A Story Worth Telling: The Naboisho Book

In the quiet corner of every Saruni Basecamp lounge area, you’ll find a book that tells one of conservation’s most hopeful stories. “Naboisho: Coming Together for Wildlife” isn’t just coffee table reading—it’s a blueprint for how tourism can genuinely serve communities while protecting the wildlife we all travel so far to see. 

The book’s three authors—Prof. Hitesh Mehta (the landscape architect who helped design Naboisho’s master plan), Peter Martell (journalist), and Svein Wilhelmsen (Saruni Basecamp founder)—bring different perspectives to a shared story of hope and practical action. 

Together, they chronicle something remarkable: how nearly 800 Maasai families came together to create one of Kenya’s most successful community conservancies, transforming over 55,000 acres of traditional grazing land into a thriving sanctuary where wildlife, livestock, and people coexist.

When the Land Was at Risk 

The story begins in 1998, when the former Koiyaki Group Ranch was subdivided into individual parcels. What had once been open grassland where animals moved freely suddenly faced the threat of fencing and fragmentation. 

“Dividing the land was to bring danger,” recalls Somian Kaleku, a Maasai elder who would become instrumental in Naboisho’s creation. For the Maasai, communal living had always been central to their culture. Individual land ownership represented a completely new concept. 

“Many of the community members had never owned land before,” Somian explains. “All of a sudden, they were in possession of a parcel of land.” Community leaders recognized the deeper threat: fragmented land meant the end of both their pastoral way of life and the wildlife that shared their landscape. 

As elder Ole Kereto Konana later reflected, “We came together because we were worried for the future. We love our wildlife as much as we love our livestock, because both are equally important to our livelihoods. But changes to the land jeopardized both, so we sat down to find a solution.”

The Spark of an Idea 

The transformation began with a simple but revolutionary idea: what if local people could earn a living from the wildlife they’d always shared their land with?

In the early 2000s, Ron Beaton, a tourism pioneer in the Mara, recognized a troubling reality: “Very few of the people employed in tourism in the Maasai Mara were actually Maasai.” Most guides and safari staff came from outside the community, even though the Maasai knew the landscape and wildlife intimately.

Ron applied for European Union funding to establish the Koiyaki Guiding School in what would later become part of Naboisho conservancy. The location was strategic—an area that wasn’t receiving any tourism income at the time. “We sited the lodge adjacent to the school to try and get some income coming in for the Maasai in the area, and to train local people as guides,” Ron explains.

In 2005, the school opened with 23 students, most supported by tourism scholarships. The adjacent Wilderness Lodge began operations in 2006, creating immediate employment opportunities for the new graduates.

Steve Olkumum, a former graduate and now a guide with Saruni Basecamp, captures the personal motivation that drove many young Maasai men: “I would see safari vehicles driving past with guides not from the Mara. I didn’t think that was right. I wanted to be a guide to show visitors the animals of my home.”

Today, the original Koiyaki Guiding School has evolved into the Wildlife Tourism College of Maasai Mara, based in nearby Pardamat Conservation Area. Mainly funded by Saruni Basecamp Foundation, the college has become a pioneering higher education centre training young people in the skills needed for conservation careers throughout the Mara.

“I have seen a transformation of people who are initially skeptical about wildlife and livestock and people existing together,” explains Moriaso Nabaala, now principal of Wildlife Tourism College, reflecting on decades of changing attitudes toward conservation.

By 2008, when Ron retired and Basecamp Explorer took over operations of the lodge and the school, the foundation was set. Local guides were earning steady incomes from wildlife tourism, families were seeing direct benefits, and the community was ready to think bigger about how conservation could support their livelihoods. This groundwork of employment, income generation, and changing attitudes toward wildlife would prove essential when landowners came together to form Naboisho—building on these early experiences of cooperation between tourism partners and the Maasai community.

Wildlife Tourism College of Maasai Mara

Coming Together 

When Basecamp began managing Wilderness Lodge in 2008, they introduced a fundamental change: paying dozens of landowners for all the areas where guests experienced the conservancy, not just tent sites.

As trust built through these equitable payment systems, local leaders began approaching Basecamp Explorer with their own vision. 

The elders had spoken to different tourism businesses about conservation possibilities, but Basecamp Explorer stood out. The company had been working in the Mara since 1998, proving their commitment through fair practices and genuine partnership. 

