Mr Nyambe lives on the outskirts of Livingstone, Zambia. He and his family survive on the produce of his small farm where he grows vegetables, which he sells for the equivalent of US$90. But Mr Nyambe has always struggled to feed his family. In February as his crops ripened, elephants would destroy them, and by March they would attack his fields every night. Mr Nyambe and other villagers had no means to chase away the elephants. Whole families would sleep in thatched shelters in their fields, lighting fires and beating drums in an attempt to scare the elephants away. The elephants ignored these ‘empty threats’ and crop-raiding continued. Harvests were low, even in good years.

Elephant Pepper began working with Mr Nyambe and his fellow farmers in 2000. Together they developed simple but effective elephant deterrents. Mr Nyambe built a string fence around his field on which he hung cowbells that alerted him to when the elephants were entering his field. Mr Nyambe also smeared the fence with chilli grease, and made chilli dung briquettes that he burned at night. Elephants were repelled by the smell of the chilli smoke. Mr Nyambe also kept firecrackers close at hand, and if the elephants broke the fence, he would light one and the noise would scare them off. In 2000, Mr Nyambe and his fellow farmers harvested their best yields for ten years, because they had been able to keep the elephants out of their fields.

In 2001, Elephant Pepper introduced chilli as a cash crop. Chilli is an ideal crop for the area, as it is unpalatable to elephants. African Spices Pvt Ltd, the commercial partner of Elephant Pepper, bought back the chillies at internationally pegged prices. Mr Nyambe planted a half-hectare of chillies and harvested 175 kg. African Spices purchased Mr Nyambe’s chillies for the equivalent of US$210. Mr Nyambe feels his life has changed for the better. By better protecting his crops, he can provide food for his family. By growing chillies he has found a ‘safe’ crop that yields more than three times the revenue of his vegetable crop.

Mr Nyambe has volunteered to be a demonstration site for the Elephant Pepper techniques, and is a venue for many visits and he encourages farmers in his area to practice the same methods. Mr Nyambe as an example to the rest of the community to show how effective the methods can be, and how much better his life is for being able to sleep at night, knowing that the elephants will not destroy his fields.