Our role in the community

Respect, Responsibility & Cooperation

Alongside our promise of ‘wild luxury’ we are committed to responsible guardianship.

In discussion with village elders and landowners, we have established protected areas, management plans and a Conservancy code of conduct, balancing cattle grazing needs with wildlife preservation. The rent we pay to the community for use of the land around Mara Bushtops helps maintain livelihoods, as does the employment we provide. We have funded community healthcare projects, supported our local school and built a dam, providing water for livestock.

Our private paradise

The Bushtops Conservancy

Mara Bushtops is set within our own 6,500 acre private wildlife reserve – the Bushtops Wildlife Conservancy (Isaaten). By working to an agreed plan, everyone gains: us, you, flora and fauna, and local Masai herders alike. Access to the Conservancy is exclusive to the Masai and Bushtops guests, who benefit from private night and off-road game drives, walking safaris direct from the Camp, sundowners, sunrises on the Sekenani hill and visits to the nearby Kakiya cave.

Two elephants touch faces in the grass
A man from the Masai Mara tribe
Elephant walking through the grass

Life within the Conservancy

Our private lands are a hotspot of biodiversity, teeming with buffalo, giraffes, elands, elephants, impalas, topis, wildebeest and zebra – all followed by a resident pride of lions and the occasional leopard. As a managed project, the Conservancy is helping to maintain a healthy ecosystem, preserving lands that might otherwise be lost to human encroachment. The Stuart family who run Bushtops have spent four generations seeking harmonious development opportunities in Kenya: Mara Bushtops and the Conservancy represents – we believe – a template for good stewardship, local partnership and a sustainable future.

  • Established as a limited company in 2012
  • 6,500 acres and growing
  • Rent paid to 318 landowners
  • No tourists beyond Bushtops (low volume, low impact)
  • 25 scouts patrol the area 24/7
  • control room using the Earth Ranger programme

Fostering Education

Supporting our local school

Mara Bushtops has always actively worked alongside Nkoilale School, four kilometres from the camp. Our funds, and generous sponsorship from participating guests, have transformed the school and lives of pupils aged from pre-school to 14. Every year, some 800 children benefit from facilities provided by or through Mara Bushtops. We are particularly proud of being able to support young girls, with schooling providing an acceptable alternative to early marriage and motherhood.

Sponsorship, donations and gifts

We are currently enabling around 80 young boarders to gain an education at the School. Though there is absolutely no expectation, some of our guests sponsor a child (US$200 a year) or make a donation, through us. There is an open invitation for guests to visit the school. Some bring supplies from home, with items like pens, paper, reading and writing material clothes, shoes and footballs being gratefully received. This supports Bushtops’ membership of Pack for a Purpose, an initiative which encourages travellers to leave space in their bags for school or medical supplies.

Together we have helped the school by:

  • sponsoring hundreds of children’s schooling and boarding
  • funding several classrooms, a computer lab and a library
  • piping in water from a spring six kilometres away
  • digging a bore hole
  • helping to fund a canteen and solar light/power system
  • building washrooms
  • managing a guest sponsored feeding programme for over 700 day school pupils
  • assisting with teaching assignments (eg food hygiene and preparation)
  • supporting an environmental club (enabling the children to participate in game drives and planting 850 trees)
  • initiating a mentoring programme, promoting awareness about gender equality

Review From

The Daily Telegraph logo

Written By

Graeme Green, Travel Writer

Mara Bushtops sits on the hillside inside Isaaten Conservancy, 15,000 acres of protected, exclusive use, wildlife conservancy, with many of the same animal species found in the bordering Maasai Mara Game Reserve – from giraffe to kudu – only without the crowds of vehicles.
Postage stamp from Kenya with a running cheetah
Piece of tape
A couple learn about local Mara traditions under a tree

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