Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
The local Maasai communities have set aside the Selenkay Conservancy and more recently the Ol Kinyei Conservancy as reserves for wildlife, and in return receive an income from tourism activities. This is used to fund community projects such as schools and water supplies. Employment opportunities have also been provided for the local Maasai people in both conservancies as game rangers, trackers, and camp staff. Apart from the management and Head Cook, all other staff in the camps and Conservation Areas are members of the local community.
The 70 kms of roads in the Selenkay Conservation Area were constructed using local labour so that members of the community gained employment. Forty scattered Maasai homesteads have a family member earning an income from working in Selenkay. As a result of the establishment of the Conservation Area, wildlife numbers have recovered significantly in recent years and elephants are now seen frequently after an absence of nearly 20 years. Selenkay Conservation Area lies in the heart of Maasailand, well off the beaten track. It has not been visited by tourists until very recently. The animals are truly wild and tend to behave more naturally than those in the parks, which are often habituated to the presence of vehicles.
The Ol Kinyei Conservancy is a new venture with the local Maasai community in a pristine part of the Maasai Mara wilderness area. The 20 sq kms Conservation Area lies adjacent to the Mara Reserve on land rich with game, but which has received little benefit from tourism and left unprotected would be seriously under threat of falling under cultivation or succumbing to the environmental degradation that has occurred already on the Mara periphery.
Kipungani Explorer enjoys a uniquely harmonious relationship with the residents of neighbouring Kipungani Village. Half of the lodge’s staff come from the village, from where we also buy all our seafood and materials for repairing our bandas and boats. Since 1999, Kipungani Explorer has helped to completely rebuild and equip the Kipungani Primary School through a charitable ‘twinning’ with a London Nursery School, 'Paint Pots'. Explorer guests have also contributed the salary of an extra teacher and helped to launch an annual prize-giving day. The lodge is currently working on a plan to start a second school in Mpakatoni, from where several other staff members hail.
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.
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