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company in 2008 to an anonymous benefactor who immediately invested enough money
to upgrade the camps and lodges. Hogg hired an interior designer from South Africa to
work her magic on the camps and lodge and paid for the repair and upgrade of roads.
Hogg has signed a nondisclosure agreement that prohibits him from saying who bought
the company. He could only say that the new owner is an American philanthropic busi-
nessman who wants to make a profit “but only to plow it all back into the company.”
“For him, it's not about making money. It's about doing it right. His sister came here
and fell in love with the place,” said Hogg.
It didn't take long asking around in Lusaka to establish that the philanthropic business-
man was Paul Allen, the cofounder of Microsoft and a Seattle billionaire. His sister Jody
Allen runs his foundation and initially agreed to talk to me about Paul Allen's involvement
in Bushcamp Company, but at the last minute she decided against commenting on the
family's purchase of the lodge and camps. Publicly, Paul Allen prefers a “no comment” to
my questions about his ownership and what he hopes to achieve in South Luangwa Park.
Allen has shown a fascination with Africa. His foundation supports a trust to save the
scruffy, almost ugly wild dogs of Africa. These wolf-type predators have their own role in
the African wilderness. Farmers are afraid of their packs and have killed off enough to put
them on the endangered list. Allen also gave $25 million to Washington State University,
his alma mater, for a global animal health project specifically targeted at Africa. Gener-
ally, his conservation efforts have centered on the Pacific Northwest, from protecting old-
growth forests to figuring out how to establish the proper balance between fishing and pre-
servation on the Pacific Coast. South Luangwa seems to parallel those interests, especially
his strong belief that private enterprise can do more for conservation.
Without mentioning Paul Allen by name, Hogg said that the two men agreed that re-
sponsible tourism was critical to saving South Luangwa. “Without tourism, a park like this,
where the government puts in so little, things simply wouldn't work.”
Hogg's predicament is a microcosm of what is facing the African tourism industry. First,
he needed foreign aid to repair the park as a whole and private philanthropy to keep his
company afloat. With Allen owning the Bushcamp Company, Hogg has fewer worries
about the bottom line. He is paid a salary and can concentrate on the company's ten-year
plan. The lodge and camps are being improved to the highest level. Mfuwe has won the
award for best lodge in Zambia. The second part concerns the community, getting the loc-
als involved in the park and seeing how their lives are directly improved through tourism.
“In the United States people realize they have to manage the wildlife. In Zambia, it's let
nature take its course,” said Hogg.
It is up to Hogg and his company to convince the local community that it is in their best
interest to maintain the park by creating programs for their benefit. In the broadest sense
it is an educational campaign with all sorts of incentives to resist the impulse to cut down
trees or kill animals for meat. The greatest incentive is providing jobs at the lodge and
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