This short film by African Bush Camps introduces the Thandanani Sewing Project — a women’s cooperative near Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. It shows the women at work producing handcrafted clothing, jewelry, and textiles from locally sourced and recycled materials, and explains how ecotourism revenue and the African Bush Camps Foundation’s microfinance support transformed a small community initiative into a thriving local business that supports families across the Hwange region.

The Microfinance Model

What began with ten women and three sewing machines has grown into a model for how responsible tourism can fund community enterprise. The African Bush Camps Foundation provided the initial microfinance loan — a small investment with an outsized return. Rather than a donation, the loan model created accountability from the start: the women of Thandanani built a business, not a dependency. Today the cooperative produces handcrafted clothing, jewelry, and textiles from locally sourced and recycled materials, sold directly to safari visitors through the Hwange area.

What Travelers Experience

A visit to Thandanani is one of the most memorable stops on a Deeper Africa Zimbabwe itinerary. Travelers on our Zimbabwe Rediscovered safari meet the women of the cooperative at work — watching the craft process, hearing the stories behind the business, and purchasing handmade goods directly from the artisans who made them. This is not a staged cultural display. It is a working business that safari visitors have helped build, and every purchase goes directly to the women and families involved.

Community Impact

Thandanani creates sustainable economic opportunity for women near Hwange National Park — one of Zimbabwe’s most wildlife-rich but economically marginal regions. By turning ecotourism into a direct revenue stream for local women, the cooperative demonstrates that safari travel and community development are not separate goals. The school fees, the family income, the cooperative membership — all of it flows from the choice travelers make when they book a safari that includes a community visit.

How Your Deeper Africa Safari Supports Thandanani

Travelers on Deeper Africa’s Zimbabwe Rediscovered safari visit the Thandanani cooperative in person — meeting the women, purchasing their work, and seeing firsthand how responsible tourism creates lasting opportunity near Hwange. Every Deeper Africa Zimbabwe booking supports the African Bush Camps Foundation’s community empowerment programmes that make Thandanani possible. Your safari dollar does not just fund a wildlife experience — it funds the livelihoods of the women who share that landscape with the wildlife you come to see.