Minimising the Ecological Footprint - Wilderness living at Limpopo Field Guiding Academy

Pictured above is the "donkey" system at our Wilderness camp at Limpopo Field Guiding Academy. LFGA is committed to a minimal impact philosophy in terms of our interaction with the ecosystems within which we conduct our training. This ethos is integrated into the student experience and we believe that our graduates take away a better understanding of the wilderness concept, ultimately resulting in better custodianship of our natural resources. 

For a full camp of 12 students and two staff, the donkey system is filled with 420 litres of water every second day. Said water is used for showering (in the riverbed below is a shower with hot and cold water on tap) - each person is allowed one quick shower per day. If 14 people use it each day, that is 15 liters available per person per day. The rules are to have the taps one quarter open (that is just enough - the pressure is very good from above) - maximum 5 minute shower. Another strategy is to have the taps open only initially to get wet, then lather at leisure with the taps closed, then rinse off again afterwards - not the ideal approach in winter! Typically individuals use about 10 liters per shower and we normally have some left over - or, with bigger groups, there is enough for 20 people to shower per day - that is with strict management of the procedures. 

In the pic above the vertical tank is the hot water source - a wood fire being lit in the internal cavity visible from frontal view. The horizontal tank is the cold water source. Water is driven in using a tank on a pick-up.

We also have a "long-drop" or pit latrine at our wilderness camp - this instead of a flushing toilet saves an untold amount of water - arguably Africa (and the world's) most precious resource. The lavatory is designed in such a manner as to have an external breather pipe and allows for air-flow through the entire system, thus preventing the build-up of unpleasant odours. Note: this only functions correctly if a number or user protocols are observed and followed!

It is common knowledge that some pit-latrines around the world do extreme damage to the natural system - the reason being the way in which they are managed - common problems being litter thrown down the pit, the use of harmful chemicals to neutralise odours and in extreme cases, killer agents such as "burnt lime" or gasoline being used in the pit to annihilate any organism in and around the pit. 

LFGA employ the most natural processes in our pit latrine - we add an active bacteria to the system once a week in the time that we are there. The bacteria feed on waste items in the pit and decompose organic material back into simple inorganic nutrients or minerals, which feed the natural ecosystem in and around the pit. Used effectively and in combination with the aforementioned user protocols, the bacteria serves as an efficient organic waste and odour management agent. 

LFGA uses the Wilderness camp for 2-week cycles at a time - giving the system a chance to recover from any impact we do have. In a 4-week phase, students would spend 2 weeks at a time at our conventional base-camp and also 2 weeks at a time in the Wilderness camp. Those cycles complete a 4-week "Phase" - allowing for a comfortable balance between academic learning with modern conveniences and our "bush-phase" - camping out and focusing on the fun and practical aspects of nature guiding. 

Our Wilderness camp also utilises other scarce natural resources such as fuelwood and fossil fuels (eg gas, petroleum) in the most minimalist manner possible. For example we are stocked with fuel-wood rations and the bulk of cooking is done over an open fire, using the minimal amount of wood. With clever rotation of coals and correct fire pots - food, hot water for dishes and heat for students (winter) all originate from the same small camp fire - not to mention the romantic ambience of sitting around a flickering camp fire in the heart of the African Wilderness!

In terms of the fossil fuels - we only conduct walking safaris in the wilderness area and vehicles are used for transport in and out only. Two small gas lamps are sparingly used between all all members in camp at night. 

No concrete, cement or any permanent building material has ever been used in our camp and the entire set-up can be dismantled in a few hours - leaving only pristine wilderness behind. 

Wilderness camping - just another way in which you can be a part of the LFGA Legacy - doing our part to save the planet!

LFGA creates opportunities for guides

Limpopo Field Guiding Academy has long been known as a leader in the field guide and tracker training industry in Southern Africa. For the past ten years LFGA has delivered an exceptionally high standard of training to guides at all levels. But what of the employment opportunities thereafter? Our guides are placed all over Southern Africa and indeed further up Africa too. It is no secret that many stakeholders in the industry are very keen to employ Limpopo Rangers as they are assured of high quality field guides.

