Cottar’s 1920s Camp

Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Olderkesi Community Conservancy, Kenya

Cottar’s 1920s Camp

Eco Lodges

Since may 2012

Since april 2014

Known for their environmentally responsible ethos, Cottar’s 1920s Camp and Bush Villa sit inside a unique conservancy in Kenya’s Masai Mara, owned by a 7300-strong community of Masai landowners. A proud Global Ecosphere Retreat®, this hospitality outfit has been recognised by Conde Nast and was named Best Ecologically Responsible Property in Africa at the Safari Awards. Cottar’s 1920s Camp is a certified Global Ecosphere Retreat®.

Real experts, Cottar’s 1920s Camp have been in the safari business since 1919, working extensively on community-owned land. As well as offering luxurious safari accommodation and 23 impactful activities, such as forgaging and medicinal walk. Cottar’s delivers a nature-based experience which supports community-owned land, natural biodiversity, and equitable poverty uplift. Keen to stay ahead of the herd, Cottar’s 1920s Camp was the first to secure Global Ecosphere Retreat® certification and the first African property to obtain the Preferred by Nature Ecosystem Restoration validation audit.

CONSERVATION

A community-owned conservancy model delivers transparent, tangible community benefits, and is positioned for potential eventual biodiversity offsets.

An ongoing Reductive Carbon Journey linked to insetting and showcasing alternative participatory community land-use practices and carbon-honest reporting.

COMMUNITY

Cottar’s 1920s Camp nature-based tourism delivers significant social impact by empowering the community, offering access to family planning, and opportunities for socio-economic uplift.

Cottar’s advocacy work to support the Sand River in Mara East Region has resulted in more land under conservation.

CULTURE

Community-led content on social channels such as Instagram and You Tube - reaches some 5 million people annually, and positively showcases Cottar’s 1920s Camp cultural, conservation and community-focussed ethos worldwide.

To ensure its guests don’t miss out on the intricacies of the vibrant Maasai culture, there is a market for beadwork and other traditional handicrafts produced by Maasai women as an additional way of preserving Maasai culture.

COMMERCE

Cottar’s 1920s Camp model shows that nature-based business can be profitable, support community-owned land tenure, biodiversity, and equitable poverty upliftment.

Cottars always re-invests in the community through bursaries and training. More than this, it supports budding enterprises of Maasai women by providing a ready market, through its guests, for their beadwork and other handicrafts.

Cottar’s 1920s Camp Highlights

Cottars maintains the original safari tradition and feel of the 1920s. An authentic white 1920s style camp, with no fences or man-made structures (other than roads) for hundreds of kilometres. The camp is run by the oldest established and continuing safari family in Africa spanning over five generations.
Cottars’ have developed unique, purpose-driven experiences that contribute to sustainability. Some of those experiences include engaging and learning about vulture rehabilitation, spending time with the only all-female conservation ranger unit in the Maasai Mara, learning about the unique medicinal plants of the area, foraging and tasting local wild food, touring the community-owned private conservancy and participating in a reforestation seed disbursal bushwalk experience.
Kids entomology safari: Children, from 5 years and above, soon become immersed in this captivating outdoor classroom, where the guide and tracker become the teachers and learning about the importance of conservation is not only educational but also great fun. Whether learning the art of patience, identifying animals, or becoming friends with a Maasai warrior, a safari with children is very special
Mamma Naishuru is a widowed grandmother and Cottar’s resident expert Maasai beader. She was born in the early 70’s and has been living in the Olderkesi area since childhood. She has been part of the Cottar’s team for about twelve years and finds joy in doing beadwork and aspires to learn more about jewellery designs and also, advance her skills through formal training.