Cottar’s 1920s Camp
Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Olderkesi Community Conservancy, Kenya
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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.
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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
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