In this year of our 20th birthday, we invite you to feel closer to our people, the backbone and the lifeforce of Asilia. Through this series of short blogs, we’ll introduce a cross-section of our people for their reflections on Asilia over the years and their thoughts on things to come.
Lorenzo Rossi
In south-central Tanzania, one the country’s wildest parks stretches across an enormous expanse of more than 20,200km2 of wilderness. A wilderness Lorenzo refers to as “one of the last true wilderness strongholds in Africa. It is a truly untouched place that requires you to have the patience to get to really know her. If you can open yourself up to a place like Ruaha, all its beauty and harshness, the experience is truly rewarding. Knowing this place makes me feel privileged”.
Kwihala Camp
In 2009, after completing his studies in Milan, Lorenzo decided to visit his uncle in Tanzania for a couple of months before starting a job in January of 2010. His uncle ran a small camp in Ruaha National Park, called Kwihala. Little did Lorenzo realise at the time, but this visit would be a catalyst for a major change of direction in his life. Inspired by the safari guides he met in camp, Lorenzo’s career abruptly changed course as he decided he too wanted to be a safari guide, steering away from the Economic Engineering degree he had recently completed and turning down the job at PWC he was due to start in the new year. He went on to complete FGASA levels 1, 2 and 3 in South Africa to qualify as a Lead Trails Guide and spent a year mentoring under seasoned professional guides like Pietro Laruschi, Steven Roskelly, and Marius Swart. In 2013, Asilia purchased Kwihala Camp, and Lorenzo became a part of the Asilia family. By 2014, he was Head Guide at Kwihala.
Jabali Ridge
In 2016, the plan for the creation of Jabali Ridge began to take shape. Lorenzo’s knowledge of the park was heavily relied on for, firstly the positioning of the new lodge, and secondly the change in location that was needed for Kwihala Camp in order to maintain a level of exclusivity between the two properties. It was at this point that Lorenzo identified a site beneath the trees on the banks of the Mwagusi River, to where Kwihala would move and, 8 years later, where Kokoko Camp would come to life. A second property, and a high-end luxury lodge at that, in a park that typically receives low visitor numbers, was an ambitious plan. Lorenzo explained, “only 3 or 4 national parks in Tanzania are profitable out of the 22 total. They pay for the sustainment of all the others, including Ruaha. Good and sustainable tourism must be developed in parks that need it, and we need to protect these wilderness areas against social pressures. Therefore, developing less visited parks and as a tourist, visiting them, is vital. Ruaha isn’t the Serengeti, and it will never be, but Ruaha’s beauty is not in the amount of game but the wilderness that it carries.”
“Why is Ruaha unique? It contains so many different vegetation types and landscapes within the park that you always feel as though you are going to see something new or see a place you haven’t yet seen.” Lorenzo Rossi
Usangu Expedition Camp
A couple of years later, Asilia was again looking to expand its footprint in Ruaha, this time in the far south of the park in the Usangu Wetlands. Bold and pioneering, it’s a decision that Lorenzo sees as defining Asilia’s approach to making a positive impact. “The Usangu area is the lifeline of Ruaha in terms of water and therefore in terms of life, it is as simple as that. It was completely overrun with poaching and dried out by rice farmers and cattle. The initiative of establishing a camp in a place like that is not just bold, but necessary. Only if you have a long-term vision of the park, if you have a solid view of sustainable tourism pillars, and you keep real conservation at heart beyond the mere financial return, only then, you can decide to embark on such a venture. I feel very proud that Asilia is such a company, and I am part of it. It is one thing is to say you are a sustainable company and a conservation champion while putting a new camp in the Serengeti, but another thing entirely to be putting properties in parks where nobody else does, like Rubondo, or where the chance of getting a short-term return is zero, like Usangu. Asilia values conservation and people more than the financial return.”
Looking Forward
Today, Lorenzo is Head of the Guiding Department. Throughout the year, he moves between different Asilia camps, meeting with the guides, looking for training opportunities, and determining how best to enhance the individual qualities of each guide to help them grow and meet their own personal life wishes together with Asilia’s. While his role has changed from the initial safari guide ambitions of 2009, the structure and size of Asilia has also changed. “It may sound negative to say a company has gotten bigger, but the reality is that only if you have bigger shoulders can you embark on bigger projects. Looking forward, I hope these shoulders will offer Asilia the strength to take its approach and impact into other countries, like Uganda, expanding on the good that the company has already created.”
Ruaha National Park was his first introduction to East Africa. Even now, after having experienced most of east and southern Africa’s national parks, Ruaha remains his firm favourite. “Everybody knows I am crazy about this park; it is my second home, it is the place I know the best by far, and in general the place I love. Most of the important decisions and events of my life (including meeting my wife!) so far happened here or they were somehow linked to this park. Kokoko (now on the site of old Kwihala Camp) will always have a special place in my heart. I don’t think that will ever change. Even now, when I am at Jabali Ridge, the managers know that I would like to stay and sleep at Kokoko and drive to Jabali every day. It will never change. That site, that Tam and I chose for Kwihala when Jabali started to be built, is special and carries too many memories for me. This said, Usangu is the place where I like to spend the most time when I am in Ruaha because I feel my knowledge of this area can make the biggest contribution to the job that Asilia has started. There is a long journey ahead, but I have seen already unbelievable changes in the area since we started Usangu Expedition Camp. Cattle are gone, the water level is getting higher every year, poaching has decreased immensely, and the quality of wildlife sightings is consistently improving.”
Ruaha awaits, start planning your safari today.