Kenya photographic safari with Paul Goldstein

Planet

By travelling in a small group, led by a local guide, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.

We have game drives in the Masai Mara Conservancies where there are strict rules on over-crowding.

Our trips adhere to ABTA’s industry-leading animal welfare guidelines to ensure the best possible practices with regard to working animals and wildlife viewing.

We work with our partners on the ground to proactively eliminate or reduce waste, for example eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles and instead providing refills for re-usable bottles.

Kicheche Mara Camp and Kicheche Bush Camps have received a gold and silver award respectively from Ecotourism Kenya for their environmental policies and community work.

The Kicheche Community Trust runs several programmes for the benefit of people and wildlife. For communities to prosper within and in the vicinity of wildlife conservancies it's important for these communities to be protected from the wildlife and vice versa. In 2012 Kicheche Trust donated half for the construction of 5 predator free bomas (small groups of housing). The trust also part sponsors the Naboisho Lion project in Naboisho Concervancy, Masai Mara, which helps to protect and monitor local wildlife.

We operate a strict ‘leave no trace’ policy which includes separating waste immediately and returning it to Nairobi for proper disposal.

By favouring smaller, locally run campsites we have a much smaller impact on the surrounding environments.

Most meals use local ingredients which have not had to have been transported long distances.

People

The use of local guides means our customers will be well informed about local traditions, and cultural and social sensitivities.

This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally-owned accommodation and restaurants, the emphasis on eating locally produced food and support of other local enterprise.

Our local operators are trustees of the Kicheche Community Trust which runs several community projects which clients are welcome to visit as an optional excursion. These include schools where classrooms have been built, teachers and students have been sponsored and thousands of material and monetary donations have been made. Local healthcare is also supported by the Trust, who have been helping the Aitong (Mara) clinic for several years now. Donations made in the past include medicine, medical books, maternity and dental wards, water pump and tanks, upgrading of the existing solar system, medical training seminars and much more.