ROUND UP REPORT 2023
The story of 2023
Rolling out our flagship project 10% fence plan expansions
Despite the challenges that we have across the continent of Africa, we are delighted that we are able to report on the positive impact we have had amongst the communities within which we work, and bolster wildlife species within the areas that our projects are located. However, uniting people and wildlife is not an easy balance to strike, compounded by the demands for land, in what was historically land left for wildlife to roam. This is not a new problem but as it persists, we have come up with new solutions. Demands for grasslands for livestock, water in compounded droughts and protection for children and crops is not going to be alleviated without creative solutions. Thinking differently (which as our namesake suggests) we have developed an innovative syndicate system to fund and implement our proven project models, alongside our partner of Tsavo Trust, starting with the ‘10% fence plan’. Building on the achievements in the Kamungi conservancy in previous years, we have now expanded this project to the Shirango community conservancy where impact and response from the community has already been positive.
Biodiversity has a broad meaning, to us it means ‘nature’, and simplifying the problems and building viable longer term solutions is central to our purpose, as well as ensuring local people, who are the custodians of the land, take a leading role. The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) signed an agreement stating the ‘beginning of the end’ of the fossil fuel era and laying the ground for a swift, just and equitable transition, underpinned by deep emissions cuts and scaled up finance. While this is plausible, the world has fallen short on commitments made before. While the global north is mostly responsible for the exploitation, it is the global south that feels much of the consequences of such measures. This is not a cry for help, or a plea, this is more about recognising that with support and depth of understanding of African problems on the ground, ‘together’ we can innovate and start to solve for the consistent and compounded hardships that so many areas experience. It is a journey, with no silver bullets, but one we are fully committed to take. We cannot and will not ignore it.
There is much to do, so many worthy causes and so many partners who are achieving great strides in their respective areas of execution. We commit to collectively uniting our skill sets in the field to pave a better future for all - wildlife and communities alike. We cannot change the world single handedly, but we can take positive action in paving a meaningfully better future for targeted communities and species. We are ambitious, we are small and nimble, volunteer driven, but we are focussed and impactful, and that makes us proud. We’ve earned credibility and reputation in the field for partnering with like-minded organisations and communities to develop long term locally owned solutions, and working with local people over time to embed and improve how communities can coexist with wildlife and thrive together. It is the Tofauti way.
Help us - join us - as collectively we can make an impact. Together.
A message from Crista
I start by a vote of thanks to our supporters, partners and our committed board of trustees alongside whom we would not achieve both what we have done to date and our ambitious plans to come. Tofauti is purposeful in our projects in order to best achieve outcomes on the ground that are plausible and impactful. We say no to as many project applications as we say yes, which is due to finite funding coupled with stringent ‘in the field’ due diligence and assessment processes. Our four pillars of execution focus endure and are key to our choices, which combine human:wildlife coexistence, environmental awareness and education, wildlife protection and finally infrastructure and habitat.
We are proud to report we have achieved our 2023 ambition of becoming an independent charity in our own right, and would like to extend our gratitude to Hoares Bank Charitable Trust for supporting us over the last few years as we were growing. We have continued to expand our 10% fence plan to new conservation areas given the great success we had in Kamungi conservancy, which serves to demonstrate to the world the potential of this innovative co-existence model.
To expand further in the Tsavo Conservation area we have part funded a community owned eco-tourism lodge. Alongside the core objective of providing employment, economic stability and conservancy fees to the rural area, the designs also include exciting provision to bring Tofauti supporters to the field to witness our projects first hand.
Finally our infamous Tofauti Tractor has been hard at work supporting the build of an elephant fence to restrict the majestic animals' access to select areas of community owned agricultural land, reducing human elephant conflict.
Whilst the above are our new projects achieved over 2023, we never forget to continually support long term sustainability of our past projects, which continue to be monitored and protected. These include our water provision projects which provide safe and locally owned infrastructure to areas that historically did not have access to consistent water supply throughout the year, namely Naibunga Conservancy. The Roan antelope project continues to provide a safe haven for the species to recover from their historical decline in Kenya through predation. The TogetherforWater initiative is looking at a desalination option for a sunk borehole which will greatly support the people and wildlife in the area.
We do not rest here and as we look ahead there are great opportunities in 2024 and beyond. We are excited by the challenges and remain committed to seeking out and delivering locally owned solutions that have a lasting impact. We will be taking Tofauti into new realms of partnerships within the blue economy, growing our syndicates for the 10% fence plan expansion and working with the vulture rehabilitation project along with a great scheme to protect and relocate grey parrots to a safe environment where they can flourish.
All that is left to say, is a big thanks to all our supporters. Please continue to reach out, or better still join us as we continue in our quest for a sustainable future where African rural communities and wildlife build resilience and thrive together.
Crista Cullen MBE | Founder
A message from the Chair of Trustees
When I joined Tofauti in 2020 my mission was simple. To help the Tofauti team transition from its early success into a strong, reputable and differentiated charity. To become that strong and reputable charity, we set the following objectives for the Board of Trustees. These were to:
Establish a formal board with appointed trustees
Register as an independent charity with the UK Charities Commission
Establish strong governance
Develop and implement the strategy
I’m delighted to say that we have achieved all of these objectives and we have operated very effectively through 2023 and added to the team. We now boast a Trustee group with various backgrounds and skills, but with such aligned values and commitment to the Tofauti cause. They come from a variety of sectors - elite sport, banking, finTech, finance, creative, media - but work as one to bring their collective array of skills and expertise to the Tofauti table.
As we have established on our own, Governance has been hugely important to us as a Trustee Board. It’s a dry word, but governance is such a hygiene factor for charities; it's so important we give people confidence that their donations will find their intended destinations - all of it - and that we evidence the outcomes. This is a core ethos to us, and is behind some of our key innovations in 2023, the private syndicate - private donors, or donor groups, investing in discrete tangible projects that yield a physical product with demonstrable outcomes that we can measure. We look forward to doing many more of these.
I was drawn to Tofauti by Crista’s vision and energy, and I was taken by the dual, often conflicting objectives of both wildlife and community conversation. As a Trustee Board we live the meaning of Tofauti and I look forward to working with this very capable team through an equally successful 2024.
Andrew Lewis | Chair of Tofauti Trustee Board