Where we work
Honeyguide works in community-owned wildlife areas in northern Tanzania. Currently, we are operating in four areas located throughout the greater Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem, and in the past we have worked on community-based conservation projects in Amboseli-Kilimanjaro and Serengeti-Mara.
Our current projects are being conducted in community wildlife areas which collectively span nearly 500,000 hectares of land. However, our impact reaches far beyond that, since much of Honeyguide’s programming is conducted in the land surrounding protected areas, where residents of member communities live and make their livelihoods. We tailor our projects to local dynamics to make an impact both within protected areas and in the communities protecting them.
Areas of Operation
Randilen
Bordering Tarangire National Park to the northeast, Randilen Wildlife Management Area is a key migratory corridor and dispersal area for the large population of elephants that live in the northern part of Tarangire. Randilen derives its revenue from high-end tourism camps located within the protected area, while the communities that own it live on the surrounding land. Communities have decided to use the revenues from Randilen’s tourism activities to protect their rangelands as well as improve their water supply, protect farmers’ crops, and build schools and health clinics.
“Honeyguide and Enduimet are like brothers. We have grown up together, and we work together every day to see how we can best protect the land and support the people.” – Komolo Simel, Chairman, Enduimet WMA
Makame
The largest community conservation area in Tanzania, Makame is larger than the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Even apart from its size, Makame is unique in that its business model is not primarily tourism-based. Makame’s extensive wooded landscape–in addition to serving as a habitat for wildlife such as elephants, lions, wild dogs, leopards, oryx, and aardwolves–is providing communities with an opportunity to earn a profit by protecting their forests. This is made possible through the work of Carbon Tanzania, one of our partner organizations, who are helping Makame certify and sell carbon sequestration credits.
Burunge
Situated opposite Randilen WMA on the northwestern border of Tarangire National Park, Burunge WMA encompasses Lake Burunge and borders Lake Manyara to the northwest. Burunge is the only community conservation area in East Africa that protects the wildlife corridor of two famous national parks and, owing to its favorable location, is the most researched WMA in Tanzania. Burunge is home to a large population of cape buffalo and also attracts migratory flamingos.
Manyara
Manyara Ranch is the only mixed-use cattle ranch and wildlife protected area in Tanzania. Its importance to the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem cannot be overstated, as it is a critical bottleneck in the second-largest migration of ungulates in East Africa. It is also an area at great risk of poaching, however, given its position between two major highways and nearby the growing town of Mto wa Mbu. To address this risk, Honeyguide is running anti-poaching operations in and around the ranch.