Small gifts for PH and tracker

[rballas]

You really need to try hunting with more than one outfitter before making statements about most outfitters.

I give cash to trackers/skinners all the time. This year was the second time for the same trackers/skinners so I brought them knives and Kevlar skinning gloves in addition to the cash.

 

[autofire]

I'm heading to Botswana in 2 weeks(4th trip there). When I asked PH about bringing cigarettes, Leatherman, etc for workers his answer was "clothes would be greatly appreciated." So I've filled up a large suitcase with 5 full sets of clothing, socks and shoes, long and short pants, tshirts, work shirts and fleece jackets. Workers can't afford new clothes and rarely get to Maun where they could find clothing.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Here's an idea. Load up an extra box or two of DGR ammo for PH or outfitter. But fill the cases with magnum primers instead of powder. Then pull the bullets at the lodge. I'm hearing the primer shortage over there is much worse than here ... if that's even possible. Wait ... if x-ray can see inside the cases it would look like smuggling pills. Maybe not a good idea afterall.

If I hunted with a 375, I'd be hauling over as much ammo as the airline limit allows and leaving it as a tip. If the lodge owner doesn't need it, he will know someone who does.

 

[Rem280]

Next trip I am bringing a case of this! Found it yesterday here in Florida.

 

[Sika98k]

If you can, find out if they smoke. If so, a carton of cigarettes would be more than appreciated.

I have made a habit of buying a carton or two of the local smokes when I arrive and handing out a couple of packs every morning to the guys on the truck. It seems to be appreciated.

 

[Foxi]

Going on my first Safari in 12 days. Do you normally take a small gift for PH and tracker? If so what are so ideas?

"Cash is king".
A true word from R 8

I took my older office shirts with me last time and was surprised that they were more popular than the hunting shirts I left there.
Black people like to dress smartly and as elegantly as possible when they are not on safari duty (if they have the opportunity).
I was often ashamed of white tourists who boarded an airplane in Africa dressed down and looked like they had been pulled out of the gutter
Would never occur to a black person.

 

[Jonathan Kashouty]

Of course cash for all. I always give my trackers some clothing that they can't get in Africa.

 

[Withpainna]

When I went on my first safari, I brought a few small gifts for the tracker and staff. Cash tips were the main thing, but I also packed some baseball caps and T-shirts from home—easy to carry and always appreciated.

 

[rookhawk]

Let me paint a picture of Africa for everyone.

1st world countries donate millions of tons of clothes to Africa every year. They are put in bails and sent free of charge to all the nations of Africa. Some of the perenniel options include hats, shirts, and jerseys for the losing side of a superbowl or world series.

These infinite supplies of free goods are then intercepted by corrupt politicians and they are then brought by their racket of distributors and dealers to the bazaars located in every large-medium-small city in Africa.

Since they were free clothes to begin with, and only the Africans themselves have stolen the free clothes and converted them into goods with price tags, they finally get sold to the common man at the bazaar. Prices for a new T-shirt typically are $0.50-$1.00 at the final location.

The Africans you engage with in the hunting world can buy all the clothes they want and can afford for $0.50 each, but they cannot afford $0.50 because they are below the poverty line by far. The very best trackers and skinners with fully booked operations will make between $1500-$3000 per year. A sign of the black employee's wealth and success in employment would be the extraordinary ability to have $60 per semeseter, per child, to cover the public school fees and to buy the required school uniform and shoes for their children. Most cannot afford school fees, so their children stay home and work on the farmette, perhaps one day having the ability to sell a goat or a few chickens to come up with the funds to once again re-enroll their children in elementary school.

Knowing the above, think about your tokens and gifts for the people that work for you in Africa. It's akin to spending $4 a bottle on Evian water and bringing it to them as a gift. "water is free here, this guy gave me fancy water, my village is starving and my kids can't afford to go to elementary school".

They don't need or want your clothes. They don't want your knives. They want cash to muster the ability to send their kids to school or buy wire for a chicken cage or a bell for their donkey.

There is nothing that an African wants or needs that you can bring from America that they cannot get for 1/10th the price in their local community.

What they can't get and you have is money. That's what they lack.

I know we want to pretend that Africans are just like us, and I know we want to pretend that western gifts are as well received in Africa as they would be in the USA/UK, but neither are true.

Before you buy a $15 item for an African, realize that that is 1/4th of the money they needed to enroll their kid in school for a semester. Your t-shirt or ballcap is little consolation to these facts of life, but giving them $15 could be life changing.

 

[PARA45]

I gave all the staff $$, and I also tipped the PH. I also brought the PH a Badland jacket, socks, and a trail camera, that was when I first got there. This was not part of his tip. This outfitter also sponsored an orphanage, so I brought them school supplies and some soccer balls.

 

[375Fox]

Let me paint a picture of Africa for everyone.

1st world countries donate millions of tons of clothes to Africa every year. They are put in bails and sent free of charge to all the nations of Africa. Some of the perenniel options include hats, shirts, and jerseys for the losing side of a superbowl or world series.

These infinite supplies of free goods are then intercepted by corrupt politicians and they are then brought by their racket of distributors and dealers to the bazaars located in every large-medium-small city in Africa.

Since they were free clothes to begin with, and only the Africans themselves have stolen the free clothes and converted them into goods with price tags, they finally get sold to the common man at the bazaar. Prices for a new T-shirt typically are $0.50-$1.00 at the final location.

The Africans you engage with in the hunting world can buy all the clothes they want and can afford for $0.50 each, but they cannot afford $0.50 because they are below the poverty line by far. The very best trackers and skinners with fully booked operations will make between $1500-$3000 per year. A sign of the black employee's wealth and success in employment would be the extraordinary ability to have $60 per semeseter, per child, to cover the public school fees and to buy the required school uniform and shoes for their children. Most cannot afford school fees, so their children stay home and work on the farmette, perhaps one day having the ability to sell a goat or a few chickens to come up with the funds to once again re-enroll their children in elementary school.

