About us
Ninki Nanka encounters foundation
For several years prior to this Adama and Lucy led on exploring the feasibility of the Ninki Nanka Trail through an informal partnership between the Gambia Tourism Board, Leeds Beckett University, the ITTOG (Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia), ASSERT (non-profit Association of Small-Scale Enterprises in Responsible Tourism), Gambia River Excursions and other partners committed to the idea of the trail and responsible tourism. In 2019 the trail received some funding from the Gambia Youth Empowerment Project (ITC) to support communities and other tourism stakeholders to take the development of the Ninki Nanka Trail products/ destination further. Since 2020 the development of trail has been formalised through the formation of the NNE Foundation and several more partners have joined us in taking this ambitious idea further such as the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC), My Gambia and the TUI Care Foundation.
What are our goals?
The primary aim of the Ninki Nanka Encounters Foundation is to benefit Gambian communities through supporting the responsible development of the Ninki Nanka Trail, an exciting new community-based tourism initiative that aims to:
Disperse economic benefit of tourism to rural areas
Diversify Gambia’s tourism product through community-based, natural and cultural heritage experiences
Harness the untapped potential of The River Gambia for the benefit of local people
‘The trails’ immersive experiences and experiential learning tours along The River Gambia are designed to create inspiring, cultural interaction between tourists and local people, and offer unique opportunities to learn more about The Gambia. Our programmes aim to demonstrate responsible tourism in practice and all profits are ploughed back into the work of our charity.
In a nutshell, Ninki Nanka Encounters has the following five main goals:
Support the delivery of the Ninki Nanka Trail as a new, responsible, high quality community- based tourism (CBT) product rooted in The Gambia
Work in partnership with key stakeholders to pioneer a responsible management approach to developing new CBT markets and products along the Ninki Nanka Trail
Build capacity of small businesses and communities along the Ninki Nanka Trail to access tourists and develop responsible tourism products which improve local livelihoods
Create extraordinary, mutually beneficial interaction and cultural encounters between tourists, local people and industry stakeholders along the Ninki Nanka Trail
Use tourism activities to protect and raise awareness about The Gambia’s natural and cultural heritage
The Foundation Board Members
The Ninki Nanka Encounters Foundation founding board membership includes some of the pioneers who have been supporting the development of the Ninki Nanka Trail from the start.
Adama
Bah
Chair
Community & stakeholder engagement
Co-founder of Ninki Nanka Encounters, Adama has over 40 years’ experience of working in the tourism industry in The Gambia and other West African countries. He is one of the founders and Chairman of the Association of Small-Scale Enterprises in The Gambia and is Founder of the Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia. He is known internationally as an advocate of responsible tourism and works on a range of projects.
WOlla
Bargee
Treasurer
Finance, health & safety
Wolla has a professional background in public health, healthcare, tourism development, and humanitarian aid, and works as a freelance business management consultant. Based in London, he has recently been engaged in several tourism development projects in The Gambia and Senegal and is proud to be a member of the NNE Board.
Geoff
de Vito
Ordinary Member
River cruises & excursion /
tour packages development
Education and accountable cooperation are the foundations for building bridges between conservation and tourism. His educational background includes University of St. Andrews and SOAS (London) while his twenty-year career in hospitality/tourism has spanned across hotel, cruise and independent consultations. Geoff quickly became certain the NNE approach to product development is a blueprint not only for The Gambia but may influence projects worldwide. Having launched GD Synergy in 2020, Geoff advocates transparent dialogue between the travel industry and destinations while promoting destination-positive programing.
Fatou
Beyai Raji
Vice Chair
Cultural heritage & product development
Fatou is a responsible tourism development and management expert. After working for The Gambian Tourism Board, she worked as a consultant on the development of the Gambian National Tourism Policy and Strategy. She is a lecturer at the University of the Gambia and Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute and supports other projects such as the Global Climate Change Alliance.
