Meaco, the leading UK air treatment manufacturer, is proud to announce it has so far donated over £60,000 to the DSWF (David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation). This money goes towards helping to protect endangered wildlife across Africa and Asia.
In 2016 Meaco launched its top of the range dehumidifier – the DD8L Zambezi, named after an orphaned elephant rescued and rehabilitated at the DSWF-funded Lilayi Elephant Nursery in Zambia. With every sale of a Zambezi dehumidifier, a donation is made by Meaco to the DSWF.
But what is the connection between Zambia and Meaco?
The story begins with relatives of Meaco director Chris Michael, who lived in Zambia for many years, and dedicated their lives to caring for underprivileged or abandoned children, and wildlife.
Chris’ cousin Robin Jones spent the majority of his childhood in Zambia with his family, spending months travelling in the bush and volunteering to help with conservation work for the protection of wildlife, in camps such as Treetops and Chinzombo. Spending time in Luangwa, Robin recalls the abundance of big game freely roaming in the early 80s. He also witnessed horrific scenes of slaughtered rhino and elephants, and the increase in poaching that led to a rapid decline in animal numbers.
There was clearly a disconnect between the local people and wildlife, and it was this that motivated Robin and his mother Gloria to become involved in establishing and working with local schools, teaching the value of wildlife, and assisting in safari camps. This included involvement with Lilayi Elephant Nursery, caring for traumatised orphaned baby elephants and their reintroduction back into the wild, where their progress is monitored as they integrate into new herds.
The DSWF mission is to empower local communities through conservation development that encourages people and wildlife to live harmoniously alongside each other, and these values align closely with those of Meaco. For example Meaco has replaced polystyrene packaging wherever possible in products and is using recyclable cardboard, which brings increased shipping costs, foregoing profit for the common good. Meaco also took the decision to stop putting drainage hoses inside new dehumidifiers thereby removing around 70,000 metres of plastic hose that might otherwise end up as waste each year, as a customer survey had revealed that less than 10% of customers use the hose, and a garden hose would make a suitable substitute if needed.
Chris Michael comments on the Meaco relationship with DSWF: “We are delighted to support the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation and this kind of collaboration is something that I would urge other businesses to consider undertaking. It is a superb way for businesses to help a good cause and is mutually beneficial. About half of Meaco’s sales are overseas and each Zambezi product box has a card in it explaining about the work done by DSWF, so in our small way we are helping to spread the word and getting people to think about elephant conservation.”
More about Meaco’s commitment to sustainability can be read here: https://blog.meaco.com/meaco-increases-its-commitment-to-environmental-sustainability/
