Singita Grumeti Fund Restructure & Kili Marathon, Tanzania – Jan & Feb 2016

January saw a major restructure of the Grumeti Fund take place as well as the start of a consultive process to develop a much closer relationship with the Singita brand and management company.

As with any restructuring process there were some tough decisions to be made with certain departmental units shut down and staff transferred or retrenched. There was also a major reorganisation of the existing wildlife management department, which was split into three smaller and more specialised departments: conservation management, law enforcement and Grumeti relationship management.

The conservation management department carries out all habitat management and core conservation work, including the key focus areas of fire management, alien plant control and wildlife reintroductions.

The newly created law enforcement department specialises in anti-poaching work along with policing all other illegal activities taking place within the concession area, including illegal tree cutting, charcoal production and illegal cattle grazing. In tandem with poaching, these are the most serious law enforcement challenges confronting Grumeti. Bushmeat poaching, using snares, poison arrows, dogs, torches and motorbikes is increasingly inventive and widespread, especially during the migration. With Tanzania having suffered catastrophic elephant losses over the course of the past five years – the country is estimated to have lost around 60% of its elephant and continues to lose in excess of 10,000 pachyderms a year – ivory poaching is an omnipresent and growing threat in the Serengeti. These challenging times necessitated the creation of a dedicated paramilitary style anti-poaching force to more effectively counter the poaching pandemic at our doorstep.

The Grumeti relationship department concentrates on all levels of stakeholder engagement with a focal area being continuous and effective communication with all our government sector partners. This is a vitally important department without which Grumeti would be stymied by bureaucracy and cease to be able to operate.

A newly formed special projects role will necessitate employing a multi-talented generalist to fulfil a crucial inter-departmental role that identifies and drives new projects and innovative joint ventures, thereby also ensuring that the specialised structure being enacted does not become too siloed.

The community outreach and research & monitoring departments remain unchanged for the time being.

Bedding down the new structure, getting buy in from all the Fund heads of department, and ultimately support from field staff is a mammoth undertaking and not for the faint-hearted. We have concurrently rebranded as the Singita Grumeti Fund and will be under-going a full revamp of all marketing collateral during the course of the coming year. From brochures and business cards to a new Singita Grumeti Fund website and communications strategy, there is a major push underway to market ourselves as a bona fide non-profit and diversify our donor funding base. It’s an exciting year ahead for the Singita Grumeti Fund.

 

The Kilimanjaro Marathon – 28 February 2016

The final weekend in February saw a team of Grumeti staff head to Moshi to take part in the annual Kilimanjaro Marathon (www.kilimanjaromarathon.com).

Thankfully the race does not involve going up and over the highest mountain in Africa, but rather skirts the foothills sticking to paved and gravel roads. An impressively large contingent of Tanzanian runners bumped elbows with a handful of very swift Kenyan competitors, and a sizeable field of foreign runners from around the globe. The altitude ensures it’s a lung-buster, but the spectacular volcano views along the route more than make up for the travails of oxygen deprivation and aching legs.

The true highlight of the event was not crossing the finish line in front of a big cheering crowd in Moshi stadium, nor was it the prestigious medal they drape around every finishers’ neck… it was undoubtedly the ice-cold beers and refreshing swimming pool celebrations that followed immediately after completion of the race. In my book the pool party is in itself a good enough reason to return on 26 February 2017 to do it all again!