Damien Mander; Protecting African Wildlife By Empowering Women

Jun 11, 2020

Damien’s journey from snipper to conservationist is an interesting one, that saw him put his life savings into setting up the International Anti-Poaching Foundation in Africa, which is now what he dedicates his life to. He uses his skills to train rangers to be the last line of defence to protect the incredible animals such as lions, rhinos and elephants that poachers target.

A few years ago he tried a new tactic, by beginning to train an all woman anti-poaching combat unit which they called Akashinga which means, The Brave Ones. 

"In doing so, we completely deescalated local tension, brought conservation and community together, while cutting our operational costs by two thirds. The remaining third, invested mostly into women, becomes the most effective form of community development, while our core business of conservation is more successful than ever. If this is possible here, what is possible beyond Zimbabwe? What is possible beyond conservation?”