Conservation Ecology in Zambia

We got the chance to visit a real Zambian village!  It was very difficult to get there.  We had to drive over really rough roads for over 6 hours.  In Zambia a lot of the roads are just dirt.  In the wet season rain washes the roads out, making them muddy and very difficult to travel on.  Most people in the villages do not have cars so they walk along the roads, sometimes for days!  When we arrived at the village everyone was really excited to see us.  The children were anxious to play games.  We played soccer and other games with them.  This is not just any ordinary village.  This village has decided to use their way of life to attract tourism (and income) to this out-of-the-way corner of Zambia.  The villagers are organized under their head-man (sort of like a mayor).  The head-man coordinates with tourism outfitters throughout Zambia to bring in visitors.  At the same time, the head-man organizes the villagers to build and maintain visitor huts, cook visitors food, and even provide entertainment (dancing and stories) for the visitors.  While we were there we were able to see how people in the villages grow, harvest, and prepare their food, how families are organized, how huts are built, and lots of other interesting things.  Children in these villages are a lot like children in the USA.  They like to play games, spend time with their families and friends, and are very curious when they see things they are not used to!