Conservation and sustainability are considered in everything we do. Kenya is our home. We need to ensure it stays as beautiful and wild as it is, so future generations – our grandchildren and yours – can continue to experience this special place. For decades to come, we want to see Kenya’s people prospering and its wildlife flourishing.
As safari operators, it’s our responsibility to make our trips a force for good. The money you spend travelling with us is funnelled back into the many upliftment projects we support, from protecting the cheetahs of the Masai Mara to our scholarship programme for secondary school children.
When you’re on a safari with us, there are always opportunities for those interested to visit some of these projects and witness for yourself the positive impact of your trip. Whether it’s a tour around the giraffe centre at Giraffe Manor or a visit to a local school (bring some books and pens!), you can get under the skin of what our lodges do and see the long-lasting benefits of tourism.
We believe that sustainability has to be holistic to be effective, covering more than just one area. We are members of The Long Run, a global sustainability organisation that advocates the ‘4Cs’ approach to responsible tourism: Conservation, Community, Culture and Commerce. Learn more about how we address each of these areas below.
“Each safari was as much a cultural and learning experience as it was about the wildlife. Though we learned a great deal about the animals we saw, we also learned about how some of the local plants and trees provide medicine, food and shelter to the local tribes and visited a small Samburu village to see first-hand how the people live. This was quite eye-opening for all of us, particularly our young grandchildren.”
Conservation
Conservation is clearly a crucial part of sustainability. As a safari company, protecting wildlife and the environment is at the forefront of our minds when we set up camps, plan safaris and choose which projects to support. Initiatives we love include The Pangolin Project, protecting the world’s most illegally trafficked mammal; The Grevy’s Zebra Trust; the AFEW Giraffe Centre and The Giraffe Conservation Foundation, dedicated to protecting the world’s tallest mammal; the Mara Predator Conservation Programme and rhino protection in the Masai Mara and at Solio Ranch.
Community
People are at the heart of every sustainability challenge, and with local community support, anything is possible. That’s why we dedicate a lot of our time to uplifting the people who live in the places where we operate, making sure they directly benefit from tourism revenue.
Education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty. We fund scholarships to help children continue their education past primary school, which is free in Kenya, and we run wildlife excursions to teach kids about the animals with which they share their land.
We aim to support diverse, wide ranging and impactful community projects. This includes the funding of classrooms, equipment, training, uniforms, nutritious lunches and more in schools in Laikipia and in Ngutuk Ongiron Group Ranch near Samburu, the running of annual health clinics focusing on dental and eye care, and SAFE Samburu , a programme which inspires health, educational and environmental change in rural communities using outdoor theatre.
Culture
Preserving traditional customs can be tricky in a globalising world, but communities can and do use responsible tourism as an incentive to hold on to and celebrate their traditions. In some cases, these customs might have died out as modernity inevitably seeps into the lives of even the most remote communities.
We work with local communities to help them preserve their cultural traditions. If the community is keen to do so, we set up ways in which our guests can share these traditions and learn about the local culture, whether that’s dance, music, spiritual beliefs or day-to-day lifestyles.
Commerce
Without generating income, our long-term conservation goals cannot be achieved. We feel that tourism presents a unique opportunity to drive positive change and should benefit everyone involved, at every level. Our business is full circle. All of our clients who visit Kenya are directly impacting our conservation initiatives, our local communities and the preservation of cultural traditions.
