It began with a tree.

Our journey to the Lower Zambezi didn’t start with a lodge. It started with cashew nuts. Our dream was to build a nursery and a small processing unit in Western Zambia, and to hand out young cashew trees for free to local farmers. Trees that would grow into income, food security and a future for families across the region.

But dreams need land, and despite our efforts, none was found.

Then our story reached two chiefs in the remote triangle where Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique meet. They welcomed us with open arms, and soon we were standing on our own farmland in one of the most breathtaking corners of Africa, where the mighty Zambezi flows past mountains and wild bush.

We started with the soil. Odegaard Farm came first. Then we built a holiday home for ourselves, a place where our family, half Zambian and half Norwegian, could gather with friends. But it didn’t take long to realise that a place this beautiful was meant to be shared. And so Odegaard Lodge was born.

Today, the farm and the lodge grow side by side. The food on your plate comes from our own fields, and the people who welcome you are our neighbours. With a large team of permanent staff and seasonal workers across the farm and the lodge, we are proud to be the largest employer in Kavalamanja.

When you stay with us, you’re not just visiting a lodge. You’re becoming part of a story still being written, rooted in the land and shared with the community that made it possible.

Welcome to Odegaard Lodge.

And the cashew trees that started it all? They’re growing on our farm today, and the dream is still alive.