Our Team

Abby bridges traditional and modern worlds, raised both in a remote Kalahari village on her Mother’s side, and in similar poverty in Ngamiland on her Father’s side. Benefiting from high grades, she was sponsored to study international development in South Africa. Day to day Abby serves as a Tanate manager, HR coordinator, administrator and overall fixer. Outside of Tanate, she is an independently successful housing developer in Botswana, in addition to being a busy Mother.

Rapps brings a vast experience from the conservation and community development world, having worked for years with African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) in Botswana and US. He’s also worked for years as a large carnivore researcher across the Kalahari landscape while running a successful mobile safari company in Botswana. Rapps serves as a Secretary General on Botswana Guides Association (BOGA). He leads Tanate stakeholders and community engagement in addition to being an indispensable field projects manager, research coordinator, and bush mechanic, among other hats.

Bakgatle Kgafela is a respected Botswanan farmer and traditional leader who promotes harmony between livestock farming and conservation in the Kalahari. Drawing on generations of land-based knowledge, he manages cattle herds in arid conditions while supporting wildlife-friendly practices. A trusted voice in land-use planning, Bakgatle helps foster cooperation among farmers, conservationists, and indigenous groups. He plays a key role in ensuring Tanate’s work is rooted in local realities and long-term community benefit.

Njoxlau is one of two surviving certified Master Trackers in Botswana by the CyberTracker Certification Standards. Born in the Okwa valley, a once prominent tributary of PaleoLake Makgadikgadi and plausible birthplace of humankind, Njoxlau brings a tremendous Ethnoecological knowledge of the Kalahari. He was involved in the foundational research phase of the Camelback Trackers and holds a residency at the project to teach younger trackers skills and knowledge in danger of extinction otherwise.

Quashe is one of two surviving certified Master Trackers in Botswana by the CyberTracker Certification Standards. Born in the CKGR, he is of few living people to have undergone the ancient initiation rites. As such Quashe has been consulted by other Master Trackers when the depth of their knowledge reached its limits. He holds a residency together with Master Njoxlau at Tanate to teach the younger Camelback Trackers skills and knowledge in danger of disappearing.

Anthony Mills is a restoration ecologist and carbon specialist with over 20 years of experience designing large-scale ecosystem restoration and climate adaptation projects. He founded AfriCarbon (Pty) Ltd., a company which has planted 30 million indigenous trees in degraded landscapes of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, and C4 EcoSolutions (Pty) Ltd., a global climate consultancy with projects in over 130 countries. Anthony holds a PhD in Soil Science and is an Extraordinary Professor at Stellenbosch University, where he publishes in the peer-reviewed literature on soil chemistry, ecology and ecosystem restoration.