2017, Kellie Bocxe and Lars Vermeer traveled through southern Africa. They visited many development aid and nature conservation projects for inspiration and experience. In their first two weeks traveling they they found a place with a lot of potential for community development and nature conservation: Kafue National Park in Zambia. And now, two years later, they are back after working, saving and creating revenue through (among others) their wildlife photography back in the Netherlands.

Kellie Bocxe

Graduate MSc Forest and Nature Conservation in Wageningen and BSc Environmental Science in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Wanted to work for Greenpeace since she was 10 years old. Now her dream is to build on a more sustainable planet by creating a lot of small steps in the form of local nature and community projects. Read more…

Lars Vermeer

Graduate MSc Forest and Nature Conservation in Wageningen The Netherlands. Lars is driven to find a way in which people and nature can coexist and thrive. His life goal is to build on a balanced future together with organizations and rural communities. Read more…

We like to thank all of our friends and family for their support.

A special thank you for the continuous sponsor of our project, Creavorm.