Gorongosa Park Clubs
At our Community Education Center (CEC), funded by USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and IPAD (Instituto Português de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento) we bring in busloads of children from surrounding communities to learn. We help them form “Enviro-clubs” and learn about basic environmental principles and the best practices of sustainable agriculture. School by school, we are creating thousands of little ambassadors for Gorongosa National Park!
The kids are invited to participate in 3-4 day seminars while staying at the CEC. The children sing and dance, they go on safari and participate in an educational/cultural exchange with another enviro-club from a different community. They have a lot of practical lessons at the CEC, which is important for their understanding. The students learn about the local plant and animal-life. They work in the tree nursery, learning how to make biodegradable tree planters made from banana leaves (a locally abundant natural resource). And, they collect seeds to grow in other tree planters that they fill and water throughout their time at the CEC. The children also have time to use the CEC library and play games that they may not have access to in their communities.
By understanding and appreciating their ecosystem, they will be more likely to stand up for its protection in the future. Kids leave with a profoundly changed understanding of the world they live in and the animals they live amongst.
Our Mission
Our Mission
Advance an integrated multi-partner approach to conservation and to people-centred development. The Gorongosa Project protects the Park’s biodiversity and ecosystem services and unlocks its economic potential for the community inhabitants of the Gorongosa Buffer Zone, Sofala Province, Mozambique and further afield.
Our Vision
A thriving, biodiversity-rich, Greater Gorongosa conservation landscape, which supports Sofala Province as an engine for resilient and sustainable development enabling nature experiences and wellbeing for its people, enriching all of Mozambique and the world.
A Park for Peace
On 1 August, 2019 a historic ceremony was held in Gorongosa to celebrate the Cessation of Hostilities Accord between the leaders of the Government of Mozambique and the opposition Renamo Party. The accord established Gorongosa National Park (GNP) as a ‘Park for Peace’, delivering human development to the communities that share the greater landscape.