HISTORY

Prior to 2006, the Olare Orok and Motorogi Conservancies’ 35,000 acres of prime grasslands, riverine forests and Acacia woodlands were populated by rural homesteads and grazed in an uncontrolled manner by large herds of cattle, sheep and goats. The ecosystem was over-grazed and sustainability of the habitat for both people and wildlife was being destroyed. After many meetings with the local Maasai it was agreed that a new community conservation vision should be tried to address sustainability of their land and to add value in both income and conserving vegetation, so that a combination of wildlife tourism and sustainable rotational grazing would create a win-win situation for both the Maasai landowners and the wildlife of the Maasai Mara ecosystem.

Moving from a bed night system of payment to a monthly rental from the safari camps has given the Maasai landowners a reliable, steady income.

The management, together with facilitators and elders, brokered the removal of homesteads and the reduction in domestic livestock herd sizes within core conservation areas, in particular diurnal refuge areas for predators were left completely free of domestic livestock. As a result, the Conservancy has once again become a haven for big cats and part of the annual wildebeest migration route.