Mark ‘Butch’ Butcher: A Community and Conservation Hero in Hwange National Park
I have been very fortunate over the last 30-plus years to visit an incredible number of wildlife-rich and diverse parts of Africa. I've stayed in many wonderful safari camps and lodges and have been privileged to be guided by some of the most knowledgeable and passionate guides in the industry.
After so many decades of going on safaris, it was a pleasant shock to find myself at Bomani Camp in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Bomani is an unpretentious, authentic safari camp with great wildlife, but that was not what made it so special. What truly set it apart was meeting the guides, cooks, and camp staff who were immensely proud of their little corner of Zimbabwe.
They were incredibly grateful for their jobs and truly believed that their company, Imvelo Safari Lodges, was making a meaningful difference in their local community. Imvelo is Zimbabwean-owned and operates exclusively in Hwange National Park with five lodges spread across the landscape. Their flagship, Camelthorn Lodge, is especially unique, as it’s the only lodge in Northwestern Zimbabwe located on community-owned land.
With little encouragement, both Emma and I went to visit some of the local villages that Imvelo works closely with. It didn’t take long to see that their impact went beyond just offering employment. They were enriching the local community, protecting them from the very wildlife that could threaten their crops and livelihoods, while ensuring that tourists left with incredible safari experiences.
Tourism is fantastic for visitors—we go to Africa to witness its magnificent wildlife. But for local communities, that same wildlife can be a real and constant challenge, from personal safety concerns to the destruction of their crops. The good news is that across Africa, the tourism dollar benefits so many people, and nowhere was this more evident than during our stay at Bomani Camp.
During our visit, one name kept coming up—Butch. At first, it sounded like he could be a character from a 1970s war movie or a biker gang, but Mark “Butch” Butcher is not just the Managing Director of Imvelo Safari Lodges, but the driving force behind eco-tourism. His energy and enthusiasm are contagious. Everyone at the camp knew his name, and I saw firsthand his dedication to protecting wildlife, supporting the local community, and ensuring that his company employs only people from the surrounding villages.
Butch explains, “there is a holy trinity between deploying tourism dollars, conservation of wildlife, and engaging communities in a real way, and it's a very exciting eco-tourism model if we can put all three of them together.”
Imvelo reflects these values of eco-tourism through their community and conservation efforts, exemplified through their White Rhino Community Initiative, clean water projects, food provision, healthcare initiatives, and education programs. Their Community Rhino Conservation Initiative (CRCI) currently provides local employment through their Cobra Program and this directly funds community-driven projects, such as their Ngamo Clinic. By prioritizing community involvement, the initiative has created lasting, positive change throughout the region.
“It's really important for communities living around Africa’s protected parks to benefit from the wildlife that is in those parks. This is because Africa’s protected places will not survive into the future if we don’t take care of the community that lives around those parks” emphasizes Butch.
Because of his passion and commitment, I chose to support his company further and recently invited him to San Diego to speak to some clients and friends. What he shared was truly inspiring and deserves to be widely recognized.
For these reasons, I consider Butch to be one of my Official Spence Connection Travel Heroes.
Learn more about Imvelo Safari Lodges and their initiatives here: Imvelo Safari Lodges
Photos 2 & 4 courtesy of Imvelo Safari Lodges: 'CRCI visitors with the Cobras, Thuza and Kusasa.'
