Lady in long grass facing away wwith stick
Manju lives in Badia, Nepal. When she was young she would go with her mum to take wood and grass from the surrounding forest to survive. Manju has always loved the wildlife around her – leopards, elephants and tigers are her favourites. With ZSL’s support, she trained to become a nature guide and now spends her days sharing the wonders of the forest with tourists, telling them about its amazing animals and spreading the word about how to conserve it. Earning her own money she’s now saving for her little sister to train too.

“Before tourism, people would cut down trees for firewood. Now they want to protect animals because they earn money from the homestays and forest treks, so they stop going into the forest and cutting down trees.”

Watch this space for updates to Manju’s story