Make your footprint count
Our Story
Our commitment to conservation and local communities runs deep – it is the very foundation of our existence as a safari company and lodge. As Namibia’s first Himba-owned tourism company, we take pride in our conservation heritage and look forward to sharing it with you as our honoured guest.
Our Vision
Tourism often comes with a heavy ecological and carbon ‘footprint’ – consuming resources to deliver experiences while sometimes leaving local communities disconnected from its benefits. When tourism revenue doesn’t reach the ground level, local people may understandably see visitors as outsiders rather than partners.
At Conservancy Safaris Namibia, we believe in a different kind of tourism—one where every footprint leaves a positive impact. Our model ensures that the value generated from tourism directly supports real conservation efforts and sustainable development projects led by local communities, for local communities. This transforms the relationship between visitors and locals, turning tourists into welcomed guests who engage in meaningful, cross-cultural exchanges.
Join us on expedition or stay at Etaambura Lodge – where your footprint truly counts.
Our Team
Sonia Hambo
Bush Chef & Hospitality Extraordinaire
Sonia’s fire-cooking skills turn every meal into an open-air culinary celebration. Born and raised in Kunene, she spent seven years as field catering and communications officer for the pioneering community conservation organisation IRDNC and later worked with the conservancy rhino ranger project.
A true magician with coals, Sonia will take care of your culinary wellbeing with her mouth-watering bush cuisine – she even bakes cakes in the bush! She also serves as a Herero-Damara-English translator, helping guests connect meaningfully with our local people.
Boas Hambo
Chief Guide & Conservation Leader
With over 20 years of experience in community conservation, Boas is a seasoned guide and technical adviser to the annual GOSCARs – Grassroots Owen-Smith Conservation Awards. He has trained many conservancy rhino rangers who work alongside government and NGO partners to protect the desert black rhino population.
Growing up in Kaokoland and Damaraland, Boas developed an intimate knowledge of the land and its people. Before joining Conservancy Safaris, he worked as a natural resource management field officer for IRDNC.
Dr Margaret Jacobsohn
Anthropologist, Author & Community Conservation Pioneer
A leading figure in Namibia’s community conservation movement, Dr Margaret “Maggie” Jacobsohn is an award-winning anthropologist, writer, and Chair of the GOSCARs Panel of Judges.
Maggie moved to Namibia in the mid-1980s for anthropological and archaeological research and never left. She became a Namibian citizen and, alongside the late Garth Owen-Smith, co-founded IRNDC in 1989. Having spent years living with Himba and Herero lineages, she is regarded as family by many elders in the region. Maggie holds a PhD from the University of Cape Town and is the author of two books. She has written numerous articles and texts on Himba social organisation and community-based natural resource management.
Kakuu Musaso
Etaambura Lodge manager and well-travelled Himba woman
As the manager of Etaambura Lodge, Kakuu ensures the smooth running of the camp while supporting a local staff whose schedules align with their traditional farming activities.
Kakuu’s experience extends beyond Namibia – she spent two years in the United Kingdom’s hospitality and health industries before returning home. She later served as a financial administrator for Sanitatas Conservancy, before joining Conservancy Safaris. Proud to be part of a Himba-owned company, she values the direct contribution Etaambura makes to to the Orupembe Conservancy.
Henry Tjambiru
Local Guide, Driver & Assistant Lodge Manager
Henry has a long history of working with the Orupembe Conservancy where Etaambura is located and which owns a percent of the lodge. He started his community conservation career in 2001 as conservancy secretary. After a stint with IRDNC and another tourism establishment, in 2010 he became the conservancy’s field officer. He joined the Etaambura team in 2016, serving as chair of Orupembe Conservancy in 2019.
Uatjindisa Tjambiru
Camp Assistant
An elder in Orupembe Conservancy, Uatjindisa has worked in a campsite, and helped build Orupembe Police Station and Onjuva Clinic as well as serving on various road-working teams. Between 2010 and 2012 he was a conservancy rhino ranger. He has worked at Etaambura since 2015.
Vakanjanda Tjipundi
Housekeeping
After nine years working in a local shop, Vakanjanda started assisting with Etaambura laundry in 2015 and was employed in 2016. Like other staff members, she works two-week shifts so that she can assist her family with their stock farming activities as well as earn an income.
Rasamendu Beyonce Tjambiru
Housekeeping
Our youngest staff member, Beyonce worked in a local shop for two years and then assisted Orupembe Conservancy with project management before joining Etaambura’s team in 2022.
Community Conservation History
A Legacy of Empowerment
Conservancy Safaris Namibia (CSN) and its home base, Etaambura Lodge, are built on Namibia’s globally recognised community conservation success story. The late Garth Owen-Smith and his partner Dr Margaret Jacobsohn, dedicated their lives to north-west Namibia and its people, working to establish local rights to benefit from wildlife while ensuring its conservation for future generations and the global community.
The organisation they founded, Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC), remains at the heart of Namibia’s Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) programme, supporting communal conservancies to manage and benefit from their wildlife.
From Conservation to Community-Owned Tourism
As conservancies began to earn revenue from tourism through private lodges and safari companies, one crucial question emerged: Could communities directly own and operate their own tourism enterprises?
This question led to countless discussions around campfires – until a group of forward-thinking IRDNC donors became CSN’s financial backers.
Today, CSN and Etaambura Lodge are proof that is answer is a resounding YES.
The people of Puros, Orupembe, Sanitatas, Okonjombo and Marienfluss Conservancies – representing more than 3000 Himba and Herero people – co-own CSN. Etaambura Lodge itself is a joint venture between CSN and Orupembe Conservancy, where it is located. It proudly pays the highest bed night fee in Namibia to the conservancy per guest per night.
Tourism that gives back
CSN provides sustainable jobs, fair wages, and community development projects that create lasting impact.
CSN’s model demonstrates that community-owned tourism can be both financially successful and a force for conservation and sustainable development—all while keeping control in the hands of the people who have lived alongside Namibia’s wildlife for generations.
Conservation awards
Namibia stands out as a leader in community-based conservation. In the 1980s, we paved the way for local communities to benefit from their wildlife and spectacular scenery, culminating in enabling legislation by mid-1990s.
The international conservation community has recognised Namibia’s achievements. Honouring the pioneers of our community-based conservation programme with some of the world’s most prestigious awards:
The GOSCARS: Honouring Grassroots Conservation Champions
Following the passing of Garth Owen-Smith, a new awards system was established in his honour: the GOSCARS (Grass-Roots Owen-Smith Conservation Awards). Launched by Dr Margaret Jacobsohn in 2022, the annual GOSCARS celebrate the dedication of community rangers and community-based conservation organisations, including conservancies, community forests and community fisheries reserves -those on the frontline of Namibian conservation efforts.
“I was fortunate to be able to secure CSN’s Boas Hambo to guide me for two weeks in Kunene recently. We had a one-on-one trip, unmatched in exclusivity. Boas knows the area like his pocket (and everybody seems to know him) so I had everything at hand to take a deep dive into Kunene which would never have been possible any other way.”