Tanzania
Defending people and animals: in Tarangire National Park
we used chili peppers to take the heat out of a conflict between farmers and elephants. The focus is on environmental and social sustainability and on biodiversity.
Safari fans are fascinated by the elephants that roam Tarangire National Park in the north of Tanzania in herds of up to 300. But for the farmers living in small villages around the edge of the conservation area, these majestic giants mean trouble, or even danger. The hungry animals eat the corn, millet, melons and tomatoes grown by the farmers. If herds invade their crops, people can neither feed their families nor sell the harvest. In the old days, they would try keeping the marauders at bay with expensive electric fences, rocks and sometimes spears, but the impact never lasted very long. Peaceful coexistence between man and beast seemed impossible.
Until two years ago, when animal conservationists from World Animal Protection and the TUI Care Foundation showed farmers a new method for warding off elephants with the aid of chili and bees. The chili method is now a firmly established routine in cultivating arable land. The farmers grow the hot peppers themselves and mix them with oil to make a paste, in which they soak rags the size of plates and string made from sisal. They tie the rags a few metres apart to the fences which enclose their fields, just at the height where an approaching elephant trunk will find them. Any pachyderm that picks up the odour will turn away in disgust.
Bees are the second “natural weapon”. Even a fully-grown bull elephant will take flight at the mere sound of aggressive African bees. So the farmers have learned to hang beehives in the trees around their fields. The honey made by the bees and the surplus chili peppers are sold at nearby markets, generating extra income for approximately 690 farmers who now apply these methods. The project reflects the philosophy of the TUI Care Foundation because it helps people to help themselves, defending both the people and the animals in the region.
»Everyone in the destinations should
benefit from tourism.«
As an independent charitable trust, the TUI Care Foundation pursues the objective of enabling everyone in a holiday destination to profit from tourism. We offer young people new prospects for their future, and we have pledged to protect children and teenagers. We make it our job to conserve the environment and natural resources. And we support projects that improve living conditions and place tourism on a sustainable footing.
In Costa Rica, we are helping women to start their own business, while in Tunisia we provide grants for girls to train at a college for the hospitality sector. In Nepal, the professional guides we supported through their training are now working as instructors themselves, apart from holding a vocational certificate that is valid anywhere in the world. Children and hotel staff in Curaçao attend courses in nature conservation and waste recycling provided by the TUI Care Foundation. By doing this, we are reinforcing the education system, environment protection and the island itself as a green and healthy destination.
Lanzarote
Traditions, a clean environment and value creation: the TUI Care Foundation supports the renaturalisation of landscapes in the Canaries.
Preserving local traditions and natural resources, boosting the appeal of a holiday destination and the local economy – the perfect mix for the TUI Care Foundation.
Lanzarote is a good example of how we put that theory into practice. There is a long tradition to wine growing on the island. But for some years now, more and more smallholders have been giving up. The labour is too arduous and the harvest too meagre. Many fields that had been tilled for generations, often no more than a hectare in size, are left to lie fallow, and the wind is levelling out the hollows. Working with local partners, the TUI Care Foundation is not only keeping the traditions alive, but combining them with organic techniques to protect the natural environment. There is a third aspect to the Foundation’s project here: it provides meaningful employment for people in a disadvantaged region. It means that people who would not stand much chance of finding a regular job can earn a decent income on Lanzarote. About 122,000 square metres of vineyards in this unique landscape have so far been restored. Five vintners have converted to organic methods, and have been able to increase their revenues as a result.
Supporting people without encouraging dependence is our key principle. We like building things that will become self-supporting or identify other forms of future support. In holiday destinations all over the world, this is making people and communities stronger.
3 questions for
and foundations
»We are partners for holiday countries. Social balance
and an undamaged environment matter more and more.«
Thomas Ellerbeck, in 2016 TUI turned the existing TUI Care Foundation, with a local base in the Netherlands, into a Group-wide charitable trust. Why?
Lots of companies in our Group display commitment. We are now pooling our efforts under the umbrella of the TUI Care Foundation and strengthening that commitment across the Group. We want to have a lasting impact and to make a distinctive mark, together with our partners, with impacts that reach beyond tourism. At the Foundation, we bring together experts who understand the challenges and opportunities of working through this kind of structure. That is important for our project partners around the world, but also for holidaymakers who would like to take part.
What priorities will the TUI Care Foundation set now?
We see ourselves as partners for the countries people visit. Wherever holidaymakers enjoy themselves, local people should also reap the benefits. So the pillars to our commitment are children and young people, conserving natural resources and the environment, and sustainable development for destinations. We also provide emergency aid following disasters.
How much money do you want to spend annually, and who decides what to spend it on?
TUI has set a target for the period up until 2020, which is to find ten million euros a year for social commitment – and most of that will come to the TUI Care Foundation. Some of it will be provided by our companies, and some can be donated by our customers. When people travel to far-off places, they often want to give something in return. We support that through the Foundation. We guarantee that the money people give is put to good use in meaningful projects, carefully selected and with local back-up from us. We have an advisory committee to evaluate project proposals, and a board of independent trustees to decide on the allocation of funds.
