Bushwise Field Guides, aha Hotels and Lodges, and Mankwe Game Trackers announced an initiative that will offer fully sponsored safari career training and employment to the selected students in the programme. Bushwise will provide field guide training to eight students every six months, who will then go into positions at aha Hotels and Lodges around the country as well as with Mankwe in the Pilanesberg.

According to Graeme Edmond, CEO of aha, the the candidates will go on to become full-time employees at their lodges. “We hope that they will continue to grow with us for many years to come. This partnership is a vital initiative to ensure that the communities which our lodges serve continue to benefit from and be the guardians of conservation in this country.”

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The first group of eight future field guides will begin their training in January 2024 in the Greater Makalali Game Reserve, home to the aha Makalali Private Game Lodge and Bushwise’s Mahlahla campus. Uniforms for the students are sponsored by bush wear provider, Ruggedwear. Bushwise director, Eugene Relling, said what sets the project apart is that the students will be employed permanently after their training.

The training will include field guide qualifications, track and sign, trailing, 4×4 driving, guiding ethics, conservation, community engagement, first aid, and more. “This partnership is about opening doors and creating opportunities for these young men and women that we hope will be life-changing for them. We look forward to working with aha and Bushwise to make their dreams a reality,” Ruggedwear managing director, Howard Rogerson, commented.