While we cannot guarantee employment to anybody (unless we employ them ourselves), we are comfortable with the fact that we use only the best placement agencies in our industry; these agents ensuring the very best interview opportunities for our students. 

One area that we have direct control over is our own Intern Programme. Over the past 10 years LFGA has offered internships to our top graduates. This is a much sought after position among students as not only do they have the opportunity to gain valuable work experience, but they also have access to higher training, typically coming away from the intern period with qualifications such as FGASA Trails Guide, FGASA Level 2 Field Guide and CyberTracker Tracker levels. Added to this they may pick up qualifications such as Birding Specialist and more.

Pictured above is Tiziano Allegretti, our current intern field guide. Tiz graduated from LFGA in November 2011 with FGASA Level 1, CyberTracker Track and Sign 2, Basic Dangerous Game and Basic Birding. Tiz grew up in Kenya and had already gained exposure to the bush and guiding up there, his family being involved in the same industry. He chose to remain in SA and gain experience here, quickly taking up a temporary guiding position at a Big 5 game lodge near Bela Bela, Limpopo. 

When the intern position became available at LFGA in 2012, we offered it to Tiz who promptly accepted. He completed the FGASA Advanced Rifle Handling (ARH) and Trails Guide theory exam in the same year. Tiz is Italian speaking and was required through the Association of Italian Experts Africa (AIEA) to fill a temporary guiding post as Italian language guide at Thornybush Game Reserve, Lowveld during the festive season at the end of 2012 / early 2013. This, coupled with a month-long stint as field guide at Lions Valley Lodge, Nambiti GR, KZN, allowed Tiz to pick up invaluable guiding experience in various parts of South Africa. 

In March 2013 Tiz returned to LFGA to resume his guiding duties and internship. Tiz is currently studying towards the FGASA Level 2 exams and also picking up valuable mentorship hours in the Trails Guide process. He will undergo his Trails Back up assessment in April this year and sit Level 2 theory in July. Towards the end of the year he will be able to undergo the practicals for Lead Trails Guide and also the Level 2 practical evaluations. All going well, Tiz will graduate at the end of 2013 as FGASA Level 2 Trails Guide, with 2 years guiding experience in Big 5 game reserves in 3 different regions of South Africa. Added to this he will still undergo several CyberTracker Track and Sign evaluations and has the opportunity to upgrade his current Level 2 to that of Level 3 or even Level 4. 

Tiziano Allegretti is a great example of the excellent opportunities afforded to LFGA student graduates, thanks to the wide network we have established throughout Africa with the help of AFGA (African Field Guides Association) and AIEA. 

Please note: Intern positions are limited and are only offered to the top graduates of Limpopo Field Guiding Academy. Other LFGA students however, have a multitude of work opportunities to choose from, provided they put in the hard work and pass their course!!

Dont delay - join LFGA today!!!

Enquiries info@limpopotraining.co.za

+27(0)72 625 4709

+27(0)14 740 0153

Limpopo Field Guiding Academy Wages War on Recession!

Are you struggling to pay the bills? Feeling the crunch? No spare cash for that Field Guiding course you wanted to do...or to send your loved one on?

Well enough is enough! Fuel price hikes, inflation, the cost of living going through the roof have all had a knock-on effect - to the point that very few people have spare cash lying around. Limpopo Field Guiding Academy (LFGA) have taken it upon themselves to stand up and fight this vicious cycle. Something had to give, and we have decided to slash our rates - that's right - we are going back two years in time and offering industry rates from 2010.

Its common knowledge in the field guide training industry that prices go up each year in line with inflation. Its unavoidable if we as service providers are to survive in the industry. Its also common knowledge in the industry that Limpopo Field Guiding Academy are industry leaders in field guide and game ranger training. Our special mix of products and services have set the tone in the training world for the past 10 years. Nowhere else can learner field guides get the same exposure to various guiding and tracking applications such as nature guiding, track and sign interpretation, birding skills, basic dangerous game training and first aid - all within your FGASA endorsed Level 1 training course!

