BENEFITING LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND CONSERVATION
In Ankasa Reserve and our surrounding villages
The first question we asked ourselves at the very beginning of the Ankasa Reserve Lodge project was, how do we benefit the local communities and protection of the forest on a sustainable basis?
Below you will find a list of how we have achieved some of our objectives and our future plans now we have opened
Community Benefits
How the communities have already benefitted
- 50% of our lodge construction team were from surrounding communities
- 80% of lodge’s full-time employees are from surrounding communities
- Career opportunities, full time jobs and training in housekeeping, driving, security, gardening, waitering, waitressing, guiding, cookery and lodge maintenance
- Renting houses in communities for workers
- Purchasing food produce directly from local farmers
- Benefiting locals financially through our lodge’s community tours
Future Plans
- Community outreach programmes teaching environmentally friendly farming opportunities in beekeeping, snail farming.
- Establishment of community fund
- Development and maintenance of local schools
- Volunteer placements
- Boosting local economy through responsible tourism
Conservation Benefits
How we have benefitted the environment and conservation
- Financial support for Ghana Wildlife Division educational outreach programmes
- Increasing responsible tourism, generating more revenue for the protection of Ankasa Reserve
- Organising anti-poaching community discussions, highlighting benefits of conserving the forest and wildlife
- Increased presence at Ankasa Reserve entrance, making it more difficult for hunters to enter forest from the communities
Future Plans
- Working more closely with the Ghana Wildlife Division to improve the protection of the park
- Supporting wildlife rangers with GPS to improve anti-poaching within the forest
- Supporting wildlife rangers with improved equipment like tents, torches, sleeping mats and waterproof clothing
- Offering rewards to rangers for the capture, arrest, and prosecution of poachers
- Financial support for the purchase of more sophisticated weapons
- Community educational outreach programmes
- Community outreach programmes, teaching environmentally friendly farming opportunities in beekeeping, snail farming.
- Conservation volunteer placements
- Improving, increasing, and maintaining forest trails within the forest
