Adopt an Acre, Save Wildlife in Kenya

Saruni  is  a collection of four deluxe safari lodges in four Kenya’s private conservancies, from Samburu to the Masai Mara. We offer exclusive experiences of African wildlife, culture & wilderness in partnership with the communities. We believe that the most effective way to help both the conservation of wildlife and the interests of the communities who own the land is to visit us. Through the payment of the conservation fees – money that Saruni collects on your behalf and then transfers to the Masai and Samburu landowners – you finance conservation and give the communities a tangible incentive to protect the wildlife, the flora, the land.

Following the outbreak of the pandemic, there is a total (hopefully temporary) collapse of tourism in Kenya. This has a devastating impact on the Conservancies which we support. With the suspension of safari tourism, there is growing concern about the welfare of those Maasai and Samburu communities who depend on the income from tourism. The future of beautiful and important wildlife habitats is threatened with long-term consequences for the teeming wildlife species that have made them their home. Without a solution, we risk damaging irreparably the wildlife, the land and the people who look after it.

Saruni directly employs over 100 members of the local Maasai and Samburu families. We also pay hundreds of Maasai and Samburu families for the land they own in the four conservancies where we are involved: Mara North and Lemek in the Masai Mara and Kalama and Sera in Samburu.

For Saruni the annual cost to us of these wages and the various land rents is above US$1,1 million. This is the income that Saruni provides the communities with in conservation fees, land rent and salaries. The money contributes significantly to protect tens of thousands of acres of habitat. With this plan, contributors can adopt an acre of land in the conservancy through a donation that will fund the land leases so that the families continue receiving the rents and the conservancies continue to exist. Contributors can be confident that all the money goes to the Maasai and Samburu communities. 

We ask our friends and customers to support our conservation mission and to help to keep the payments flowing into the communities by adopting 1 or more acres for a year through a donation from USD35.

To adopt 1 acre for a year is $35, while 5 acres for a year is $175, 10 acres is $350 or for 30 acres the donation is $1050. As a special incentive, anyone adopting acres or more for the contribution of US$1,050 or more will receive a credit from Saruni for the same amount donated, to be used for payment of a stay at any of the Saruni Camps in 2021 and 2022. So a donation of US$1050 will receive a travel credit worth US$1,050 towards the cost of a safari in 2021 or 2022 staying at a Saruni camp in any of the conservancies (it can be used with your tour operator/travel agent/travel specialist too).

The Conservancies are teeming with wildlife at the moment and the Maasai and Samburu communities with whom we work are enthusiastic and dedicated in their role as conservationists, so your help will be invaluable and will go towards something worthwhile that can make a big difference to conservation and communities.

If you have any queries or comments regarding the Adopt-an-Acre scheme, please contact me on [email protected]

Thank you!

Riccardo and the Saruni Team