Ol Malo Eco-Lodge and Ol Malo Trust make a huge impact with Low Impact Nature Tourism in Kenya
The Ol Malo Eco-Lodge, situated in Samburuland, Northern Kenya, is not only a luxury lodge set in 3,000 acres of stunning African ranchland – it is also home to the Ol Malo Trust.
Born of the devastating drought of 1999-2000, which saw the Samburu tribal people of the Ol Malo area lose over 80 percent of their cattle, the Trust has grown into a pioneering community charity: building a profitable arts workshop, protecting and establishing water sources, building and running sustainable nomadic schools, and organising mobile health clinics and surgical camps to eradicate trachoma in one of the most remote corners of Africa. Above all, the charity – funded in part by visitors to the Ol Malo Lodge – has enabled the Samburu people to help themselves.
In 2006 Ol Malo Eco-Lodge and Trust were joint Overall Winners of ‘The First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards’ – and also received the award for ‘Best for Poverty Reduction’. In 2008 Ol Malo Lodge made the Forbes Traveler list of the ‘World’s Most Socially Responsible Hotels & Resorts’
One of the programmes set up by Ol Malo Trust is the Eye Project which focuses upon the eradication of Trachoma – a debilitating, painful, yet preventable eye disease affecting a large proportion of the Samburu population. Ol Malo has recently released details of it’s 2008 Trachoma Surgical Camp: 70 eye operations were undertaken in extremely difficult circumstance, in the dry, semi-arid deserts surrounding the Ranch, where water is hard to find, and the people are nomadic, moving vast distances with their cattle to find grazing.
Last weekend, thirteen Samburu warriors came down from the wilds of Northern Kenya to take part in the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon. Running in their traditional ‘shukas’ and beads, the warriors made quite a stir on the city streets, raising awareness for Ol Malo’s Trachoma programme (I would like to upoad photographs, but the upload option is not working…?).
Ol Malo Trust, and Ol Malo Lodge, are committed to the survival and protection of Samburuland and its nomadic people. Situated on what was an overgrazed cattle ranch in the Muridjo area, Ol Malo Ranch has been transformed into a prime and beautiful conservation site implementing low-impact nature tourism and maintaining species and habitats through conservation.
Visit www.olmalo.com and www.olmalo.org for more information.
E.mail: [email protected]
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