Highlights

Join an award winning volunteering project tracking desert elephants and working on a community construction program in Damaraland. Through the Desert Elephant project, volunteers can experience hands-on conservation and have a direct impact on fostering a peaceful relationship between elephants and humans, thereby securing their existence.

Overview

The Desert Elephant project collaborates closely with local communities, engaging in on-the-ground conservation by constructing protective walls. These walls strike a balance: they facilitate water access for Namibia’s desert elephants, while averting potential damage to windmills, water storage facilities, and pumps. Given the recurring droughts that have left the region parched, desert elephants often find themselves in competition with both humans and other animals for water resources, emphasizing the critical need for sustainable solutions.

These remarkable desert elephants, renowned for their daily consumption of up to 160 liters of water, traverse great distances guided by their exceptional sense of smell. When desperation sets in, they might resort to actions such as damaging water pipes or piercing water tanks with their tusks, inadvertently disrupting local water supplies. The solution lies in the protective walls, an immediate response that encourages harmonious coexistence by enabling humans, livestock, and elephants to share water points. With a history of constructing over 220 protective walls since 2003, involving the dedication of more than 3,500 volunteers, the project seeks ongoing support to extend its transformative efforts.