Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust is a charitable organisation that focuses on conservation education for local school children in the area of South Luangwa, Zambia. The programme is comprehensive, innovative and above all, fun! There is a unique education centre, with a widely acclaimed interpretive room, located on the banks of the Luangwa River opposite South Luangwa National Park - a wonderful, unspoiled setting for local children to learn about the value of their natural environment. The Centre provides an interactive and contemporary learning facility for Zambian children that embraces wildlife, the environment and conservation issues.

The programme also encompasses an outreach programme of conservation lessons and activities in the local schools. In addition, general school improvement projects (infrastructure, resources, equipment etc.) are carried out and there is a Pupil Sponsorship Scheme, with Conservation Scholarships for starred pupils. There is a small animal rehabilitation facility where orphaned and injured animals are reared or nursed back to full health before being returned to the wild.

Chipembele is run under the auspices of a charitable trust registered in Zambia. It was established and is managed by Steve and Anna Tolan, who emigrated from England to Zambia in 1998 to fulfill their dream of building such an educational centre. It is supported by Chipembele Trust, a registered UK charity.

Chipembele… giving children hope and wildlife a chance

Why Chipembele? Chipembele (pronounced chip-em-beh-leh) is the local or Chinyanja name for rhino. Until the 1970's the Luangwa Valley held the highest concentration of black rhinos on the African continent. Then poachers began hunting them in huge numbers for their horn, which is in demand in Asia for ‘medicine’ and in the Middle East for traditional knife handles. By the late 1980's all the rhinos had been completely wiped out. It is an important conservation lesson for everyone to remember… if we do not look after our wildlife, even once abundant species can become locally extinct in a very short period of time.
 

Chipembele - an international award-winning conservation organisation