Dr. Lars Lindkvist, CEO of Basecamp Explorer Foundation at the time, brought crucial expertise to this challenge. With a doctorate in bio-climatology and experience in sustainable natural resource management across Africa, Lars understood that conservation in a changing climate required innovative approaches that worked with communities, not against them. “It was part of a long process working to bridge the gap that there had been historically between tourism operators and the Maasai community,” said Lars. 

“A group of community leaders came by to my tent, and said they would like to start a conservancy,” Lars recalls. “They invited Basecamp Explorer to help and support them to set this up.” 

The community made their priorities clear: they needed to retain ownership of their land and continue grazing their cattle. As Mzee Rusei Ole Soit put it: “Whatever happens, we would always need livestock, so whatever plan we came up with, we had to create space for livestock to graze.” 

By 2009, formal talks began to design a model benefiting people, livestock, environment, and wildlife equally—a truly community-led conservancy. 

To turn this vision into reality, the community and Basecamp Explorer commissioned Prof. Hitesh Mehta to prepare a comprehensive physical master plan for Naboisho. Prof. Mehta, a renowned landscape architect specializing in sustainable tourism development, would design a blueprint that balanced conservation goals with community needs and responsible tourism infrastructure. 

The Name Says Everything 

The first challenge was surprisingly fundamental: what should this conservancy be called? Geographic names like rivers or hills would favour one area over another, potentially creating divisions in a project that needed unity. 

“We asked people: ‘What will you like to see this conservancy look like in terms of your vision of the future?'” recalls Dickson, one of the organizers. “And people said: ‘We want to see the benefits that is coming out of this conservancy for all, we want to come together for this.'” 

“People said that they wanted to create a place where tourists and the community are not like two coins, but rather two sides of the same,” Dickson explains. “We wanted to see livestock and wildlife being treated equally, not a place where one or the other is harassed.” 

Then someone proposed “Naboisho”—a Maasai word meaning “coming together” or “unity.” 

The name captured everything the community envisioned: the coming together of Maasai landowners, tourism partners, and conservation goals to create something that benefited everyone while respecting traditional ways of life. 

A Historic Day 

Planning a conservancy and actually creating one required an enormous leap of faith from hundreds of individual landowners. After two years of preparation and negotiation, community leaders felt ready to test that faith. 

In March 2010, they invited all interested landowners to a signing ceremony at Ole Sere Primary School, on the edge of what would become Naboisho. 

“Of course, you never know how many would come,” admits Svein. “But from early morning there was a long line of landowners all waiting to sign.” 

The scene that unfolded was unlike anything the community had experienced. Canvas tents dotted the school courtyard, each serving a specific purpose. Three different banks had set up stations with solar panels powering computers and printers to handle all the documentation. For many landowners, this would be their first bank account. 

At another station under a tree, a lawyer answered legal questions about the lease agreements. The process was designed for transparency and trust—essential ingredients after years of suspicion between tourism operators and local communities. 

“People came in, they signed the lease, then walked to the next tent to create a bank account,” Lars recalls. The excitement was palpable, especially when landowners received their first bank cards and realized they could access their money through Kenya’s M-Pesa mobile banking system. 

By the end of the first day, 430 landowners had committed to the conservancy—far exceeding even the most optimistic projections. As each person signed, they received a small solar lamp, a practical gift that would soon create a powerful symbol. 

That evening, as Lars drove home across the conservancy, he witnessed something magical: “We could see all these people—all these little lights on homesteads burning, people amazed at having electric light, or people carrying them across the Savannah as they headed home. It was a wonderful thing to see.” 

The lights represented more than technology—they symbolized a community that had chosen to illuminate a different future together. 

Building the Foundation 

Creating Naboisho required more than enthusiastic landowners. The conservancy needed infrastructure, management systems, and tourism partners willing to make long-term commitments. 

“If you don’t think big enough, you don’t have a lasting impact: you have to work across the whole ecosystem, to look at the whole landscape,” Svein explains. 

The transformation began with reimagining the existing Wilderness Lodge itself. The original facilities had fallen into disrepair, operating at basic standards that didn’t reflect the conservancy’s ambitious vision. Working with local architects, engineers, and quantity surveyors, the team undertook what Prof. Hitesh Mehta’s HM Design called “an extreme makeover”—transforming a deteriorating 5-villa property into a high-end luxury ecolodge that harmonizes with the environment. 

This complete eco-refurbishment became Saruni Eagle View, demonstrating how responsible tourism could elevate both guest experience and environmental standards. The lodge’s redesign prioritized sustainability while creating the premium accommodations needed to attract visitors willing to pay conservation-supporting rates. 

