OUR VISION IS THAT OF A LAND WHERE PEOPLE LIVE IN HARMONY WITH THE EARTH AND ALL THE CREATURES THAT LIVE UPON IT.
Nomad African Trust – Social Impact & Responsibility
Our vision is of a land where people live in harmony with the earth and all its creatures. The Nomad African Trust was founded in 2008 by Alexander Rutherford, owner of Nomad, to bring this vision to life. Faced with the many challenges Africa faces daily, we chose to focus our efforts through three guiding pillars: People, Places, and Animals. This approach has allowed us to provide targeted, meaningful support where it’s needed most. By directing funds carefully and strategically, we’ve seen real, measurable change and long-lasting benefits across all three areas. The Trust continues to work toward a better, more sustainable future for the continent and all who call it home.
PEOPLE
We believe that without jobs, modernisation efforts are unlikely to succeed. That’s why we place strong emphasis on job creation and skills development. Alongside this, we address basic human needs such as food, shelter, and healthcare—essentials that are often lacking in many parts of Africa. A key part of our mission is supporting and uplifting rural communities, as we believe many of the continent’s challenges stem from the difficulties faced in these areas. By focusing our efforts here, we aim to create sustainable, long-term solutions that empower individuals and strengthen communities from the ground up.
PLACES
While much attention is often given to Africa’s remote wilderness areas, we choose to focus on urban environments and their surrounding communities. Popular tourist regions are typically well-protected due to their visibility, but it’s the lesser-known places that are often most in need of support and exposure. These overlooked areas face unique challenges that deserve just as much attention. By directing our efforts here, we aim to foster balance and inclusivity in conservation and development. We believe that protecting the diversity of people, places, and ecosystems is one of the most valuable ways to honour the richness of our planet.
ANIMALS
Much of the spotlight falls on a few iconic animals, but many lesser-known species are in urgent need of help. While we do support anti-poaching efforts and the protection of high-profile wildlife, our mission also includes aiding these overlooked creatures. We aim to contribute to breeding programs and the relocation of endangered species back to their natural habitats. Through this, we hope to restore ecosystems and help these regions regain their natural balance and beauty. By broadening the focus of conservation, we can make a meaningful impact on the full spectrum of Africa’s wildlife, not just the most famous few.
WHAT CAN WE DO WITH YOUR HELP?
Our continuing aim is to obtain funding from players in the tourism industry and other related sectors, in order to help and protect the very people, places and animals that these parties earn their living from. As such we are able to provide focussed and specific help across these three fronts. Through this we have been able to effect real change by ensuring funding is spent in such a way so as to create permanent and long lasting benefits to our beneficiaries.
See some of our successful initiatives below...
GREEN SEATS
The Nomad African Trust is our way of giving back to the continent we love. We’re deeply conscious of the impact travel has on the environment and the communities we visit, which is why we established this non-profit trust — to help protect and uplift Africa’s people, places, and wildlife. Our ongoing mission is to secure funding from the tourism industry and related sectors to support the very communities and ecosystems that make these journeys possible. Travellers can also make a difference by purchasing a Green Seat, with each contribution going toward initiatives that drive real, lasting change. All funds are carefully directed to projects that provide long-term, meaningful benefits to those we support.
SUITCASE
Seeking Unity in Travel, Creating & Aiding Sustainable Environments—SUITCASE—is the latest initiative by the Nomad African Trust. This project invites our guests to bring along useful items in their luggage when travelling to Africa, just before starting their tour. Donations can include stationery, books, clothing, and non-perishable food items—simple contributions that make a big difference. Collection points will be available at all major Nomad starting locations, where items will be gathered and distributed to the communities and projects most in need. Through SUITCASE, travellers can directly support meaningful change and help uplift the very regions they journey through.
PLEDGE A TREE
The Nomad African Trust, in partnership with Nomad Africa Tours & Safaris and Greenpop Foundation’s Forests for Life programme, works to support small-scale organisations across Sub-Saharan Africa. Together, we aim to plant trees, restore degraded forests and woodlands, protect vital catchment areas, and uplift the communities that depend on these natural resources. This initiative not only increases biodiversity and strengthens ecosystems, but also helps build a more sustainable future for people and the planet. By restoring forest habitats and expanding ecosystem services, we can create lasting environmental impact. Every tree matters—pledge yours today and be part of the change.
JARS OF HOPE
Over the last few years, the trust has partnered with Taste + See, a program that provides otherwise unobtainable opportunities to those in poverty who are looking to better their futures through skill-development and resource expansion. One of the largest hurdles within impoverished communities is food insecurity and is a core starting point of Taste + See’s upliftment program. As such, Nomad focused on supplying Jars of Hope, which is a nutritious mix of food containing 4 meals per jar. The entire in-office staff pitched in to clean, fill and hand-deliver each jar to a total of 200, amounting to 800 meals, some of which were immediately distributed to a new group in the process of changing their lives.
The Lusumpuko Women’s Club
This group of amazing local women come from different cultures, speaking different languages – some of whom are widowers and single mothers – who came together with the hope to be able to lift themselves and their communities out of harsh realities brought on by the economic situation in Zimbabwe.
They started out as a local chicken rearing co-operative in 2017, selling their chickens and doing other community services, such as picking up litter, and cooking at funerals and parties so that they would be able to take care of themselves and their families, while still giving back to their community.
