Our Story
We work in the communities bordering Murchison Falls National Park which is the oldest, largest, and most visited national park in Uganda.
Despite this, local communities remain some of the poorest in the country which has led to very high levels of poaching pressure across the landscape. These complex issues require integrated conservation solutions that preserve wildlife populations via uplifting local human communities.
Who we are
Snares to Wares is a community-based conservation initiative that simultaneously transforms human lives and addresses the problem of illegal wildlife poaching by empowering local community artisans to repurpose wire snares into sculptures of wildlife that would otherwise fall victim to snaring.
In collaboration with the Uganda Wildlife Authority, we remove illegal wire snares from the park and repurpose them into material used to make these snare wildlife sculptures. This addresses the route of the poaching problem by providing alternative livelihood opportunities and sources of income for local communities, such that poaching is no longer a necessity.
Having started with one local group of artisans centred around Pakwach (the northern gateway town to the national park), we have since expanded to 3 groups. By supporting our vision for a more biodiverse Uganda, we can continue to expand to transform more human lives and protect more wildlife.
Take a look at these images below outlining some of the team and artisans at work.
