Xplorer Maps lead storyteller connecting people and place

Mandela Leola van Eeden of The Trail Less Traveled podcast uses map illustrations to educate.

Xplorer Maps, a Missoula, Montana-based wholesaler of products featuring hand-illustrated story maps, has partnered with Mandela Leola van Eeden of The Trail Less Traveled podcast to provide a holistic approach to making the world a better place.

“We're dedicated to raising awareness and helping educate folks about conservation of our public lands, as well as wildlife and wild places,” explains van Eedon, a native of Missoula, Montana.

Mandela Leola van Eeden recently traveled to Zambia to teach students from Z'Goma Community School about conservation using Xplorer Maps illustrations.

With a mother from Missoula and a father from South Africa, van Eedon has been traveling back and forth between the two locations her whole life. Now as Xplorer Maps Lead Storyteller, she’s acting as the boots on the ground to tell stories from around the world about conservation, art, history and culture — most recently in Zambia.

The collaboration also involves a third partner — Game Rangers International—whose core mission is to conserve wildlife through community public outreach.

Van Eedon explains she uses Xplorer Maps — known for their hand-drawn story maps on an array of merchandise from blankets to totes to coffee mugs — to connect people with places.

Recently in Zambia, students at N’Goma Community School listened intently as she hung a blanket with a world map made by Xplorer Maps on the back of her Land Cruiser and began to educate them about ways to protect nearby habitats as well as those in far-away lands like Montana.

“I talked to the kids with a translator for about an hour,” van Eedon explains. “And they were able to see where Zambia was, and they were able to see where Montana was. So [they were] connecting people and place, and [we were] inspiring the next generation.”

The 36-year-old traveled through mid-November before making her way back to Missoula in time to speak at Xplorer Maps’ grand opening celebration of its world headquarters.

A portion of proceeds from Xplorer Maps totes and other products are donated to conservation efforts.

She adds that she’s thrilled to be working with a company whose missions align so perfectly, as she notes that a percentage of every product sold by Xplorer Maps is donated to conservation efforts around the world. To date, the company has contributed $150,000 to causes supporting conservation.

“Sometimes people get overwhelmed and they don't really know what they can do to give back and one thing … is be mindful as a consumer,” von Eedon says. “If you buy [an Xplorer Maps] story map, or a puzzle, or a blanket, or a tote, know that a portion of that does go back to conservation efforts around the world.”

To learn more, visit www.xplorermaps.com.