It begins…

The Human Wildlife Project, once merely a pie-in-the-sky dream, was realized in mid-2024. After many years of working on a documentary in Kenya about human-wildlife conflict (One But Many, slated for release in September 2025), I knew the real story was in the solutions. Organizations like NRT, Mara Elephant Project, Lion Guardians, Lewa, Ol Pejeta, etc., blew my mind with what was possible when conservation was approached differently—when it was inextricably tied to the well-being of the communities that live alongside this precious and rare Wild-Life.

I hoped—and, in some ways, assumed—that someone big and powerful would come along, be inspired, and create an NPO solely dedicated to addressing human-wildlife conflict. Someone with endless resources and connections—surely that person existed. In my new filmmaker fantasies, I thought my doc might spark that idea in someone. But as the saying goes, “You want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” Not much of how I’d planned for things with the documentary went the way I expected. The timeline, for example—I thought it would take me two years to make; when it comes out, it will have been seven.

I also thought we’d be able to attach some high-profile advocates to raise its critical message far beyond my personal reach. And we got close—some jaw-dropping “almosts” with people who loved the film and could have changed its entire trajectory in a moment. But publicly advocating for films that push the envelope and call out behemoth industries and governments is not an easy ask. So I found myself having to ask the question: “Now what?” What would I do now, with all I had learned and knew was possible? The answer was The Human Wildlife Project.

An organization dedicated to addressing this issue, one place, one problem, one step at a time.

November of 2024 marked our first trip on the ground in Zambia, where I spent two weeks with some board members and one of our Zambian co-founders, John Kalidza. John is from one of the villages where we’ve focused our initial efforts, so he knows the people and region well. Hosted at the dreamy Baines River Camp, nestled on the banks of the mighty Zambezi River, we spent most of our days meeting with seven villages in the Lower Zambezi region. This area faces significant human-wildlife conflict—primarily from elephants eating crops, destroying borehole pipes, and, at times, injuring or killing humans. Hyenas also pose challenges, often preying on goats and chickens.

Battling the 110-degree temperatures, we collected as much data as possible about their top challenges. If I’d learned anything from my documentary work, it was that to be of real assistance, we needed to let them tell us what was going on—and going wrong. What did they want to do about it? How did they wish us to help? Only then could we put it all together and figure out how to be of service.

Their needs were clear: They wanted jobs. They wanted more boreholes. They wished for help with fence lines to keep elephants away. The list was long. But in addition to issues surrounding a lack of water for crops—droughts have been so severe that they now wish for irrigation, something they naturally shouldn’t need in this area, which typically gets plenty of rain during the “green season,” they needed maize seed. And they needed it yesterday.

Maize is their staple food—it’s eaten at every meal. Without the seed, they will go hungry. And hunger fuels poaching, as people can only starve for so long before they are forced to turn to alternatives, legal or not.

As our team came together at the end of each day, it was clear: the first project would be to get them maize seed. Every household with a field would have it for the big rains that we prayed would come soon.

If you’ve seen the videos and updates, you know that, in about a month’s time, we successfully raised the funding to make this goal a reality. And the big rain did come. On the same day that the seeds arrived.

Our gratitude is immeasurable. My heart and mind are full of moments and stories I can’t wait to share with you. I hope you’ll follow along for this incredible ride we’ve just embarked on…

With gratitude,

Janna Giacoppo

President/Co-Founder

The Human Wildlife Project