A recent article in the UK’s Stella magazine talks about women who’s live for the outdoors. One woman who was profiled was Sveva Gallmann, 32, a conservationist, theatre director and anthropologist who lives in a 100,000-acre Kenyan wildlife conservancy.Svava’s parents decided to move to Africa and bought a barren, dry Ol Ari Nyiro (‘The Place of Springs’) in the Laikipia region of Kenya in 1972. Her father died when her mother was pregnant but her mother dedicated every moment of her life and her money into regenerating the conservancy.
Now, Sveva has set up grass-roots artistic, conservation and community projects ‘which encouraged local tribal children to seek out and share the wisdom, oral traditions, songs and rituals of their elders.’
‘One of the main features of the conservancy is the Mukutan Gorge, a valley that plunges from savanna deep into a jungly world of palms, hot springs and caves filled with ancient stone tools. Bringing people together here for arts festivals, in the wilderness, is a passion of mine.’
Poaching, cattle rustling and illegal firearms are a problem in Kenya, causing her conservancy to be severely targeted, already losing 27 elephants this year. Some poachers were arrested, whilst some attacked the land with fire, causing half of the conservancy to be destroyed. Luckily, it has rained since May, helping the bush to regenerate.
But there is a beautiful and romantic angle to living in the middle of the conservancy.
“On my second day two elephants came along and started to deconstruct the water tank and play with the water. Lions have been around recently, too. I usually have the joy of some inquisitive animal roaming around, and at night the darkness rings with the voices of millions of tiny creatures. I often camp out with a bush fire and bed roll.”
“I walk a lot. It’s my thinking time. Generally you should walk with an armed guard because there is a real danger that a buffalo might charge out of the bush at you. I know several people who’ve been put in hospital by buffalo – my father was twice. Sometimes, though, I just want to be alone so I just have to be very careful and silent and keep my wits about me at all times with all sense alert. If you come face to face with a lion you have to hold your nerve, and your ground, or move out of the way very slowly. Lions usually let you be.”
Via: Stella magazine
