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 Mr Nyambe lives on the outskirts of Livingstone, Zambia. He and his family survive on the produce of his small farm where he grows vegetables. However, before Elephant Pepper Development Trust taught Mr Nyambe about chilli-based deterrents, elephants would destroy his fields every night. Mr Nyambe and other villagers had no means to chase away the elephants. Whole families would sleep in thatched shelters in their fields, lighting fires and beating drums in an attempt to scare the elephants away. The elephants ignored these threats. Harvests were low, even in good years.
Elephant Pepper Development Trust began working with Mr Nyambe and his fellow farmers in 2000. Together they developed simple but effective elephant deterrents. Mr Nyambe built a string fence around his field on which he hung cowbells that alerted him to when the elephants were entering his field. Mr Nyambe also smeared the fence with chilli grease, and made chilli dung briquettes that he burned at night. Elephants were repelled by the smell of the chilli smoke.
Chilli is an ideal crop for the area, as it is unpalatable to elephants. Elephant Pepper PTY Ltd. purchases Mr Nyambe’s chillies for an average of US$210 a crop. Mr Nyambe says his life has changed for the better. By better protecting his crops, he can provide food for his family. By growing chillies he has found a safe crop that yields more than three times the revenue of his vegetable crop.
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In the Mecune Village in Zambia is a women operated cooperative of farmers. The women of Mecune are members of the Elephant Pepper Development Trust, and have been long-term beneficiaries of the project. The cooperative is made up of mostly widowed women and their families. Over 100 people are supported by the cooperative, which includes multi-generational families and extended relatives.
Before becoming members of the Elephant Pepper Development Trust, these farmers lost nearly all their crops to elephants. Elephant Pepper PTY Ltd. has always been part of the commitment to fair trade, equal opportunities for women, and environmental stability for Africans.
Elephant Pepper is committed to supporting rural farmers while contributing to the social mobility and economic stability of African women.
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Before the elephants, there were four years of drought. During this time nothing grew and he struggled to feed his family from his small pension. When the rain finally came he planted maize, potatoes, ground nuts and sugar cane. When the crops ripened, the elephants raided his fields. Lubina lost half his crop. The following years the rain continued, as did the elephant raids.
“The attempts to scare the animals beating drums, shouting or using the fireworks given to the farmers for free by the Zambian Wildlife Authority were completely useless,” Lubinda says. Every night Lubinda stayed awake to protect his field.
One day, while talking to farmers in Simonga, he heard about the work of Elephant Pepper Development Trust. He went directly to the our office in Livingstone to inform himself. Two weeks later he had become trained in the Problem Animal Control (PAC) methods taught by EPDT, and immediately built a chilli fence around his property. When the first elephants came he burnt briquettes made of elephant dung and chillies.
When the neighbours saw footprints of the elephants stopping in front of Mr Lubinda´s field but not entering, the interest in the community grew. Lubinda came back to the Elephant Pepper office with sixteen motivated farmers wanting to be trained. Lubinda and his fellow farmers now enjoy high crop yields and minimal elephant confrontation.
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Unfortunately for Kaanga, he lives where Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia come together. This "four corner area" is a veritable Bermuda Triangle for farmers, since the elephant populations collide here, overwhelming the carrying capacity of the land. For two years elephants raided his crops every day and each year he lost almost his entire harvest. He was told to beat drums to scare the elephants, but it did the opposite of deterring them. Though beating drums creates a Pavlov effect because beating drums attracts elephants because they realize that there is something to eat.
Fearing for the well-being of his family, Kaanga contacted the Zambian Wildlife Authority. They recommended him to Elephant Pepper Development Trust. Kaaga and fifteen of his fellow villagers became members of Elephant Pepper Development Trust and members of the “Neighbourhood Help Committee”. The committee manages a community garden with the aim to support people of the compound unable to work because of HIV/AIDS or other diseases.
After installing the elephant deterrents, elephants only came back to Mr. Kaanga´s field once, “but they smelled the chillies that we were burning and immediately ran away," Kaanga says. Kaanga and his community enjoy high crop yields, a flourishing community garden, and an economically stable future for their village.
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