Its seeds were planted years ago, when founder, Conor Byrnes, served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal. Immersed in the warmth of village life and the deep-rooted intelligence of the land, he began to understand resilience not as an abstract ideal, but as something grown — through relationships, through rhythm, through reverence.
That spirit led to the founding of the Jango Project in 2022, a U.S.-based nonprofit supporting community resilience in rural Senegal through education, environment, and nutrition. Over the years, Jango became a trusted partner, a bridge between cultures, and a container for service.
But something deeper was stirring.
Amid ecological collapse, spiritual hunger, and social fragmentation, a new vision emerged: to create a living sanctuary — one that honors the land, protects animals, nourishes people, and invites all beings into deeper wholeness. A place to remember that we belong — to each other, to the wild, to the mystery that breathes us all.
Thus, Safara Lekki was born.
In the lush region of Casamance, Safara is taking root as a regenerative ecosystem: food forests, medicinal gardens, solar-powered water systems, healing spaces for yoga and breathwork, and a sanctuary for animals and wild beings. It’s a place of beauty, but also of purpose — blending permaculture, spiritual ecology, plant medicine, and community healing into one unified vision.