So spread the news you can now do the following courses at 2010 rates:

• FGASA Endorsed 2 Month Course:  R31 500 (was R33 900)
• 3 Week Course  R11 990 (was R13 190)
• 4 Week Course R15 750 (was R17 300)
• Correspondence Course R3 000 (was R3 300)

And many more courses like weapon handling, birding, track and sign and more....all at 2010 rates!

Our courses are the only ones to be both FGASA and AFGA endorsed - The Professional Standard for Africa. 

Visit our website at www.limpopotraining.co.za or email Linky at info@limpopotraining.co.za

or phone us on +27(0)14 740 0153 or +27(0)72 625 4709.

Don't delay - spaces on course are limited. Make the most of our War on Recession now!!

WEBS OF STEEL: The Golden Orb Web Spider is not the largest spider, but makes the largest and strongest web. It gets its name from the golden colour of its silk.

The web can run from the top of a tree 6m high and up to 2m wide. Unlike other spider webs, the Golden Orb Web Spider's web is not dismantled often and can last several years.

Designed to catch large flying insects, the web is slightly angled. It is not a perfect wheel and is usually off-centre. To make its web, the spider releases a thin thread into the wind. When it catches on something, the spider walks along it trailing a stronger non-sticky thread. It repeats the process in the centre of the line to form a strong Y-frame. Around this, it spins the rest of the web out of sticky capture silk. The silk is so strong that it can trap small birds, which the spider doesn't eat. These trapped creatures often destroy the web by thrashing around. To avoid such damage, the spider often leaves a line of insect husks on its web (like the safety strip across glass doors!); or builds smaller barrier webs around the main web. Role in the habitat: Like other predators, the spiders control the population of prey. They are in turn preyed upon by other creatures such as birds. In New Guinea, some tribes consider them a tasty treat. The Golden Orb Web Spider's venom is generally harmless to humans and they rarely bite even if we blunder into and destroy their webs. The bite is just a scratch. They are clumsy on the ground. In modern times, the Golden Orb Web Spider's silk is set to become a major product. The silk is almost as strong as Kevlar, the strongest man-made material which is drawn from concentrated sulphuric acid. In contrast, spider silk is drawn from water. If we could manufacture spider silk, it would have a million uses from parachutes, bullet-proof vests, lightweight clothing, seatbelts, light but strong ropes, as sutures in operations, artificial tendons and ligaments. Studies are now being done to have genetically engineered plants produce fluid polymers which can be processed into silk! Spiders are not used to produce silk fabric because Silkworm Moth caterpillars produce twice as much silk and are easier to manage (for example, they don't eat each other up!!).

School leaver’s camp – Grade 11 and 12

Come and join us for a 1 or 2 week general Field Guiding exposure course at Mabula Game Reserve, Limpopo Province.

Week 1 – Basic Dangerous Game exposure : 24 – 30 June 2012

Price: R 4 395

Week 1 exposes you to the big 5, both on foot and per vehicle.

Pupils will be taken on guided walks into Rhino, Hippo, Buffalo etc. by a professional fully qualified FGASA (Field Guides Association of Southern Africa) Trails Guide and shown all the different aspects of conducting guided walks in a Big 5 area. Vehicle approaches will also be done on Lion and Elephant.

Week 2 – General Field Guiding exposure week: 1 – 7 July 2012

Price R 4 395

Week 2 offers a chance at experiencing first-hand what it takes to become a field guide.

He/she will be taught general bush knowledge and skills. A Great opportunity to see if you have what it takes to become a Field Guide.

If both weeks are taken we offer a discount. The complete 2 week option price comes to R 7 990.

Prices include all meals and accommodation.

The school leaver’s camp offers pupils a GREAT opportunity to explore Field Guiding as a career.

He/she can then come and join our course immediately after matric in order to complete the full National Qualification in Field Guiding. Once qualified as a FGASA level 1 guide, you are then legal to guide anywhere in Southern Africa.

Field Guiding as a career is a wonderful opportunity for those who have a love for nature and want to live and work in the best possible place on earth!!

