A core philosophy behind Group Elephant's Elephants, Rhinos & People (ERP) programme is to protect Elephants and Rhinos by empowering People. In this blog, we look at how this works in practice, including the Melorane Development Trust providing loans for sustainable, community-run enterprises, such as the Basebo Training Institute (BTI). Graduates have become school administrators and IT technicians, while former BTI students have returned as certified educators, building self-reliance and career paths. This proves just how transformative the 'People' pillar of ERP is.
SUMMARY: A core philosophy behind Group Elephant's Elephants, Rhinos & People (ERP) programme is to protect Elephants and Rhinos by empowering People. In this blog, we look at how this works in practice, including the Melorane Development Trust providing loans for sustainable, community-run enterprises, such as the Basebo Training Institute (BTI). Graduates have become school administrators and IT technicians, while former BTI students have returned as certified educators, building self-reliance and career paths. This proves just how transformative the 'People' pillar of ERP is.
Last week, I caught up with Lesiba Masibe, Elephants, Rhinos & People (ERP) Coordinator, to chat about the latest developments at the Basebo Training Institute (BTI) and the rollout of their 2026–2027 intake. If you follow our Let's Talk Community updates at EPI-USE Labs, you know that we, as part of the wider Group Elephant community, are focused on projects that bring change to rural communities. But to appreciate what is happening on the ground, you have to look at the Group Elephant philosophy that underpins our ERP non-profit programme.
When people first encounter ERP, their minds almost always drift straight to wildlife protection – safeguarding elephants and rhinos roaming the African bush. Those endangered animals are at the core of the mission, but the 'P' (People) is what makes the model sustainable.
The premise of ERP is that you cannot protect wildlife in a vacuum while neighbouring human communities struggle with poverty, lack of resources, and limited economic prospects. Fences and anti-poaching patrols are only part of the equation; long-term conservation succeeds when the communities bordering protected wilderness areas have economic hope and opportunity. When people thrive, the pressure on natural habitats drops, human-wildlife conflict diminishes, and local communities become champions of the animals living beside them. In short: ERP protects elephants and rhinos by empowering people.
This philosophy came alive when ERP partnered with the Barokologadi Communal Property Association (BCPA) to lease community land and establish the Melorane ERP Game Reserve. Today, the reserve is a thriving protected sanctuary, providing direct employment to over 50 local people, and prioritising local community contractors whenever maintenance, repairs, or reserve projects arise.
However, as Lesiba explained to me, conservation boundaries cannot be where community development stops.
The villages where our partner community lives sit about 50 km away from the reserve itself. Because these are remote, rural areas, young people face a number of hurdles: access to tertiary education is limited, and job opportunities within the villages are few and far between. Relying solely on the jobs created inside the reserve's perimeter was never going to be enough to lift the entire region.
To solve this, ERP helped establish the Melorane Development Trust, funded directly by the obligatory lease fees ERP pays for using the community's land. Rather than treating these funds like a temporary grant that dwindles over time, the Trust works as a revolving development fund:
One of the brightest ventures to emerge from this framework is the Basebo Training Institute (BTI). Rather than Group Elephant or EPI-USE Labs running an academy from the outside, BTI was designed to be wholly owned and self-managed:
Four years ago, BTI kicked off its first learnership programme with an intake of 30 post-matric learners enrolled in End User Computing, certified through the MICT SETA. The programme was such a triumph that it quickly scaled to 60 learners annually.
Technology moves fast, and education models have to adapt just as quickly. When the legacy End User Computing curriculum was phased out by the education authorities, the team at BTI took it in their stride.
Instead of pausing their work, BTI spent months working alongside ERP to meet accreditation standards set by the MICT SETA and QCTO for a much higher-tier qualification: Software Tester. BTI's client for this programme is also a Group entity, EPI-USE Africa, which means the skills these learners build are being developed for a member of our own Group family.
On 12 October, BTI officially welcomed its newest cohort: 60 young men and women embarking on a 12-month Software Testing journey.
To ensure learners aren't held back by logistical hurdles, the programme provides a dedicated monthly stipend. Covering basic daily transport costs and refreshments makes an enormous difference, giving these students the peace of mind to focus entirely on building their technical craft.
As Lesiba and I talked through the journey, he shared the details of the ripple effect BTI is now seeing.
At the end of every 12-month programme, BTI hosts a vibrant graduation ceremony attended by the local chief, proud parents, community leaders, and visiting Group Elephant team members. Many graduates have moved into rewarding roles as school administrators and IT technicians across the region, frequently sharing stories of how that single qualification unlocked doors they thought were closed to them.
Even more remarkable is what is happening inside the BTI classrooms today. The lecturers training this year's 2026–2027 software testing cohort are former BTI students themselves.
Four years ago, they walked into BTI as learners in the very first intake. After completing their training, they went on to earn certified facilitator credentials and returned home to teach, mentor, and inspire the newest generation of students.
Seeing young people from rural villages evolve from students into certified educators proves just how transformative the 'People' pillar of ERP is. It shows that conservation is about building self-reliance, dignity and career paths for the communities alongside them.
To the 60 new software testing students at BTI: we are cheering you on every step of the way, and we can't wait to celebrate your graduation next year!