Close working relationships with local coastal and island communities are at the heart of all of our work. This represents a natural extension of &Beyond’s Care of the People impact ethos into the marine realm, and an expansion of Africa Foundation’s commitment to enable conservation through the empowerment of coastal and island communities.
The development of a Marine Community & Conservation Ranger programme, whereby men and women from local communities are recruited, trained and employed, is a major focus of our work. The tasks of the rangers are broad, and range from conducting baseline environmental monitoring, assisting visiting scientists with field research and patrolling marine protected areas, to a range of outreach activities including guest engagement at &Beyond lodges, community liaison activities, and school and community marine conservation awareness and education initiatives.
Through Africa Foundation’s programmes in local communities, OWB supported the building of classrooms in communities near Mnemba Island, a health clinic on Benguerra Island, and most recently, the provision of food aid to communities affected by the Covid pandemic at our island sites.
View Africa Foundations’ focus areas below, which includes CLEF (The Community Leaders Education Fund).