2021 FULL year SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
We’re thrilled that in 2021, Basecamp Explorer and Saruni have come together! Saruni is a collection of safari lodges in Kenya’s private conservancies, from Samburu to the Maasai Mara. Both Basecamp Explorer and Saruni have pioneered conservation practices in Kenya for the past few decades. The merger of both companies will provide our guests with a safari circuit that includes seven separate properties in the Maasai Mara and two in Northern Kenya. This includes expanding our community initiatives and support to Sera and Kalama conservancies – allowing us to reach thousands more.
This work is more important now than ever. According to the 2020 Living Planet Report, there has been a 68 percent drop in species populations between 1970 and 2016. Changes in land use and increases in the human-wildlife conflict were among the major factors that contributed. The Basecamp Explorer Foundation (BCEF) continues to support conservancies as a land protection strategy that ensures both local people, wildlife, and responsible tourism can not only co-exist, but thrive. We are making huge strides in this through community programs and education – in fact, we are scaling them – including our waste management initiative into Pardamat Conservation Area by mid-year. Our model was tested during the COVID-19 period, however, BCEF successfully continued its support to conservancies and their landowners through the generous contributions of donors, allowing this trust to remain.
On the horizon, BCEF is developing a carbon offsetting project as an additional alternative source of revenue for the conservancies. The Wildlife Tourism College of Maasai Mara is scheduled to open in August of this year, an exciting and large step to achieving one of our biggest objectives: to ensure that youth in the region have access to high-quality education.
We applaud our forestry team’s efforts as they work hard to mitigate the effects of climate change. The BCEF forest will have close to 350,000 trees planted in the Talek plots by the end of 2022!
We express gratitude to our partners, guests, and staff, without whom these impacts would not be possible. While these issues are local, they have global ramifications. With your help, we look forward to continuing our work together to make Kenya a lasting place for both wildlife and people.
ASHE OLENG (THANK YOU)
Founder, Basecamp Explorer Kenya; Chair, Basecamp Explorer Foundation
Svein Wilhelmsen
The 2021 full year sustainability report highlights the work that our dedicated team completed despite the months of uncertainty and challenges that we faced. This includes- having a plantation area with over 300,000 indigenous trees, including 44,000 that were planted in 2021. We have plans to expand the reforestation project to Pardamat Conservation Area. And together with various ecosystem stakeholders, we aim to scale a carbon offsetting program, which in the long term, has the potential to be an alternative and sustainable source of revenue for conservancies.
According to the World Health Organization, one out of every three people is affected by water scarcity. To provide sustainable and equitable access to safe drinking water, BCEK has restored two springs in the Pardamat Conservation area and built three boreholes in Talek, which together provide clean water to 6,000 residents.
We’re also focused on other improvement projects. For example, at Basecamp Maasai Mara, the first phase of our organic garden is complete – supplying farm-to-table cuisine for our guests and fresh produce for the community. This is also a huge reduction in the footprint that results from importing food from Nairobi by road.
Basecamp Explorer Kenya and Saruni lodges & camps came together – the meaning of ‘Naboisho’ in 2021. Both organizations have championed community-based approaches since their founding. It also expands Basecamp Explorer Kenya’s reach into Northern Kenya. By expanding our reach to Sera and Kalama Conservancies, we will provide direct financial support for an estimated 11,100 people.
Full report
Do you want to learn more? Download the full report (pdf) below.