Kenya - a holiday where you can give back to the community
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Kenya has a wealth of wonderful attractions which hundreds
of thousands of visitors from all over the world enjoy, and action is being
taken to ensure that visitors’ safety and security is well taken care of by the
government. The number of incidents of insecurity in which tourists get caught
up is actually very minimal in comparison to other holiday destinations and there
is no reason why visitors should not be able to enjoy a safe and memorable
safari.
A holiday in Kenya contributes to the local economy and helps
the native population improve their living conditions; making such a trip is
certainly worth consideration. The Porini project in Kenya is a perfect example
of tourism that ‘gives back’. Since gaining independence from Britain in 1963,
tourism has been the mainstay of Kenya’s economy and offers tourists an ideal
combination of beach holiday and wildlife safari. But its very success has also
had a negative impact on the country’s natural resources. Too many safari
vehicles, often queuing one behind the other in the main wildlife parks have
tended to chase the animals away from their natural habitats. Plus increasing
‘fragmentation’ of farming lands has led to a situation where the local tribes
have been forced away from their traditional grazing areas.
In an effort to ‘give something back’ to the community an
innovative eco tourism project was launched in 2000. Jake Grieves-Cook, a Kenya
citizen and lifelong campaigner for animal conservation, is Managing Director
of Gamewatchers Safaris, a Kenyan safari company, and established the Porini
Safari Camps to work in partnership with rural landowners and communities
living alongside the National Parks and Game Reserves. Porini’s objectives are to enable the
indigenous Maasai people to derive benefits in return for conserving wildlife. To
achieve these ideals, Porini enters into lease agreements with landowners in
order to establish a "Conservation Area" on their land and then
develops the infrastructure to include access roads, a network of game-viewing
tracks, waterholes, campsites and tourist facilities. The community is given
help to utilise the land and wildlife as a resource and in return receives
economic benefits including income, employment and education.
Porini now has four award winning safari camps bordering the Maasai Mara and Amboseli Game Reserves and in Laikipia on the slopes of Mount Kenya.
Porini means “in the wilds" in Kiswahili and all the camps are located in exclusive conservancies that are well away from mass-market tourism.
Porini also run the unique Nairobi Tented Camp, offering
guests an authentic safari just minutes form Nairobi city centre.
Porini sells itself as an authentic camping experience with spacious
guest tents, all comfortably equipped with real beds and en suite bathrooms. All
the Porini camps are run on environmentally sound principles specially designed
to have minimum impact, with no permanent structures, using solar power for
electricity and heating water with special eco-friendly sustainable charcoal briquettes.
The game drives will take place in the early morning and
late afternoon travelling in a sturdy 4x4 vehicle in the company of an
experienced Maasai tracker as well a knowledgeable driver-guide. At around 6 pm
you will be taken to a secluded spot, with stunning views, where staff had gone
on ahead and prepared a choice of ‘sundowners’ around a fire, a truly magical
moment.
Camp staff are all incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. They
are keen to explain to guests how Porini had helped them and their families
over the years by helping to build and establish a school, repairing their
windmill pump and deepening an existing watering hole for the community
livestock. The local people now have security and peace of mind and don’t have
to worry about drought or unemployment.
This understanding of local issues will help
environmentalists realise that Porini Camp offers a refreshing contrast to the mass-market
safari holidays and gives the eco tourist an awareness of conservation at grass
roots level.
More information
For more information on Porini Safaris, contact [email protected] who is based in
Gamewatchers UK Office, or visit www.porini.com.10% discount
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