Davina
Stanford
Ordinary Member
Responsible destination management
Davina currently works as a freelance consultant and researcher, with a interest in destination management. Recent projects have focused on the use of visitor levies to address the negative impacts of tourism in UK National Parks. For the Ninki Nanka Foundation, she has helped develop funding applications and led on the Interpretation and Climate Action plans. Davina was formerly Course Director for the Responsible Tourism Management MSc at Leeds Beckett University and, with Lucy, led a number of study tours with RTM students in The Gambia. Alongside her consultancy, she has remained in education, working part-time for various universities in the UK, France and Greece.
Mariama
Bah
Treasurer
Mariama is Gambian based in London practising as a Children and Families Social Worker. As well a qualified Social Worker, Mariama also holds a Masters Degree in Responsible Tourism and a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration. Mariama has a keen interest in Responsible Tourism and dedicates some of her time to community development projects like the Ninki Nanka that would bring about positive change to communities in The Gambia.
Lucy
Mc Combes
Secretary
Responsible management of tourist-host encounters & impact assessment
Co-founder of Ninki Nanka Encounters, Lucy works on our strategic development and project implementation. She is an independent responsible tourism consultant specialising in product/experience/destination development; social impact assessment; community-based tourism; capacity building and applied research in East and West Africa. Now based in rural Cornwall, she has enjoyed working with local responsible tourism stakeholders in The Gambia on a wide range of activities since 2006. Lucy was formerly a Senior Lecturer for the Responsible Tourism Management MSc at Leeds Beckett University and managed their Commonwealth Scholarship programme for tourism professionals in Kenya, Mauritius, Tanzania, Rwanda and The Gambia.
Momodou
S. Jobe
Ordinary Member
Private sector engagement & construction
Gareth
Jenkins
Vice/Co- Chair
Strategy, innovation & branding
saskia
ruttkowski
Ordinary Member
Communications & Partnerships
With a Master’s degree in Responsible Tourism Management, Saskia combines academic knowledge with hands-on experience in the hospitality and tourism to promote sustainable approaches to tourism. Based in Berlin, she is passionate about connecting people, places and ideas through effective communication and strategic storytelling. Saskia works with industry stakeholders to develop authentic experiences and operational practices that balance environmental, social and economic responsibility. Driven by collaboration and innovation, she aims to empower individuals, communities and organizations to shape a more sustainable future for travel and hospitality.
Our team in the Gambia
Bubacarr
Camara
Bookings Officer
Bubacarr is a travel consultant at My Gambia with extensive experience in tourism and well-developed field expertise.
He worked as a creative writer for Afro Tourism and has been a qualified tour guide for six years, crisscrossing the Gambia, Senegal and Guinea Bissau, gaining a wealth of knowledge about tourism in the sub-region. His passion for constant research and responsible tourism development allowed him to be one of the 15 chosen commonwealth scholars from Africa for the master's degree in Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Beckett University.
Ninki Nanka Centre Manager
Recruiting soon
Francis
Mendy
Head Guide
Francis is one of the leading guides for the Ninki Nanka Trail and gives training and orientation to local guides along the trail.
After being awarded an Austrian Government scholarship to pursue a Diploma course in Tourism Management, he has since been working in the tourism and hospitality industry of The Gambia in various managerial positions. He has also been lecturing at the ITTOG on tour operations and guiding, holiday reps, Travel Destinations and visitor attractions.
Ninki Nanka Finance Officer
Adama Bah
Recruiting soon
Bakary
Sanyang
CBT Coordinator Ndemban
Bakary is born and raised in Ndemban Tenda, where he attended primary school. He later went to Greater Banjul Middle School.
Bakery is the Co-Ordinator of the Ndemban Community-Based tourism to Ninki Nanka Encounters. His job is to see that the products and activities that we run on the ground are maintained and to look into new activities for the trail. He is also the main point of contact and informs villagers about the project on a regular basis.
Ninki Nanka Administrator
Recruiting soon