At Rothschild Safaris, not only are we passionate about creating the world’s best luxury safari experiences in Africa and beyond but we as a company are driven by supporting conservation. Conserving Africa’s wild places, supporting the dedicated people who are doing this good work, and helping educate our travelers about conservation is what fulfills us.

So today, we wanted to showcase a few very specific ways your dollars spent on an amazing travel experience in Africa go to directly support critically important conservation work. While there are many, many examples and projects all around Africa, our company’s founder, Leora Rothschild, recently had a chance to spend time at Ol Jogi, a private conservancy in northern Kenya. During her time here, she spent time with the head of conservation and was able to see and learn first hand how they are leaders in wildlife conservation in Africa.

Cutting edge rhino conservation work.

With over 80 rhino on the private conservancy, and nearly half of them the extremely endangered black rhino, the team takes protecting them very seriously. Roughly 300, well-trained game rangers physically lay eyes on each and every single rhino on the conservancy every single day.

conservation safari

The conservancy also has built a custom, high-security “boma,” or enclosure, where rhino who are sick, injured or even injured come for care, both short and long-term. Additionally, as the cost associated with keeping rhino safe in Africa continues to increase, many other conservancies and national parks simply can not afford to keep rhino on their land. Ol Jogi has graciously accepted countless rhino from around Kenya, absorbing the cost of protecting these magnificent creatures.

And finally, there is a fully self-sufficient veterinary clinic on site that cares for the rhino, as well as the countless other species in the conservancy, including elephant, lion, cheetah and more.

Of course, none of this comes cheap. The conservancy is also home to one of the most exclusive safari properties in East Africa. Revenue generated from these high-end accommodations are directly re-invested in the operation of the conservancy, specifically the protection and care for this large population of endangered rhino.

ol-jogi

Local community outreach and education.

In addition to directly protecting and supporting wildlife on the conservancy, Ol Jogi also has a significant community outreach program in place. Educating the next generation of Kenyans, and growing the next generation of conservationists, is a critical component to conservation and once that private conservancies take very seriously. Nearly every day of the year, Ol Jogi welcomes schoolchildren from around the country into the conservancy. Here, specially trained guides show these children the wildlife, let them experience the healthy ecosystem and pristine, open land. This helps children understand the importance of wildlife conservation, and shows them how important this is to the future of Kenya, Africa and the world.

In rural communities, wildlife like elephants and big cats can be destructive to farms and livestock. Flipping the attitude of a child from negative to positive attitude about wildlife is one of the most important steps conservationists around Africa are taking.

Galvanizing large tracts of land for conservation.

Ol Jogi is part of the Laikipia Wildlife Forum, a network of conservancies in northern Kenya who are committed to bettering the lives of people through supporting and generating livelihoods, while securing sustainable access to essential natural resources.

conservation-ol-jogi

No one company or conservancy can do this alone, which is why it is so important for conservancies and land owners to unite in this common goal. Ol Jogi supports the Laikipia Wildlife Forum in providing a platform for dialogue for a cross-section of land owners and land users including local community groups, private ranchers, pastoralists, small-scale farmers and tourism ventures.

Together they take a holistic approach to conservation. So it is not just wildlife that has benefitted; approximately 300,000 people, within a clear constituency of approximately 700,000 rural Kenyans, directly benefit from the work of the collaboration and its members to enable and empower rural people to conserve and manage essential natural resources.

Interested in putting your travel dollars to work by staying at Ol Jogi, and other properties that are actively supporting conservation in Kenya? Contact us today to get started customising your own safari in Africa!