Making a difference

Local anti-poaching team leader Gaven Holden-Smith (Limpopo Ranger 2003) was instrumental in assisting police in apprehending a group of rhino poachers in the Bela Bela district, Limpopo Province, South Africa last week (late July 2011).

Holden-Smith, who is also a FGASA qualified Level 3 Trails Guide, trains and uses K9 assistants in the ongoing battle against poaching and other crime on game reserves in the area.

This is an excellent example of how basic field guide training can open doors in the conservation industry and how field guides can specialise in expert areas after building up experience through guiding.

Gaven began his guiding career in 2001 when he joined an apprentice guide program at a prominent Big 5 game reserve. After gaining valuable in-house training as a field guide, Gaven qualified with FGASA Level 1 as a start. It is imperative to understand that in Southern Africa, FGASA Level 1 forms the foundation for all guiding levels thereafter. Gaven worked hard as a junior field guide and was always keen to get involved with conservation activities on the reserve. At the same time he furthered his expertise in weapon handling and security services, an area of skill shared with his siblings in those industries.

Gaven completed his FGASA Level 2 practical evaluations through Limpopo Field Guiding Academy in 2004 and added this to his Trails Guide status which he also achieved in that period. After working for several game lodges in South Africa, Gaven secured a position as a wilderness ranger in Zambia in 2005 and continued to build up valuable guiding, tracking and anti-poaching experience. During visits back to SA in this period, Gaven freelanced as a Trails Guide for Limpopo Field Guiding Academy and worked toward his FGASA Level 3 qualification.

Level 3 is a high level qualification and the pinnacle of professional field guiding in Southern Africa. Although there are specialist qualifications beyond it, such as the FGASA SKS categories, Level 3 is the highest level of general field guiding qualifications and the result of years of bush experience, research and study. The level 3 guide has advanced guiding and interpretive skill and is able to interact with guests at the highest level. Gaven achieved the FGASA Level 3 category in 2006.

Gaven returned to South Africa and worked as a senior guide and relief lodge manager at various game reserves in the Limpopo Province while at the same time furthering his experience in security services. The rising trend in poaching incidents from 2007 onwards were a warning of what was to come and this, together with the increase in housebreaking and theft on game reserves during the same period, led to the need for full time security services on most reserves. Gaven was employed full time as an anti-poaching officer at a mainstream game reserve from 2009 onwards. He has continued to impress in his position and has achieved numerous successes in the fight against game reserve criminals.

Gaven is regularly called out, together with his K9's, to assist in tracking perpetrators who have fled the scene of the crime and last week's successful rhino poacher bust can be viewed as a moral victory against the scourge. It is also a great personal victory in one man's relentless battle against poaching in Southern Africa. Gaven Holden-Smith, we salute you. Once a Limpopo Ranger, Always a Limpopo Ranger!

Negativity in the workplace

There is a strange phenomenon that occurs in many workplace environments within the field guiding industry in Southern Africa. Aspiring young students join field guiding courses, become qualified as junior guides, and enter the workplace. There are also many mature students who change careers or begin guiding in their later years, but it is rare that this phenomenon plays out with mature guides.

These young people will all tell you that they want to work in nature because they love animals, are passionate about the bush and want to make a contribution to conservation in Africa. Admittedly, many of them dont actually want to work with people (preferring to pursue careers in research, wildlife mangement etc), but realise that a solid foundation in field guiding will not only improve their knowledge and work experience, but may also open doors in the industry for them (jobs that do not involve working with tourists in nature are rare and hard to come by, especially if the candidate does not have a  University degree in Natural Sciences or similar).

It is not long after beginning work in a typical game lodge situation, that many guides become negative. This is certainly not the case with all guides and there are many professional field guides in the industry who have never fallen to this scourge. My opinions and statements do not include them and I would rather use such positive people as a shining example of what field guides ought to be. It is very disappointing for trainers and employers to watch guides becoming negative, as some of them were extremely positive at the outset. Those who join their training courses in a negative frame of mind generally do not qualify as they are not able to reach the demanding criteria for  the outcome of competence at the end of their initial course.

