Interview: Knyphausen Foundation in Botswana

Theda Gräfin Knyphausen is the founder of the Knyphausen Foundation for Sustainability, Conservation and Education in Botswana. What effect house-sitting in South Africa had on her, how the mother of a scholarship holder gave her goosebumps and what kind of enthusiasm children can have - Theda Knyphausen reveals this and more in an interview with Conscious Explorer.

In 2015, the Knyphausen Foundation for Sustainability, Conservation and Education was established by you, Theda Knyphausen. What exactly does the foundation do? What does it stand for, and what are its goals?

The Knyphausen Foundation for Sustainability, Conservation, and Education focuses its work in Botswana, particularly in Maun, my adopted home, and is primarily aimed at children and young people. The aspect of education and training forms the core of the work. Our goal is to support the young generation in acquiring more self-responsibility and thus more responsibility for the environment surrounding them. In our eyes, education is the all-important key - so that in the long run, they will be able to practise nature conservation themselves.

How did the Knyphausen Foundation become established? Was there a key moment that prompted you to start the foundation?

Back in 1998, I spent a few months in southern Africa - a time that awakened my fascination for the incredible diversity and richness of species in this unique part of the world. In 2012, I finally decided to return there. After initially working for a mobile safari operator in the acquisition and support of German safari guests, a process of rethinking began in 2013. I realised: 'This is just not enough for me'. I felt privileged and wanted to give something back.

At Christmas of that year, I was looking after a good friend's house in South Africa, and it was there that I decided to found the safari operator Consafarity. Made up of the three words 'conservation', 'safari', and 'charity', Consafarity expresses the desire to sustainably protect the unique nature of southern Africa and share it with safari guests from all over the world. Until 2015, I implemented the 'Giving Back' aspect through Consafarity. But at some point, even that was no longer enough, so at the end of 2015, the Knyphausen Foundation was established.

Consafarity continues to operate and allows a certain percentage of each safari booking to flow directly into the projects of the Knyphausen Foundation.

As the issue of waste production or avoidance in Maun seemed urgent to me, the area of waste management was set as the first foundation project. Support came from Klaus Schätte, a good friend from Cologne. He has a wealth of experience in environmental education and waste management and has worked with people in Nepal and India. With the help of Joyce Malema, a local education officer, the Waste Management project was then implemented at various schools in Maun.

How do such cooperations develop? Do the local people/institutions also approach you, or do you usually make the first move?

After the Knyphausen Foundation was launched, I contacted the local Future Explorers Youth Society and its founder James Pitseyagae. We quickly realised that we have a similar mindset in that we both focus on reaching children and young people to achieve sustainable change. In 2017, we merged and founded the Junior Ranger Programme in Botswana, which has since become the core of the Knyphausen Foundation.

Joining forces with a local association was a significant step for me. While the Knyphausen Foundation acts more in the background and is responsible for the organisation, coordination, generating donations, etc., the Future Explorers Youth Society acts as an essential player in implementing concrete projects. While in the early days, we were the ones who contacted local schools, word has spread about our work. Awareness has grown so that now people also approach us and want to talk about a partnership.

What specific projects is the Knyphausen Foundation currently implementing, and who is it working with?

The Knyphausen Foundation is currently active in ten schools in and around Maun. The lynchpin, as already mentioned, is the so-called Junior Ranger Programme. Our initial project, Waste Management, is now fully embedded in this programme. The Junior Ranger Programme focuses on environmental education and playfully encourages the participating children to deal intensively with animal and environmental protection topics.

Currently, a garden project is running with the support of the Lower Saxony Bingo Environmental Foundation, which will be joined by a "Biodiversity and Wildlife Protection" project funded by the Schmitz Foundation from July 2021.

In addition, the Knyphausen Foundation awards scholarships to young adults from Botswana to train as professional safari guides.

What have been the most severe difficulties in the Foundation's work so far, and what are they still?

The Corona pandemic is undoubtedly the most significant problem at the moment. My visit to Germany in 2020, which was initially supposed to last only a few weeks, turned into several months due to the restricted freedom to travel, so I could not be on-site in Botswana. Apart from that, the local lockdown in Botswana made it impossible to continue the weekly activities at the schools as usual.

In general, communal or state structures always prove to be a challenge. It can happen that the rubbish separated by the children cannot be collected in the same way because the appropriate vehicles are missing or communication between the government and the transport companies is lacking.

Last but not least, I would like to see more commitment and interest from the parents of the participating children because, unfortunately, they have not been very supportive so far. Although the teachers' commitment was also a bit bumpy initially, their willingness and cooperation are now simply great.

And what is your best "foundation story" so far?

It must have been in 2019 that I was briefly interviewed for a local TV station's feature. After the feature aired, our first Safari Guide scholar Grace called me and told me that she received a call from her mother, who told her, 'Grace, your mother is on TV.' To have a mother express her gratitude to me for sponsoring her child by elevating me to her own status is incredibly heartfelt and touched me deeply.

It also touches me repeatedly when I see how the children regularly make their way to us to work on the projects together - and often without the support of their parents. Last week, we received new jumpers for our young rangers, and the joy and enthusiasm that jumps out of the children's faces when we hand out the "Junior Ranger" outfits gets under your skin.

Once assumed: The Knyphausen Foundation gets a sister. What would you do with the new foundation? In what area would it be active?

My first idea would be to set up my own school or training camp in the field of conservation. However, this would undoubtedly be closely interwoven with the Knyphausen Foundation and would provide the children and young people with much more targeted and concentrated practical and theoretical knowledge to later work in the conservation sector.

Our final question: In your opinion, what three qualities or skills should a successful NGO founder in the conservation sector have?

Passion for the issue you care about. That is something you should have. Also, a willingness to cooperate. This can mean cooperation and communication with other international NGOs and the people on the ground because they often have a lot of knowledge and different approaches. Last but not least, the motivation should be to create something lasting, i.e. long-term instead of short-term.