Picture Perfect

Calendars Contribute to Conservation and Community

Writer: Mahina Perrot Photography: The Bushcamp Company

Calendars are a pretty common feature of most households. To some, they are merely a quick visual check of what the date is, or perhaps a reminder of important appointments. To many people though, calendars also have a more decorative function, with colourful pictures and designs brightening up the walls of the kitchen or living room. Some calendars could possibly be described as works of art...

For the past ten years The Bushcamp Company/Mfuwe Lodge has found a way to incorporate calendars into their conservation and community projects in Zambia’s Luangwa Valley. Each year, children from local schools are invited to submit pencil drawings which illustrate their own view of life in and around the popular tourist attraction of the South Luangwa National Park.

After the judging of dozens of entries, around 20 of the most talented young artists are then invited to attend a weekend art workshop inside the national park at Mfuwe Lodge, with one of Zambia’s best known professional artists, Mulenga Chafilwa. As one of the country’s top artists, and an ex-teacher himself, Mulenga is the perfect person to inspire, advise and train the budding ‘Picassos’ in how to improve their artistic techniques and in methods of using new materials and colours to produce more striking images.

On completion of the final masterpieces, the best 12 pictures are then selected to illustrate each month of the year in the