Conservation

Between 1977 and 1995 over 30,000 elephant and rhino where killed by poachers and with all the elephants gone, the Grevy zebras and reticulated giraffe went too. In 1993, Ian Craig of the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy persuaded the neighbouring Il Ngwesi community to become the first community conservation initiative in the north of Kenya.  Set up in 1995, the Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust was established to bring peace to this troubled region.

The conservancy has grown from 185,000 acres of pristine wilderness to 850,000 acres and today there are seventeen similar community projects up and running under the umbrella of The Northern Rangelands Trust

Working with the indigenous Samburu people, the trust has changed attitudes of the local communities towards wildlife and, most importantly, made the area safe from poachers. With the income from the camp, and from people like you, the trust hopes to keep attracting more and more animals back to the area.

Today 4,000 elephants have returned to the Mathews range. And where there are elephants, the other animals know it is safe to go and they too are coming home.

The camp is powered by solar energy generated by several sets of solar panels. Fresh food is kept, not in a refrigerator, but in a specially designed charcoal store. Twice a day the charcoal is soaked with water and evaporation keeps food at cellar temperatures.

All water is gravity fed by a fresh, pure mountain springs – no pumps required – and then pass through a UV filter. Bottles/glass/plastic/tins are all removed from Sarara Treehouses and recycled. Solar panels run all freezers etc. Minimal chlorine is used in the pool. Sewage is sent into soak away tanks. And the buildings all use local naturally felled trees and local stone.