Majete

Majete Wildlife Reserve was the first park to fall under our management - signed with the Government in 2003. Prior to this agreement, Majete was an unknown and failing reserve in the south western part of Malawi. All of the wildlife had been hunted out – elephants, rhinos, lions, buffalo, even warthog – and only a few antelope remained. Trees were being felled for charcoal; only 12 scouts were employed, and not one tourist had visited the park in three years. It was a wasteland, with no perceived value, and little to no hope for a revival. But it was the perfect place to put our model of delegated management to the test. We immediately began securing the area and working with communities. In our first year we reintroduced rhinos; elephants in 2006; lions in 2012, giraffe in 2018, cheetah in 2019, and wild dogs in 2021. In 2017, we were able to move surplus elephants and other animals to help repopulate Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve. Majete has come a long way in the last 18 years – from being a sink to a source; to providing hundreds of jobs and supporting thousands of community members with education, health and other social benefits. Not one rhino or elephant has been poached from the reserve since they were reintroduced and this once hopeless reserve has put Malawi on the map as a coveted wildlife destination. Today, Majete serves not only as our point of origin, but as one of our north stars, guiding a path along the road of possibility.

Majete Highlights

• Over 5,000 animals of 17 species have been reintroduced including black rhino, elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog, sable antelope, and buffalo. The restocking of the park has led to Majete becoming a 'Big Five' reserve, and Malawi's premier wildlife destination.
• By 2017, the elephant population had grown to over 430 individuals, resulting in the ability to translocate 200 individuals from Majete to Nkhotakota to help repopulate that reserve as part of our historic ‘500 Elephants’ translocation.
• Effective law enforcement and close community engagement has resulted in a significant decline in the number of poaching incidents in the reserve year after year, with not one rhino or elephant poached since 2003 and 2006 respectively.
• The local economy has been transformed by creating economic opportunities and provisioning of services through the construction of infrastructure, including schools, clinics and safe roads. A Beekeeping initiative saw nearly 2 tonnes of honey being produced in 2021.
• Despite tourism taking a hit as a result of Covid, it has since continued to be on the rise with international visitors now making a fast come-back.
• A scholarship programme has been set up to provide school fees for local children who otherwise may not have had the opportunity to attend school. And a Technical and Skills Development Programme has been initiated, upskilling youths in cell phone and computer repair and Information Technology.
• In recent years, major translocations to Majete included; four lions in 2018 to bolster population numbers and genetics, a founder population of 13 giraffes in 2018 and a further 10 in 2021, and 12 cheetahs between 2019 and 2021 and six wild dogs in 2021.

Partners

Malawi Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) is the statutory organisation in charge of national parks, wildlife reserves and sanctuaries as well as wildlife management on communal lands in Malawi. We began our work with the DNPW in Majete Wildlife Reserve in 2003 and in Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve and Liwonde National Park in 2015.

Partners