Meet the expedition leader - Jim Bond, Mozambique

Jim Bond, our expedition leader for the Quirimbas Archipelago Dhow Expedition

Jim was born and brought up in Zambia, and is very much an African at heart.  From an early age, he developed an interest in the animals, birds and trees in the bush around him, and a passion for their conservation.  He also cares deeply about the people of Africa, and in finding practical ways to improve their health and standard of living, while causing minimal harm to the natural environment.

After a spell in the safari business in Botswana, Jim went to train as a doctor in the UK.  However, working back in Africa, he found himself increasingly interested in the knowledge and potential of traditional healers in public health.  He took a MSc in Botany and went on to forge a parallel career as an ethnobotanical researcher on the Indian Ocean islands of Soqotra and Madagascar.  Together this his Mikea friends in Madagascar, he helped to set up a community led TB programme, a fair trade wild honey project and a community conservation area (now a new national park) in the Mikea Forest.  He has an ongoing research interest in Madagascar's baobabs, and works with local school children and elders to map, sketch, paint and record traditional stories about these magnificent trees, to raise local awareness about the ecological and cultural significance of the natural resources they have on their doorstep.

Jim has always had a 'soft spot' for Mozambique, and regards the North of this country as one of Africa's best, hidden jewels.  His other, current projects there include evaluating a community health project on the shores of Lago Niassa, a planned, community tourism, canoe venture on the Rio Lugenda, and a cultural exchange with the Makoa people of Madagascar.

Jim would love to see a dugong - there are only a few of these large, gentle creatures left in Africa - all in Mozambique.  'Another reason to go by dhow, so as not to frighten them....'

Questions and answers

Interests

Baobabs and tropical forests, planting trees, bird watching, building tree houses, photography

 

Favourite place

Madagascar always seems to draw me back, with its weird and wonderful plants and creatures, polite, friendly people, and a sense of utter 'other-worldliness'.  However, the more times I go there, I think Mozambique's close to stealing my heart...

 

Most memorable trip

I once crewed a wooden ketch, for a month, off the coast of Venezuela.  The first night, the mainsail tore in two in a violent storm - the wind was so strong, we had to double back twice, to avoid overshooting the islands we were looking for.  We later witnessed another boat getting holed on the coral reef of our island, and had to mount a night rescue.  Ever since, I've always had a lot of respect for the sea, and what surprises it can throw at you.

 

Person I’d most like to meet

Aung San Suu Kyi, over coffee in Paris.  She's a remarkable woman, one of today's true heroes - Asia's own Madiba.  Af if that meeting were ever to happen, it would mean that finally freedom had come to Burma.

 

Favourite word

'Hincty', from Jack Kerouac's On the Road

 

Greatest fear

That my knees finally get so bad I won't be able to go walkabout, back home, anymore.

 

To find out more about the Quirimbas Archipelago Dhow Expedition, Mozambique, click here, call us on +44 (0)845 0047 801 or email us at info@pioneerexpeditions.com