The Elewana Elephant Pepper Camp: Eco-Friendly Safari in Kenya’s Mara
Although I love to travel and enjoy a luxurious environment when it’s available, I’m also conscious of the impact on the local ecosystem and communities.
It’s increasingly important to me that my pleasure isn’t a priority over negative consequences to the places I want to visit. With a safari, there is a lot to consider in respecting the native wildlife, environment, and people.
This past December, I spent a 3 day weekend on a luxury safari at the Elewana Elephant Pepper Camp in the Mara North Conservancy of Kenya.
I had been in Africa for two months and gone on game drives at wildlife reserves in South Africa and in parks in Zambia. I booked my Kenyan safari weekend with Elewana at the Elephant Pepper Camp because it seemed like not only a special luxury experience but also one that met my desire to be a considerate tourist.
Elewana properties have a self-imposed sense of social responsibility:
The name is derived from a Swahili word that means harmony and understanding. The company’s philosophy embodies that by designing the safari experiences and camps to have low impact on surroundings and reduce & recycle waste.
One small example: when I was picked up for my safari weekend in the Mara Conservancy, my guide handed me a metal water bottle and told me that the camp was working on reducing plastic water bottle waste. All weekend, at camp and in our safari truck, water was provided in reusable containers. I really appreciated the effort (and the help keeping hydrated).
Elewana runs a charity to help protect & develop local communities and wildlife:
Land & Life Foundation is the charitable face of Elewana, focused on creating a sustainable future where communities and wildlife thrive together. With 100% of operational costs covered by Elewana, Land & Life works in key wildlife conservation areas across East Africa in the key areas of nature conservation, education and health.
The Elewana Elephant Pepper Camp specifically is unique in several ways and has worked to have a positive long-term impact as a result of its tourism:
It’s located within the Mara North Conservancy.
(EPC is one of only 12 camps in the Mara North)
The Maasai Mara is a triangle of fertile land in Kenya that becomes the famous Serengeti is located just below the Tanzanian border.
Named for the Maasai people (a small community of whom I got to briefly meet while on my safari weekend), The Mara is home to large populations of leopards, lions, cheetahs, zebras, and wildebeest — on the route of their Great Migration each year.
The Mara is higher in altitude, cooler, has more hills, is more fertile and receives more rainfall (approx. 760mm per year) and is therefore lusher and greener than the long plains of the Serengeti.
Elephant Pepper Camp has been the driving force in creating the Mara North Conservancy (MNC) which covers a core parcel of over 70,000 acres… The conservancy, established in 2009, provides some of the Masai Mara ecosystem’s prime game viewing, whilst guaranteeing over 800 Masai landowners stable revenue, transparent financial management and the preservation of the ancient balance between wildlife and traditional pastoralism.
Game driving in Mara North is restricted to vehicles belonging to lodges within the conservancy, so Elephant Pepper guests have this outstanding part almost to themselves.
No fences means animals are free to roam in and through the camp.
I went on safari game drives in South African reserves and Zambian parks prior to coming to Kenya for my safari weekend with EPC, and it felt notably different.
The reserves had large fences & gates to separate various animals from each other, in particular to protect more endangered or predatory animals. There were some animals that could roam into the accommodation areas, but it was always presented as a minimal risk.
At one lodge in Zambia, I was told that elephants, hippos, and leopards might wander through camp at night. We were escorted around by nightguards with flashlights, and I heard monkeys screeching at night to alert other animals of a hunter in their midst. But the overall impression was that I should be aware and avoid upsetting an animal (for my own safety).
At EPC, I was led to and from my tent at dusky and dark hours by a Maasai warrior wrapped in traditional red fabric and carrying a spear on their shoulder. There’s a different sense of danger when you see a weapon, when you walk behind a warrior who has been trained to fight lions & is hired to work security against wild animals (instead of humans).
To be clear — I never felt unsafe, and I appreciated the intimacy with nature that the fenceless camp provided.
In fact, being in the conservancy, staying in (very luxurious) tents surrounded by the sounds of nature, and having the Maasai warriors on guard at night were key factors in feeling as though I was truly “on Safari” in that idealized imagining of adventure in Africa.
It’s an eco-friendly camp.
I was impressed by the camp’s various initiatives to interact responsibly with the environment:
Elephant Pepper Camp is one of only six camps in Kenya to have been awarded “Gold Level” Eco Rating by the internationally recognised civil society organisation Eco Tourism Kenya.
The camp achieves environmental best practice by combining old fashioned safari camp know-how with the latest technology, leaving a minimal footprint. Almost invisible under the Elephant Pepper trees with completely removable tent structures, the camp relies entirely on solar power and uses only LED lighting.
Rubbish is responsibly disposed of or recycled and separated glass is sold to the recycling plant ‘Central Glass’ in Nairobi.
Tom, one of the camp managers, volunteered to give anyone who wanted a tour of the camp’s working quarters and his projects.
I took him up on his offer, and he showed me:
- the garden, kitchen, and charcoal “fridge” (no electricity required!)
- the water filtration system he built, taking the camp’s waste water through a series of rocks and plants and then into a watering hole that hippos enjoy visiting at night
- the beehives he’s been building and learning to keep, and his plan to get training so he can teach employees beekeeping & provide them with hives to take home to their families, giving them another skill & source of income
They work to have a positive impact on and engage with the local community.
While I was at EPC, I saw posters and cards about Land & Life throughout the common areas, showing particular initiatives and featuring participating students & individuals.
Alison, the other camp manager, sat down with me for a few minutes one afternoon during rest time to talk a little bit about their programs and her initiatives with the local schools & clinics to improve educational resources and provide people with important healthcare.
Elephant Pepper Camp has always worked directly with the community in this area since the late 1980s, ensuring that the landowners benefit with a fair income from tourism.
Since 2009, Elephant Pepper Camp has contributed over US$415,000 in lease payments and bednight fees directly to the Maasai landowners.
Elephant Pepper Camp employs over 80% of its staff from the surrounding communities.
We support the local Ololomei Primary School which caters to 240 students… in 2007 the camp raised enough funds to build a new classroom, in 2009 added a kitchen, and in 2010 provided the school with desks and chairs.
Read more about my safari weekend at Elewana Elephant Pepper Camp, including more details about the camp, meals, safari game drives, and flights:
[link coming soon!]
Katherine works remotely while she travels the world — on the road since June 2014.
