Their Story

Eco-tourism Protecting the natural environment Eco-tourism and the Maasai Eco sustainability Memberships and awards Campi ya Kanzi lies within Kuku Group Ranch in Southern Kenya. The ranch covers about 400 square mile of African wilderness, owned by Maasai herdsmen. The property stretches from the Chyulu Hills to the foothills of majestic Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa (19,342 feet). The altitude ranges from 3,000 to 6,900 feet, so the land includes a number of different habitats. Biodiversity is extremely rich. Habitats range from the grasslands of the savanna to green river woodlands and cool mountain forests. The Chyulu Hills on Kuku Group Ranch were formed by very recent volcanic activity; some of the lava outflow age less than 200 years. The hills are well known for their great biodiversity. The ranch also contains pools, springs, two rivers and a lake, making it a draw for great numbers of large game. Being a natural corridor for wildlife between Tsavo and Amboseli National Parks, this land is to be protected. According to 30 years records by Dr. David Western, former KWS director, up to 90% of the population of some herbivores of Amboseli National Park, need this land for some part of the year, in order to survive. We choose the create an eco-tourism enterprise, jointly with the Maasai community, in order to achieve the goals of protecting the wildlife, the wilderness, and the culture of the Maasai. Your visiting us play a crucial role to prove to the Maasai community that keeping the land united, making it a place where wildlife can thrive, it pays off economically. Our aim at Campi ya Kanzi is not to have huge profits and, eventually, leave Africa. We chose to come, to invest our money in creating a community lodge (paid for by Luca and Antonella Belpietro, but owned by the Maasai community), with the aim to stay and spend the rest of our lives here. Profit is our aim in the sense of sustainability. To be sustainable we need to be profitable. Every year we invest in better technologies to better preserve the environment, in work force to get more Maasai involved in conservation and prove to the community the economic advantages of wildlife. That is what Campi ya Kanzi stands for: a community ecotourism lodge, built, owned, run by a Maasai community, for the benefit of the local people. Here you will experience true ethical and solidarity tourism. The Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, and the Maasai Foundation of East Africa: informations, web sites and newsletters. » Know more about the foundations Copyright © 1998-2006 Luca Safari Ltd. All rights reserved