The progressive loss of direct human interaction with wild places has been described as the extinction of experience. As people become more removed from their natural habitat – and Wilderness itself continues to disappear – human well-being declines, and efforts toward meaningful conservation are fundamentally weakened.
We understand conservation as a human process – as much as an ecological one. Primitive Trails provide sustainable access to one of the most endangered phenomena of our time: the experience of Wilderness. By fostering meaningful engagement with intact landscapes, they restore a relationship that supports ecological understanding, personal well-being, and long-term conservation. This philosophy guides our partnership with Ditoro Outreach – the primary beneficiary of our Wilderness Fund, which exposes young African leaders to Wilderness and supports their professional growth as future custodians of land, wildlife, and community. Together, we focus on hands-on experience, skills development, mentorship, and clear pathways into tourism and conservation – building capacity rooted in lived experience.
Our Wilderness Fund is financed directly through our operations:
This fund supports access to Nature Guide and Tracking programs that position young Africans, not only in the classroom, but more importantly – in the landscape. Every Trail walked, course run, and product purchased contributes to developing the next generation of Wilderness custodians.
Our Wilderness Fund is financed directly through our operations:
This fund supports access to Nature Guide and Tracking programs that position young Africans, not only in the classroom, but more importantly – in the landscape. Every Trail walked, course run, and product purchased contributes to developing the next generation of Wilderness custodians.
We define Wilderness as an ecologically intact landscape with associated wild qualities, largely untrammeled by modern human infrastructure.
These landscapes maintain biodiversity, support large-scale ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, and provide resilience in the face of climate change and emerging pandemics. They also serve as a critical baseline for understanding human impact.
Beyond this, Wilderness holds intrinsic value. It sustains not only life, but the human spirit.
We define Wilderness as an ecologically intact landscape with associated wild qualities, largely untrammeled by modern human infrastructure.
These landscapes maintain biodiversity, support large-scale ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, and provide resilience in the face of climate change and emerging pandemics. They also serve as a critical baseline for understanding human impact.
Beyond this, Wilderness holds intrinsic value. It sustains not only life, but the human spirit.
The Lowveld Trails Co. Wilderness Rating system is important because it helps to raise awareness of the value of Wilderness areas. It also provides a way to measure the impact of human activities at a landscape level, and to identify areas (especially within protected areas) that are losing intrinsic value.
