Engaging women at a local meeting

ACTIVE™ Community Engagement

Programs

ACTIVE™ Community Engagement offers practical methods and strategies for organizations to create and sustain meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships with local people.

Developed by African People & Wildlife, the ACTIVE™ methodology is the culmination of nearly 20 years of on-the-ground experience partnering with rural communities to achieve successful, long-term conservation outcomes in Tanzania. The ACTIVE™ acronym encapsulates the vital steps we take to foster collaboration: Access, Connect, Team, Implement, Verify, and Evolve.

If your organization or initiative is looking to empower communities while making an impact, learn how the ACTIVE™ approach can pave the way for enduring partnerships.

ACTIVE™ Experiences

Practitioner Workshops

General and in-depth training opportunities via webinars and select venues introduce best practices for partnering with local people and the ACTIVE™ Community Engagement methodology.

ACTIVE practitioner workshop

Onsite Shared Learning and Retreats

Strategic team building, learning, and immersive field experiences are offered at the Noloholo Environmental Center, African People & Wildlife’s headquarters in northern Tanzania. Participants can choose to interact with community-based projects through a variety of learning lenses and meet with local people who have benefitted from the ACTIVE™ process. Read about the recent experience of Cotton Made in Africa.

Community meeting for ACTIVE training

Customized Consulting Services

We provide tailored consultancy services to individual organizations and groups based on their specific challenges, needs, and objectives for community engagement. We work alongside organizations to design, support, and provide technical expertise as they partner with local communities.

Alais leads an ACTIVE visit
Kerllen in a community meeting

We are excited to have African People & Wildlife as a partner lending their expertise in our field activities. They will certainly enhance our conservation efforts by increasing the focus on respecting, valuing, and supporting local communities as pillars in project decision-making and guidance.

Kerllen Costa, Angola Country Director, National Geographic
Okavango Wilderness Project

Examples of Learning Lenses for ACTIVE™ Community Engagement

Human-Wildlife Conflict Prevention

Learn how to leverage the traditional knowledge and expertise of local people to co-create solutions that uplift livelihoods while conserving wildlife. The innovations that result from such collaborations are effective, sustainable, and culturally appropriate.

Elvis tours a Living Wall

Community Natural Resource Management

Visit projects working hand in hand with rural communities to monitor, measure, and safeguard natural resources. As participants and decision-makers in conservation programs, community members are dedicated to the success of their efforts.

Rangeland scientists measure plant health

Sustainable Enterprise Development

Experience enterprise development programs that uplift livelihoods, protect the environment, and reinforce the value of local wildlife species. Through supportive workshops that promote self-sufficiency, program beneficiaries are prepared for long-term entrepreneurial success.

Beekeeping training with protective gear

Environmental Education

Learn how to develop shared learning experiences and seminars that provide the technical resources, expertise, and support for community members who aspire to lead their own conservation projects or become valued staff and field team members. This lens also emphasizes the importance of youth environmental education.

Neovitus presents on education
Neovitus leads a training

Sample Training Itinerary

Every ACTIVE™ learning experience reflects the results of a training needs assessment, making it highly responsive to your organization’s goals.

  • Context Analysis and Emerging Issues: Reflect on the unique threats and opportunities of your social, political, and ecological situation.
  • Community Engagement Principles: Explore approaches to working with local communities with proven tips and tools.
  • Inclusive Stakeholder Participation: Learn how to co-design activities, map local stakeholders, and select community champions.
  • Measuring Impact with Communities: Develop a community data collection model to track and assess your program outcomes.
  • Hands-on Field Visits: Meet with community members and observe ACTIVE™ engagement principles in action.

Recent ACTIVE™ Trainees

Botswana Wild Bird Trust

Cotton Made in Africa

Frankfurt Zoological Society

LCMO

Lead Foundation

MVIWAMA

MVIWA-Arusha

National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project

Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority

Pastoral Women’s Council

Tanzania Horticultural Association

Tanzania National Parks Authority

Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority

TCCIA Manyara

Trias East Africa

Ujamaa Community Resource Team

World Monuments Fund

Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP) Tanzania