The Feline Fields Trust
It's about
people & planet
The Feline Fields Trust is a community and wildlife conservation trust supported by ecotourism, also focusing on education and social responsibility initiatives. Our conservation model is built on meaningful community partnerships, biodiversity preservation and wildlife management. We aim to implement a workable formula between conservation and social projects.
It's about people & planet
The Feline Fields Trust is a community and wildlife conservation trust supported by ecotourism, also focusing on education and social responsibility initiatives. Our conservation model is built on meaningful community partnerships, biodiversity preservation and wildlife management. We aim to implement a workable formula between conservation and social projects.
The art of collaboration
Over the past decade, our commitment to protecting Botswana’s wilderness areas and to give back to the community has led us to develop strategic partnerships with local villages in each of the regions in which we operate.
Through the Feline Fields Trust, we invite motivated individuals who share our vision to join us in working toward a sustainable future for Botswana’s communities and precious wildlife and their fragile habitats through long-term conservation projects that make a meaningful impact. All projects are identified and prioritised together with the lodge’s neighbouring communities.
The art of collaboration
Over the past decade, our commitment to protecting Botswana’s wilderness areas and to give back to the community has led us to develop strategic partnerships with local villages in each of the regions in which we operate.
Through the Feline Fields Trust, we invite motivated individuals who share our vision to join us in working toward a sustainable future for Botswana’s communities and precious wildlife and their fragile habitats through long-term conservation projects that make a meaningful impact. All projects are identified and prioritised together with the lodge’s neighbouring communities.
Trust Projects
Tubu Hives Project
In an effort to combine conservation and local development through employment, we are planning to develop a beekeeping training programme for the local communities.
We will employ local community members to take care of and maintain the beehives we will be establishing in Tubu village near Gumare.
We look forward to making this great project a reality!
Wildlife Talks
Three times a year we give wildlife talks at five elementary schools in Maun, Tsao and Nokaneng to introduce children to the wildlife of Botswana and educate them about the importance of protecting the environments in which they live.
At the end of these talks, we organise a competition between students, taking the best three from each school and their teachers to spend a discovery weekend with us.
School Bus
In 2013, The Feline Fields Trust organised donations for the purchase of a school bus to transport between 50 and 70 young children from Sexaxa village in Ngamiland to and from Matlapaneng Primary School near Maun, approximately 10 km away.
Through much-valued donations to the trust we also cover the operating and maintenance costs of the school bus, as well as the salary of the driver, Mma Mapodise.
Tubu Hives Project
In an effort to combine conservation and local development through employment, we are planning to develop a beekeeping training programme for the local communities.
We will employ local community members to take care of and maintain the beehives we will be establishing in Tubu village near Gumare.
We look forward to making this great project a reality!
Wildlife Talks
Three times a year we give wildlife talks at five elementary schools in Maun, Tsao and Nokaneng to introduce children to the wildlife of Botswana and educate them about the importance of protecting the environments in which they live.
At the end of these talks, we organise a competition between students, taking the best three from each school and their teachers to spend a discovery weekend with us.
School Bus
In 2013, The Feline Fields Trust organised donations for the purchase of a school bus to transport between 50 and 70 young children from Sexaxa village in Ngamiland to and from Matlapaneng Primary School near Maun, approximately 10 km away.
Through trust donations, we also cover the operating and maintenance costs of the bus, as well as the salary of the driver, Mma Mapodise.
Playgroups
The playgroups project was one of the first programmes we introduced when Feline Fields began. We have been developing it since Feline Fields Lodge was founded.
Born from a lack of early childhood care facilities in remote areas of Botswana, the playgroups fill a critical need because quality early development is essential to laying the foundation for success in later life.
We started by creating two playroups, one in Tsao and one in Nokaneng, so that the youngest children in the region, aged between three and five, have access to a pre- school structure that allows them to develop and socialise during the day. We have now added a third playgroup in Kaure, not far from Feline Fields Lodge.
To accomplish this, we completely renovated buildings, turning them into classrooms and playrooms through donations from the Feline Fields Trust and the dedicated work of volunteers. We outfitted playgroups with indoor and outdoor equipment, built playgrounds with swings, provided school furniture, educational toys, creative arts, and fantasy kits to make each playgroup a place where children make great strides to reach their full potential.
Each playgroup welcomes up to 50 children per day, under the supervision of three teachers we recruited and trained, representing each of the tribes in the surrounding villages. The women received teacher training in Ghanzi, funded by the generosity of our donors and the involvement of the Botswana government in the project.
With the guidance of the teachers, the children are helped to develop fully in physical, cognitive, psychological and social areas. Today, we continue to fund and maintain the playgroups with the help of our Trust Coordinator, and the Village Development Committees, to raise awareness in the villages about the importance of the playgroups for the children and the community.
Playgroups
The playgroups project was one of the first programmes we introduced when Feline Fields began. We have been developing it since Feline Fields Lodge was founded.
Born from a lack of early childhood care facilities in remote areas of Botswana, the playgroups fill a critical need because quality early development is essential to laying the foundation for success in later life.
We started by creating two playroups, one in Tsao and one in Nokaneng, so that the youngest children in the region, aged between three and five, have access to a pre- school structure that allows them to develop and socialise during the day. We have now added a third playgroup in Kaure, not far from Feline Fields Lodge.
