Honeyguide Foundation (HGF)

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In 2007, members of the Tanzanian tourism industry got together to found a non-profit, non-governmental organization that would work to promote community conservation and ‘eco-tourism’ in Tanzania. The Honeyguide Foundation (HGF) is a grassroots, non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Tanzania dedicated to support communities and the conservation of wildlife and natural resources through long-term community partnerships. The African Honeyguide is a bird that actively guides humans (and honey badgers) to beehives; we chose it as our symbol as it is a beautiful example of the symbiotic relationship between humans and wildlife and of successful partnerships in general.

Honeyguide´s mission is to protect Tanzania´s natural heritage and landscape. At Honeyguide we strive to link local communities with the tourism industry in order to catalyze economic opportunities and responsible tourism practices.

Both the tourism industry and local communities share a vested interest in protecting Tanzania’s landscapes and natural resources. HGF aims to bridge the gap between the tourism industry and local communities to create new business enterprise markets and encourage local economic empowerment. With a strong commitment to supporting and stimulating responsible tourism – a sustainable tourism development model – through the establishment of local tourism related business ventures, the Honeyguide Foundation acts as an agency for the tourism industry to positively contribute to the livelihoods of local communities by providing tourism enterprises with community development investment opportunities. These investments improve local livelihoods by increasing income at both the community and individual levels and at the same time help to manage and sustain the natural resources in the region.

Thematic areas:
• Community Based Conservation: We need to understand why wildlife and habitats are threatened and why communities are so crucial to the overall conservation of ecosystems in East Africa and in particular, Tanzania.
• Responsible Tourism: Responsible Tourism is tourism "that creates better places for people to live in, and better places to visit".

Projects:
Honeyguide have managed several projects in the past that have focused on responsible tourism, some examples of these below:
• Small business project: The Honeyguide Small Business Project addresses some of the fundamental issues regarding the necessity for communities on the boundaries of national parks to derive benefits from tourism enterprises within the parks.
• Waste Management Project: The Honeyguide Foundation is proactively combating the accumulation of trash in the village by linking up with local trash collectors, schools, and the local football teams of Matemwe. The overarching mission is safeguarding the natural habitat by keeping the community and beach clean
• Community Tourism Management Plans: The Honeyguide Foundation helped communities in the region Ngorongoro district understand and benefit from tourism growth. We have produced community management plans for the four villages of Piyaya, Pinyinyi, Engaresero, and Arash in tandem with the local people and government.

Damian Bell is the Director of the Honeyguide Foundation (HGF).

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.