The West African country of Sierra Leone is better known for its poverty and 11-year civil war, portrayed in the film Blood Diamond, than for its conservation and tourism industry. But an innovative sustainable-tourism project, set up by a British entrepreneur, is trying to change perceptions of the country as a no-go destination. Ecotourism, defined as responsible travel that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people, is one of the fastest-growing segments of the global tourist industry and it’s putting down roots in Sierra Leone.

Six months ago Tribewanted, a non-profit organisation that first set up in Fiji, went into partnership with the government, landowners and the local community to build an eco-village from scratch on John Obey beach, named after a British slave trader who was shipwrecked off its expansive sands. So far, around 70 intrepid travellers from around the world have stayed at the beach, 20 miles south of the capital, Freetown. They pay €350 a week to combine a holiday with helping to build the tourist village, and have so far developed a renewable energy source and built traditional huts. Any profits go into local development through its partner Shine on Sierra Leone, and the project employs and trains 25 local people. At the same time, the project is followed by a vibrant online community.

Tribewanted founder Ben Keene, who is 30, is passionate about the country’s prolific wildlife and untouched beauty, which he compares to Zanzibar or Tobago before the hotels went up, and much of which is down to the war preventing development. Th at said, it has been a tough project to get off the ground. “Th ere is no tourism infrastructure outside Freetown and the government doesn’t bend over backwards to help us," he says. "We see a lot of corruption and there is an unpredictability to the place. It’s raw, even in paradise.”

The UN repeatedly ranks Sierra Leoneans as the world’s poorest people and tourism offers them real hope. “We are trying to change perceptions about the place," says Keene. "It’s got sand, sea, jungle, mountains and geothermal lagoons. There are scars from the war and the poverty is obvious but Sierra Leone has the potential to be one of the wonders of the world.”