Knowing the above, think about your tokens and gifts for the people that work for you in Africa. It's akin to spending $4 a bottle on Evian water and bringing it to them as a gift. "water is free here, this guy gave me fancy water, my village is starving and my kids can't afford to go to elementary school".

They don't need or want your clothes. They don't want your knives. They want cash to muster the ability to send their kids to school or buy wire for a chicken cage or a bell for their donkey.

There is nothing that an African wants or needs that you can bring from America that they cannot get for 1/10th the price in their local community.

What they can't get and you have is money. That's what they lack.

I know we want to pretend that Africans are just like us, and I know we want to pretend that western gifts are as well received in Africa as they would be in the USA/UK, but neither are true.

Before you buy a $15 item for an African, realize that that is 1/4th of the money they needed to enroll their kid in school for a semester. Your t-shirt or ballcap is little consolation to these facts of life, but giving them $15 could be life changing.

I’m sure a lot of clothes are donated to Africa, but major thrift stores make to a part of their business model to sell donated clothes to Africa. There have been some interesting trade disputes over it because it holds back any local textile industry supposedly.

To your point though I will never understand spending money on cheap gifts in US instead of giving the equivalent cash as an added tip in Africa. However, if I have nice items in appropriate sizes that I would otherwise donate to Salvation Army they’ll continue going in my bag to give away directly to staff in Africa.

 

[BJH65]

I brought trail cams as a gift to my PH, candy for his children, and Mora knives for the PH’s, skinner and camp staff, not as a tip but as gifts. The skinner, camp staff and PH’s seemed to be very pleased with the Mora knifes and my skinner put it to immediate use to skin game I shot. U.S. cash was given to all for tips. Another AH member had previously mentioned Mora knives, that was a good call, I’ll bring more on my next African hunt as gifts.

 

[0002S]

Let me paint a picture of Africa for everyone.

1st world countries donate millions of tons of clothes to Africa every year. They are put in bails and sent free of charge to all the nations of Africa. Some of the perenniel options include hats, shirts, and jerseys for the losing side of a superbowl or world series.

These infinite supplies of free goods are then intercepted by corrupt politicians and they are then brought by their racket of distributors and dealers to the bazaars located in every large-medium-small city in Africa.

Since they were free clothes to begin with, and only the Africans themselves have stolen the free clothes and converted them into goods with price tags, they finally get sold to the common man at the bazaar. Prices for a new T-shirt typically are $0.50-$1.00 at the final location.

The Africans you engage with in the hunting world can buy all the clothes they want and can afford for $0.50 each, but they cannot afford $0.50 because they are below the poverty line by far. The very best trackers and skinners with fully booked operations will make between $1500-$3000 per year. A sign of the black employee's wealth and success in employment would be the extraordinary ability to have $60 per semeseter, per child, to cover the public school fees and to buy the required school uniform and shoes for their children. Most cannot afford school fees, so their children stay home and work on the farmette, perhaps one day having the ability to sell a goat or a few chickens to come up with the funds to once again re-enroll their children in elementary school.

Knowing the above, think about your tokens and gifts for the people that work for you in Africa. It's akin to spending $4 a bottle on Evian water and bringing it to them as a gift. "water is free here, this guy gave me fancy water, my village is starving and my kids can't afford to go to elementary school".

They don't need or want your clothes. They don't want your knives. They want cash to muster the ability to send their kids to school or buy wire for a chicken cage or a bell for their donkey.

There is nothing that an African wants or needs that you can bring from America that they cannot get for 1/10th the price in their local community.

What they can't get and you have is money. That's what they lack.

I know we want to pretend that Africans are just like us, and I know we want to pretend that western gifts are as well received in Africa as they would be in the USA/UK, but neither are true.

Before you buy a $15 item for an African, realize that that is 1/4th of the money they needed to enroll their kid in school for a semester. Your t-shirt or ballcap is little consolation to these facts of life, but giving them $15 could be life changing.

How about both a gift and a tip. If they want to sell my gift....so be it. Double tip.

 

[jpr9954]

How about both a gift and a tip. If they want to sell my gift....so be it. Double tip.

That's what I did. I went with the cash tip first and then small Cabela's multitools as gifts. Cooks and housekeepers also got cash tips. I did give one of my camo 1/4 zip shirts to our cook in Limpopo who loved American camo styles. This was in addition to her cash tip.

 

[Withpainna]

When I went on my first safari, I brought a few small gifts for the tracker and staff. Cash tips were the main thing, but I also packed some baseball caps and T-shirts from home—easy to carry and always appreciated.

Someone suggested military surplus jackets too, which turned out to be a hit. If you’re looking for something more personal, a digital photo frame like the ones from nixplay.com could be cool. Load it with pictures from the trip or let them use it for their own memories.

 

[Philip Glass]

Going on my first Safari in 12 days. Do you normally take a small gift for PH and tracker? If so what are so ideas?

Sure we all have but cash is all they care about. The PH's already have good equipment for the most part and the trackers will likely sell anything g you give them. This should not dissuade you from bringing a thoughtful gift. It will be appreciated.
The best gifts I believe I've taken were trail cameras in the PH's preferred brand.

 

[Rellik]

It appears after reading this thread , when I go on my first African hunt next April, I will ask my outfitter if there is anything he needs from the US that is hard to come by or extraordinarily expensive over there and try to bring that. Other than that, seems like a big wad of 20s and 100s is all I will need.