There's a not-so-hidden agenda behind the Self-Transformation Adventure Retreats we're conducting in Africa and launching in other parts of the world. The STARs are intended to help save the world, bit by bit, using First World abundance to finance the restoration of wild ecosystems and ensure that indigenous human populations can thrive economically as guardians of the wilderness.

These photos were taken on what was once an overgrazed, "useless" tract of farmland in northern South Africa. When two teenaged brothers, David and John Varty, inherited the land after their father's sudden death, they decided to "rebuild Eden" on their property. They named the place Londolozi (Zulu for "protector of all living things"), restored native vegetaton and animals, and began running photo safaris that provide income to sustain their conservation efforts and employ many of the local Shangaan people.

Love + Energy + Alignment = Power (and a LEAP in Consciousness)
Londolozi offers a model of healing we hope will be replicated all over the world. The people who feel drawn to this work often fit the archetype of traditional shamanic healers. In Africa, their totemic animal is the leopard (Londolozi's leopards are strangely tolerant of humans). A group of leopards is called a "leap," so that's the word we use to describe all the healers who are joining forces to heal the earth. We hope to help catalyze a leap in consciousness by combining Love, Energy, and Alignment, which add up to healing Power.

This project starts by bringing people like you to experience the magically healing power of nature. During a week of intensive coaching and wildlife experience (with five-star accommodations), STAR participants feel a healing force that causes a leap forward in their own lives, then emanates to all other beings and the Earth itself.

The profits from the STARs go partly to sustain and reclaim more wilderness, and partly to fund education for local Africans through the Good Works Foundation (an educational initiative begun at Londolozi) and the LEAP Foundation (a fund set up in the United States to support the healing of ecosystems and their inhabitants).

If you'd like to donate directly to this cause, you may do so by clicking below. We are supporting many projects in Africa, including the restoration of the historic migratory routes of vast herds of antelope, the removal of fences throughout the entire continent that have killed countless animals, adult literacy programs for villagers, and much, much more. As we create each project, we'll provide an on-line reporting system where you can visually follow the results of your contributions.