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TikobaneTrust

Our work

Human-Wildlife Coexistence

Helping communities living alongside wildlife develop safer, sustainable solutions.

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Dete sits on the edge of Hwange National Park. Conservation here cannot be discussed without the households who lose crops, livestock and sometimes far more. We work on solutions that protect both.

What communities are dealing with.

The problem

  • Crop raiding and livestock predation cause real, immediate household losses.
  • Encounters with wildlife carry genuine risk to human safety.
  • Retaliatory killing is a rational response when losses go unaddressed.
  • Conservation messaging that ignores household cost does not change behaviour.

Our response, in practice.

What Tikobane is doing

  • Introduce practical, low-cost deterrents and protective infrastructure with households.
  • Train communities in safe response, early warning and incident reporting.
  • Support predator-proof livestock enclosures and secure grazing practice.
  • Bring community experience into conservation conversations with authorities and partners.

The concrete work on the ground.

Activities

  • Predator-proof kraal and enclosure support
  • Crop protection and deterrent demonstrations
  • Community safety and early warning training
  • Conflict incident recording and follow-up
  • Coexistence education in schools and clubs

What has changed so far.

Results

  • Households report reduced livestock losses where enclosures were strengthened.
  • Incidents are reported through community structures rather than handled alone.
  • Communities engage as participants in conservation, not bystanders.
Human-Wildlife Coexistence in the Dete area

Communities involved

  • Households on the Hwange National Park boundary
  • Livestock owners and crop farmers in affected wards
  • Community wildlife committees and local authorities

How you can support this

  • Fund a predator-proof enclosure for a household.
  • Support crop protection materials for a farming cluster.
  • Partner with us on coexistence research, monitoring or funding.
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Stories

Coexistence in practice

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Community-led change needs people behind it

Whether you give, volunteer, mentor or partner with us, you make the next season of work possible for households in and around Dete.

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