The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the Liechtenstein Global Trust Venture Philanthropy funded over 44 kilometers of roads, water points, and the first management structures. This infrastructure made it possible for other tourism partners to invest in the conservancy. 

Four additional companies joined Basecamp Explorer as founding partners: Asilia, Encounter, Kicheche, and Porini. Together, they created the financial foundation that could guarantee lease payments to landowners while funding conservation management. 

The conservancy also established three core principles that remain unchanged today: guaranteed monthly lease payments to all landowners, sustainable grazing access for cattle under a managed rotation system, and economic opportunities through employment and community programs. 

Naboisho pioneered longer lease agreements. While other conservancies typically operated on five-year terms, Naboisho secured fifteen-year commitments from tourism partners—later extended to twenty-five years. This long-term thinking provided the security needed for meaningful conservation investments and community development. 

The model prioritized low-impact tourism with strict limits: one bed per 350 acres, creating the lowest guest-to-land ratio among major conservancies, with a total cap of 150 beds across all partners. This approach ensured that wildlife and landscape integrity came before maximum tourism revenue. 

Beyond Wildlife: Community Impact 

While wildlife numbers in Naboisho steadily increased—in many areas becoming denser than the adjacent Maasai Mara National Reserve—the conservancy’s most profound impact may be on the community itself. 

The bursary system exemplifies this transformation. Rather than relying on external donors, Naboisho developed a model where landowners contribute alongside the management company. Each landowner pays Kshs 1,000 per month ($7) to the education fund, while the management company provides Kshs 4 million annually ($30,971). 

“For an area that has for so long been marginalized by government, and general lack of capital within the community, this is a major statement,” explains conservancy manager Alistair Nicklin. “It shows that the landowners benefit in many ways more than just lease payments.” 

The livestock compensation scheme addresses human-wildlife conflict directly. When predators kill cattle, landowners receive fair compensation rather than retaliating against wildlife. “This prevents revenge killing including poisoning,” explains conservancy manager Alistair Nicklin. 

When researchers asked Naboisho participants to rank the conservancy’s impact five years after establishment, the top answer was: the conservancy had enabled the Maasai to continue their pastoralist way of life with their cattle. 

Peaceful coexistence with wildlife ranked second. Tourism income came third. 

This priority reveals something profound about sustainable conservation: success comes not from asking communities to abandon their culture for wildlife, but from finding ways for traditional livelihoods and conservation to strengthen each other. 

The Ripple Effect 

Moses Kaleku, one of the first rangers recruited in 2009, watched the transformation from the beginning: “Conservation does not come out of religion, or just belief. It comes out of people physically seeing that it is bearing fruit. If people see that there is a benefit in something, they will support it.” 

“The impact of that is we actually get too many wildebeest inside Naboisho,” explains Svein. “One of the biggest problems is that grass never gets time to rest, so during droughts, there is no grass in the bank, there is no reserve.” 

Working with neighbouring areas to restore traditional migration corridors, the conservancy, through the Saruni Basecamp Foundation, has helped develop the innovative Pardamat Conservation Area to the north, which builds on Naboisho’s experience while addressing new challenges. 

Today, Naboisho supports one of the planet’s highest wildlife densities while rotating cattle from nine different neighboring communities following a holistic management approach. It also boasts the highest concentration of lions in the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, including the largest lion pride consisting of 20 individuals. The conservancy has achieved something remarkable: proving that conservation and traditional pastoralism can thrive together when communities control the process and share the benefits. 

“Naboisho has indeed added to the conservation movement and created its own narratives in profound ways,” writes Svein Wilhelmsen, who received the Maasai title “Oloishorua” (Generous Giver) for his work with the community. 

Disclaimer: All figures and quotes referenced in this feature are sourced from “Naboisho: Coming Together for Wildlife” by Prof. Hitesh Mehta, Peter Martell, and Svein Wilhelmsen (© Copyright 2025, Saruni Basecamp Foundation Kenya). Used with permission.

Saruni Basecamp operates within six community-owned wildlife conservancies across Kenya, offering pioneering, ethical safari experiences deeply rooted in community-based conservation. Our business model demonstrates how tourism can directly empower environmental protection rather than simply coexist with it. As The Long Run’s first Group Member, all 13 of our properties now meet rigorous standards across Conservation, Community, Culture, and Commerce.