Flatdogs Camp

Flatdogs Camp is the first tourism business to be awarded Fair Trade Tourism (FTT) Certification in Zambia!

We are pleased to announce that all Flatdogs Camp hospitality staff have now been fully vaccinated and continue to maintain some of the best COVID protocols you will come across anywhere.

Flatdogs Camp guides are some of the first to receive the COVID 19 Vaccine as the vaccine roll out in Zambia picks up speed.

Guides at Flatdogs Camp spent 10 days with guide trainer Schalk Pretorius from Ulovane Environmental Training school. Schalk shared his knowledge and skills with the team of nine guides, focusing on detailed subjects such as tracking, botany, geology and astronomy. This in-depth training has helped the guides to expand on their already existing knowledge, so that they are able to delve deeper into these specific topics with their guests.

Flatdogs Camp welcomed chef trainer Nicky Bryden back to further improve their unique à la carte menu. Nicky spent 10 days in the camp kitchen where she worked with nine chefs to expand on their existing skills. She focused on new recipes and working on different styles of presentation, which has helped to improve the safari camp’s overall restaurant experience. The camp is positioned in a remote location just outside of the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, making it a real challenge to run an a la carte restaurant with such a wide variety of options.

The development of the Luangwa Valley has seen more farms and infrastructure being built, resulting in an increased level of human-wildlife-conflict. Elephants raid crop-fields and damage property in their forage for food, with tragic outcomes for both the local community and the elephants. To help mitigate these issues, Flatdogs Camp are supporting a group of 20 volunteers from Conservation South Luangwa (CSL), who are using ‘chilli blasters’ to deter elephants away from crop-fields and buildings.

From 2019 Flatdogs Camp has increased the contribution we make to conservation and community projects by 50% (now $15 per bed night in high season). This will allow us to support the Zambian Carnivore Program in their important research. The Luangwa Conservation and Community Fund (LCCF) was set up by some safari operators as a voluntary contribution to local organisations to assist with the running costs of important projects. In 8 years Flatdogs Camp has raised around $220,000 which we have split between Conservation South Luangwa (www.cslzambia.org) and Project Luangwa (www.projectluangwa.org).

Flatdogs Camp has confirmed that guests booked in their Crocodile Nest have their own private guide and vehicle for 2019. As a private house offering fantastic indoor and outdoor living spaces, the addition of a private guide and vehicle adds to the appeal for families and small groups.

In its continued bid to be part of the solution not part of the problem, Flatdogs Camp has recently invested in Carbon Offsets from BioCarbon Partners (BCP) to become one of the first safari Camps in the South Luangwa National Park to become Carbon Neutral for Operations.

Jess Salmon is excited to be part of both the UK Safari roadshow (26 February-02 March 2018) and the Zambian contingent who are proud to be this year’s Cultural and Convention sponsors of ITB 2018. Jess will be in Berlin 7-11 March, so please contact her on [email protected] if you would like to make an appointment to catch up on all the Flatdogs sustainable camp news!