Nurturing climate resilience, sustainable livelihoods, and entrepreneurial activity is central to the Thriving Communities focus area. Wild Impact’s programmes address key challenges such as food and water security, enhancing communities’ ability to withstand the impacts of climate change.

Additionally, they support micro-entrepreneurial skill development and provide youth work placements to tackle unemployment, creating new opportunities for economic growth. By fostering resilience and equipping individuals with the tools to thrive, Wild Impact empowers communities to build sustainable futures that support both people and the environment.

The Climate Resilient Communities (CRC) programme recognises that impoverished rural communities live at the “coal face” of climate change, being directly affected by increased variability in temperature and rainfall. Wild Impact focuses on food and water security by supporting ​the establishment of food gardens across all the Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres, ​Home Based Care and Disability centers that they currently support. This has also been extended to the Primary and Secondary Schools supported through the Echo ​programme.

The organisation is actively pursuing projects that will improve the ability of these communities to respond to the changes that they are being faced with. Interventions like localised climate-wise agriculture and small-scale water harvesting hold the key to climate-resilient communities. The desired outcome is that 100% of partner educational facilities have food gardens with 80% of RSA ECD scholars & Southern and East African Gr R scholars receiving a nutritionally certified meal daily. 100% partner ECDs and schools have comprehensive water storage and are fully water secure.

The Hustle Economy Programme is an enterprise development initiative designed to support emerging entrepreneurs in Wild Impact’s partner communities, with a strong focus on women and youth. The programme responds to the need for practical, scalable solutions that enable individuals to build income-generating businesses within the informal economy. The programme recognises the drive and creativity already present in underserved communities and channels this into structured support.

The core programme is built around three sequential interventions, namely:

A targeted recruitment process,
A three-month FOUNDATION PHASE
A nine-month ENTERPRISE GROWTH PHASE

The desired outcome is that at least 20% of our annual partner communities’ school leavers receive enterprise development, financial, and mentoring support, doubling their annual profit. By enabling people to turn their informal business activities into more stable and productive enterprises, the Hustle Economy Programme is contributing to long-term economic resilience and inclusive development in these communities.

Wild Impact’s Stars in Training programme is a youth employment and skills development initiative designed to tackle unemployment and build economic resilience in rural communities. It provides 12-month paid work placements for unemployed youth through the Youth Employment Service (YES) South Africa model, equipping participants with practical, on-the-job skills, training, and workplace exposure that make them more employable and job-ready.

Participants are placed across a range of sectors, including conservation, hospitality (lodges), administration, community programmes, and environmental initiatives. The programme creates pathways to employment and economic participation and is a critical first step into the workforce. The desired outcome is that workplace support is provided for the equivalent of 10% of school leavers annually in our partner communities, with 60% finding employment within 3 years.