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Their ownership of the Selenkay Conservancy allows the Maasai community who occupy the land adjacent to Amboseli to earn livelihoods from tourism. The Warden and Game Scouts at Selenkay and the camp staff at Porini Camp are all members of the local community. Using income from the entry fees paid by tourist visitors to Selenkay, the community have constructed classrooms for a nursery school and a primary school as well as installing a water supply for the local people. Forty scattered Maasai homesteads have a family member earning an income from working in the Conservancy.
The new Ol Kinyei Conservancy in the Mara ecosystem is based on our very successful Porini Selenkay model. The local Maasai communities own the land and earn a direct monetary benefit from tourist visitors visiting the conservancy and staying at the Porini Camp. In addition, the Game Scouts and camp staff are employed from the various Maasai homesteads in the area.
Having grown up in Africa, the founder of this Kenyan safari company realised he could help local families owning plots of land which adjoined the overcrowded National Parks. He asked if they wanted to help create wildlife-rich conservancies and safari camps which would generate them income and offer tourists a real off-the-beaten-track experience. It was a risk but the Maasai people got behind the idea and helped make it a success. As they are private, these conservancies have fewer restrictions than the parks, meaning visitors can do walks and night-game drives and benefit from the first-hand knowledge of the guides.
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