What exactly creates this negative mindset and the inevitable related poor work performance in a guide? True, there are many challenges for junior (and senior) guides eg: low salaries, inferior meals and accommodation, very long working hours and a lack of recognition of the vital role they perform in the industry - all of this generally equates to a lack of support by management. But none of these are valid reasons to become negative - the positives in such situations far outweigh the negatives. After all, these young guides are doing exactly what they wanted to do in the first place - working in nature and getting paid to do it! In spite of tough conditions, these young people are living the good life - a life that most city bound people can only dream of! Field guides dont have to worry about traffic, pollution, crime and the mundane exisitence of the average office worker. By contrast our field guides in Southern Africa enjoy the sun on their face, the grass between their toes and the smell of fresh air every day. Crime is minimal on game reserves (being stupid with your possessions will end badly), traffic involves rhino or elephant blocking the road and nature is their office. Yes, it is indeed a dream lifestyle. And yet, these very same guides will continuously complain about their work. Have a look at any social network site and you quickly pick up on an array of negative commentary from field guides - covering topics such as salary, work conditions, board and lodging issues and any other aspect that is bugging them at that particular point in time. True, the same individuals will often post commentary about exceptional game sightings or a great tip (gratuity) they just earned, but these are quickly forgotten when the next "crisis" hits them.

I am of the opinion that a vast majority of field guides entering the industry are just not the right kind of people for the job. I do not include those who are actually doing a good job and remain positive despite tough conditions, but rather focus my commentary on those who cannot find anything positive to talk about.
I have also seen an upward trend in the negative set in the past 15 years that I have been directly involved in this industry. It seems that if a person cannot "make it" elesewhere they come to the bush. I dont know why the perception exists, but it is clear that people think they can get into this industry without working hard. I make absolutely no judgements against individuals, but rather comment on the concept of an individual joining the eco-tourism industry as an "escape". This is fundamentally wrong and it is our industry that suffers because of it. If people are too lazy and unmotivated to be successful in other sectors of our economy, they should NOT be allowed to take up positions in field guiding if they do not put in the required effort and work performance. After all, these guides are ambassadors for our country and our natural heritage. Why should they do it half-heartedly? Why should paying guests be exposed to a negative, rude and unprofessional individual? The answer is simple - they should not.

So, what is the solution? I believe there is a three-pronged approach that can be adopted by our industry in order to improve the situation and see an upward trend in positivity. It requires all stakeholders to co-operate and work together toward a common goal (professionalism), rather than self-enrichment.

1. Selection criteria in joining training courses - trainers and endorsing bodies should workshop the requirements of candidates and act accordingly. Too often money is the only criteria for acceptance and anybody is let in. Legal aspects must be considered, but there is a way.
2. Stricter assessment criteria for national qualification - there should be more focus on the professionalism of the individual, and less focus on merely their nature knowledge. Knowledge is important, but can be assessed in theory tests etc. An individual should be assessed over a longer time period and in the workplace as far as possible.
3. Support from employers - more ownership needs to be taken by employers such as game lodges and touring companies. Dont just employ anybody and leave them to their own devices. Be selective in your appointments and then back it up with fair salary packages and proper support sytems involving training and development, mentoring and good food and accommodation.

Until such time as these issues are addressed, the situation is unlikely to improve. Having said this, I want to add that much of these issues and challenges have very little to do with the essence of the topic. A positive individual will remain positive in most circumstnces. Our industry is open and enough opportunities exist that dynamic individuals can advance themselves with very little resources at their disposal. The very same social networks that are currently a sounding board for negativity, could be used much more positively. Forums promoting knowledge, training and day to day activities such as sightings and experiences should be the focus. We dont want to hear about your bad day! Get over it already.

Field guides must take responsibility for their own situation and if you are unhappy in your current job - dont advertise it. Rather - focus on being a positive individual and demonstrate a true passion for nature - after all, you said you had it. Use the social networks to find a better job - its all out there waiting for you.

To quote an old friend: " You get two types of people in this industry - builders and bleaters".

Start building.