Kukummi Safaris’ goal is to contribute to the hopes, dreams, health and welfare of impoverished rural communities, threatened wildlife populations and vulnerable wilderness areas in an ethical, responsible and sustainable way. We have identified 2 projects that we are supporting to take a step in reaching this goal. Every year, proceeds are donated to these interesting and uplifting projects. It is also possible to make a direct donation, which many of our clients have already done. Contact us to get more information!
 Khomani San Bushmen Community
The San are the aboriginal people of Southern Africa. Their distinct hunter-gatherer culture stretches back over 30, 000 years and their genetic origins reaches back over one million years. Recent research indicates that the San are the oldest genetic stock of humanity.
Only a small minority of the San groups still inhabit shrinking remnants of their ancestral land. The majority eke out an existence as labourers on cattle posts and farms, as gatherers of bush food and, if legally permitted, as hunters in remote areas with limited infrastructure and poor-quality land, or as squatters near towns.
The community of about 1,200 Khomani San are a deprived and largely damaged collection of disparate people living in the southern Kalahari in the vicinity of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in conditions of extreme poverty, alcohol & drug abuse, and widespread woman & child abuse typically found in such displaced communities, with limited healthcare or education available to them
The current economic base for the majority of Khomani San community members lies in generating a meager income from the production and marketing of crafts, from guiding or performing for tourists, and from earning small salaries as labourers on commercial or communal farms.
Kukummi Safaris has undertaken to support the Wilderness Leadership School (Inland) in its efforts to help reconstruct the lives of the Khomani San community by awakening a coherent sense of identity and community in the southern Kalahari through the creation of sustainable livelihood initiatives. These include nurturing and witnessing their unparalleled tracking skills, utilizing their medicinal & nutritional uses of plants, and experiencing their unique hunter-gather culture through their rich and ancient kukummi, which is the /Xam word for “stories, myths, legends, memories and dreams” – and the name of our safari company.
Jason’s Gardens & Men of Trees
Jason Hartman is a well-known South African singer and Idols winner of 2009. Jason has always combined his love of music with his love of gardening. He has a passion for sustainability in the garden and proudly shows underprivileged people all over the country how to plant crops in discarded tyres in order to feed their families. Through his Men of Trees NGO (www.motto.org.za) Jason is driving several ‘green’ projects such as sustainable S.O.S. vegetable tyre gardens in schools.
Starvation, malnutrition, ill health, environmental damage and unemployment are some of the problems that shape the life of millions of men, woman and children in Africa every day. Along with Samson Organic System (S.O.S) families are able to secure the nutrition of their members, improve health status, generate income, create jobs and improve the endangered ecological system. By growing food and ancestral medicinal plants, families empower themselves to be self-sufficient. This no-cost system, non time-consuming and adaptable to any situation, uses family partnerships and ancestral indigenous knowledge. It is developed and implemented within the home environment and based on reducing vulnerability and poverty.
The project is a simple, sustainable, dynamic and holistic approach.
Did you know that
- A car tyre will hold between 4-8 liters of water in the bottom rim. This helps to reduce the amount of water you need to water the vegetables
- The black tyre surface absorbs the heat of the sun. It holds the heat in winter allowing crops to grow all year round
- Tyres hold top soil and fertilisers, which keep the soil fertile
- Tyre gardens require very little maintenance
A visit to Jasons website, www.jasonsgarden.com will delight all plant lovers and anyone wanting to see an end to poverty and global warming.
The AVIS Greenprint
 AVIS is Kukummi’s preferred partner for car rental. AVIS is determined to make a difference in the fight against global warming. They are the first company to receive a carbon neutral accreditation for the offset of their internal fuel and energy CO2 emissions. AVIS saves 75 million litres of water a year through recycling and the Cape Town branch even has a ‘water neutral’ status through rain harvesting in wet months.
Furthermore AVIS is the first car rental company to have the Toyota Prius, a full hybrid electrical car, in its fleet.
Fair Trade in Tourism
 Kukummi Safaris works together with various accommodation establishments and local tour organizers who have been certified by Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa. FTTSA is a non-profit organisation that promotes sustainable tourism development.
By electing to stay at or use the services of an FTTSA-certified establishment, tourists are assured that their travel benefits local communities and economies, and that the business is operated ethically and in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. For more information about FTTSA, the criteria for certification and the members have a look at www.fairtourismsa.org.za
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