To accomplish this, we completely renovated buildings, turning them into classrooms and playrooms through donations from the Feline Fields Trust and the dedicated work of volunteers. We outfitted playgroups with indoor and outdoor equipment, built playgrounds with swings, provided school furniture, educational toys, creative arts, and fantasy kits to make each playgroup a place where children make great strides to reach their full potential.
Each playgroup welcomes up to 50 children per day, under the supervision of three teachers we recruited and trained, representing each of the tribes in the surrounding villages. The women received teacher training in Ghanzi, funded by the generosity of our donors and the involvement of the Botswana government in the project.
With the guidance of the teachers, the children are helped to develop fully in physical, cognitive, psychological and social areas. Today, we continue to fund and maintain the playgroups with the help of our Trust Coordinator, and the Village Development Committees, to raise awareness in the villages about the importance of the playgroups for the children and the community.
Giraffe Reintroduction
Our big project to reintroduce giraffes in the Kalahari area around Feline Fields Lodge is finally coming to fruition after COVID19 forced us to take an unplanned break for almost two years.
The main threats to giraffe in Botswana include poaching, habitat loss and fragmentation as a result of expansion of agricultural activity, climate change, and a general lack of education in wildlife conservation.
We first had to obtain the requisite permits to reintroduce giraffes, a process during which it was essential to establish that giraffe had been present within the area and why they all but disappeared from the landscape.
Data showed that they disappeared due to excessive hunting and that the area's eco-system would now allow them to thrive again. The overall aim and objective of the project is to stablish a breeding nucleus of giraffes in the region of the Kalahari where the species used to live. By achieving this we will see improved ecological integrity and diversity in the area.
The next step is to welcome a group of four giraffes. The acclimatisation of the giraffes to their new territory will be done in progressive steps. At first, they will be acclimatised in an enclosure, and then released around the Feline Fields Lodge area with regular monitoring and careful care to ensure that the species survives and thrives once again on their ancestral lands.
Your donation to the Feline Fields Trust will help us monitor their safety and reintroduce more giraffes in the future and 100% of your donation goes to on-the-ground conservation work.
Giraffe Reintroduction
Our big project to reintroduce giraffes in the Kalahari area around Feline Fields Lodge is finally coming to fruition after COVID19 forced us to take an unplanned break for almost two years.
The main threats to giraffe in Botswana include poaching, habitat loss and fragmentation as a result of expansion of agricultural activity, climate change, and a general lack of education in wildlife conservation.
We first had to obtain the requisite permits to reintroduce giraffes, a process during which it was essential to establish that giraffe had been present within the area and why they all but disappeared from the landscape.
Data showed that they disappeared due to excessive hunting and that the area's eco-system would now allow them to thrive again. The overall aim and objective of the project is to stablish a breeding nucleus of giraffes in the region of the Kalahari where the species used to live. By achieving this we will see improved ecological integrity and diversity in the area.
The next step is to welcome a group of four giraffes. The acclimatisation of the giraffes to their new territory will be done in progressive steps. At first, they will be acclimatised in an enclosure, and then released around the Feline Fields Lodge area with regular monitoring and careful care to ensure that the species survives and thrives once again on their ancestral lands.
Your donation to the Feline Fields Trust will help us monitor their safety and reintroduce more giraffes in the future and 100% of your donation goes to on-the-ground conservation work.
Giraffe Reintroduction
Our big project to reintroduce giraffes in the Kalahari area around Feline Fields Lodge is finally coming to fruition after COVID19 forced us to take an unplanned break for almost two years.
The main threats to giraffe in Botswana include poaching, habitat loss and fragmentation as a result of expansion of agricultural activity, climate change, and a general lack of education in wildlife conservation.
We first had to obtain the requisite permits to reintroduce giraffes, a process during which it was essential to establish that giraffe had been present within the area and why they all but disappeared from the landscape.
Data showed that they disappeared due to excessive hunting and that the area's eco-system would now allow them to thrive again. The overall aim and objective of the project is to stablish a breeding nucleus of giraffes in the region of the Kalahari where the species used to live. By achieving this we will see improved ecological integrity and diversity in the area.
The next step is to welcome a group of four giraffes. The acclimatisation of the giraffes to their new territory will be done in progressive steps. At first, they will be acclimatised in an enclosure, and then released around the Feline Fields Lodge area with regular monitoring and careful care to ensure that the species survives and thrives once again on their ancestral lands.
Your donation to the Feline Fields Trust will help us monitor their safety and reintroduce more giraffes in the future and 100% of your donation goes to on-the-ground conservation work.
Travel with purpose
Our founders, Marjan and Raphael Del Sarte, believe that our heritage of pristine land, wildlife and culture should be recognised as precious resources. They have dedicated themselves to making a difference to the world through Feline Fields.
Journey with us
You can Feline Fields achieve its ongoing efforts to make that difference through a variety of ways. Your safari with Feline Fields is the easiest way to make a meaningful impact on the environment, wildlife and the people who live in the areas we operate it through a direct donation of US$30 per person to the Feline Fields Trust.
Thank you for your support!
Travel with purpose
Our founders, Marjan and Raphael Del Sarte, believe that our heritage of pristine land, wildlife and culture should be recognised as precious resources. They have dedicated themselves to making a difference to the world through Feline Fields.
Journey with us
You can Feline Fields achieve its ongoing efforts to make that difference through a variety of ways. Your safari with Feline Fields is the easiest way to make a meaningful impact on the environment, wildlife and the people who live in the areas we operate it through a direct donation of US$30 per person to the Feline Fields Trust.
Thank you for your support!
