Maintaining a balance

Sustainability

Tourism, like so many industries, can be both saint and sinner: widened horizons are good for us, but deeper environmental footprints, less so. How then can Bushtops blend premium experiences with sustainable best practice?

Responsible guardians

Alongside our promise of ‘wild luxury’ we are committed to responsible guardianship. We operate as partners with local tribes, respecting their timeless rights, but also paving a path to a mutually sustainable future.

Treating resources with respect

We manage local resources – water, energy and waste – with the greatest of care. Mara Bushtops, for example, runs on 32 photovoltaic solar panels and a large bank of special batteries, which generates enough power and hot water to run the camp for 20 hours on an average day. A back-up generator ensures seamless, continuous comfort for our guests. Our biodegradable waste is composted, whilst other waste is sent for recycling. To minimize packaging we buy supplies in bulk and transport goods in reusable boxes. We avoid plastic where possible and conserve water through wetland filtration and recycling.

Supporting the next generation

We play a constant, active role as part of our local communities, working with local tribes to mutual benefit. Our contributions range from rent to conservation, but a highlight is support for local schools. Sponsorship from our guests and our own efforts have put literally hundreds of children through education, at schools near all three of our camps. At Mara Bushtops we have piped water from a spring six kilometres away, funded and refurbished a classroom to create and equip a computer lab, donated a new classroom within a new 3-classroom block and helped to fund the ongoing building of a new dining hall.

This direct involvement has seen us: assist local schools with teaching assignments such as food hygiene and preparation; support an environmental club (enabling local children to participate in game drives); plant trees; and initiate a mentoring programme, promoting awareness about gender equality and balance in the community.

Good stewardship

In discussion with village elders, we have established protected areas, management plans and a code of conduct for the 10,000 acre Conservancy we lease at Mara Bushtops (our camps in the Serengeti lie within the national park so are subject to a different regime). We maintain our land in the Mara in a way which balances cattle grazing needs with wildlife preservation. The rent we pay for use of Mara Bushtops’ land helps maintain livelihoods, as does the employment we provide. Revenue from the Conservancy has enabled us to fund healthcare and education projects and dam a water source for livestock.

Reconnecting with nature

Creating luxurious safari experiences which respect people and the land is an expensive business, but also a welcome duty. Our Kenyan roots go back four generations, to a time when animals were shot with guns not cameras. Today, we seek a more harmonious future, never forgetting that this combination of luxury standards and good stewardship has to deliver stunningly memorable holidays for individuals, couples and families.

So in everything we do, our aim is to help our guests reconnect with what really matters: nature, time and our shared human spirit.

See our progress