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Turning Poachers' Snares Into Jewelry
By Julie Larsen Maher
Just recently, Wildlife Conservation Society staff photographer Julie Larsen Maher had the opportunity to venture to Zambia in southern Africa to
photodocument the metamorphosis of career poachers into farmers, carpenters, gardeners and even bee-keepers through a program called COMACO
(Community Markets for Conservation). The program was designed Dr. Dale Lewis of the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society to encourage
poachers to turn in guns and snares in exchange for training in various trades.
One outcome of the program is that the snares have found a new life—they have been developed into a line of jewelry by local Zambians. Left with
many hundreds of yards of snare wire, they have created wearable art called "snarewear."
"It was really amazing to see WCS help transform these people who had lifelong careers as poachers and learn a whole new skill set," said Maher.
"The snareware is very beautiful—it makes a statement, and as a whole, the program has been very successful. The jewelry making has created jobs
and income for Misozi Kadewele and her staff, as well as a portion of the profits from the snareware will go back to the communities where the
ex-poachers now farm."
Thus far, more than 40,000 snares and 800 firearms have been turned in as a result of the COMACO program. In 2006, the program earned over $350,000
in revenue from agricultural products produced and sold in Zambia's capital of Lusaka.
Maher is the first woman, and sixth person overall, to be the staff photographer for the Wildlife Conservation Society, an organization dedicated
to saving wildlife and wild lands around the world. One of the perks of being involved with an organization such as this is that she gets to
photograph the positive effects of their conservation efforts.
"Getting to see these people change the way they live through education and empowerment has been one of the greatest outcomes of working at WCS,"
Maher explains. "Being able to share this wonderful story, and others like it, through photography is what it's all about for me. This trip to
Zambia will certainly go down as one of the favorite photography experiences of my career."
As with many of Maher's adventures, there is little (if any) working electricity in the places she visits, and she has to rely solely on her
memory cards to safely hold her images.
"As with shoots in similar conditions, I rarely have the chance to download the images from my cards to my computer in the field," notes Maher.
"I must have complete confidence in my storage, because if I lose my pictures, my entire trip is a waste. I use Lexar Professional memory cards
to ensure that when I return home, I will be able to share these uplifting stories with the world."
Photo credit: Julie Larsen Maher © Wildlife Conservation Society
www.wcs.org
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Julie Maher's Bio
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