2010-08-18

Community Outreach Report

We started well last month; women have formed and registered their various groups to the registrar of social service in Narok District offices. African Impact volunteer have been accompanying us to Endoyo erinka women group every Wednesday. They contribute in teaching health issues and HIV/AIDS awareness, they also buy beads product that women make...

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2010-08-08

The Mara has dried off and the wildebeast migration is here.

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2010-08-08

Pasture Management in Olare Orok Conservancy

A seasonal window between May and August in this community owned Conservancy enabled the land owners to add value to their land holdings over and above the monthly rents they receive from the tourism industry.

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2010-06-27

Construction of the Mpui water project nears completion. This community project bordering Olare Orok Conservancy has been made possible for the community through joint funding between Operation Eyesite, a NGO tackling Trachoema in pastrolist communities, Base Camp Foundation and the Olare Orok Outreach program. Water will be supplied to the local community as well as Talek Primary school through a 5.8 km pipeline.

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2010-06-26

Grace Olochoki, the OOC Outreach computer teacher has started the first Outreach funded course for adult computer training.

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2010-06-22

The Mpui water project is underway to provide water to Talek Primary school from the Mpui borehole drilled in the community area of Talek on the eastern boundary of Olare Orok Conservancy.

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2010-06-14

Photographs from Koiyaki Guiding School Graduation Day.

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2010-06-02

Elephant/Poison Arrow Part 2

Domonic Mijele the KWS vet was in the OOC darting and collaring wildebeest and OOC management took the opportunity to again dart this female elephant and give her a top up of penicillin, anti-inflammatory and anything that could help her recovery.

OOC rangers have been monitoring this elephant closely over the past month and she is showing great signs of recovery from her horrific wounds. The poisoned flesh has been steadily falling off her leg and the wounds drying out. The pack of Hyaenas who were in close, ever hopeful attendance have given up. She is eating well and has put on weight. All good signs.

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2010-06-02

Over the past week a team from the Centre of Collaborative Conservation, Colorado State University. Headed by Dr Robin Reid and Dr Randy Boone. Their mission was to collar fifteen Loita wildebeest across the Mara and monitor their migratory movements through a GPS text every 4 hours.

The operation on the Olare Orok Consevancy? Olkoroto plains and darted three males. Wildebeest have a good sixth sense about the intentions of humans in vehicles making darting beests a time consuming experience! Female wilderbeest are a trickier catch than males.

In the spirit of Collaborative Conservation Robin, with Dickson Ole Kaelo from Base Camp Foundation, organised educational trips for the KGS students and the local schools to learn about the project and witness the collaring.

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2010-05-18

The Elephant and the Poisoned Arrow, Olare Orok Conservancy.

Over the past two weeks this story has developed

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2010-05-16

The hay project has been a real attraction and the subject of much enthusiasm in the surrounding communities. Management have arranged official tours with the OOC land committee seen here discussing the merits of hay.

A visit by a group of community ladies organised by Sara and Grace of the Olare Orok Outreach program, during which one of the ladies proclaimed that "of all the OOC projects this must truly be the best as it saved cows".

A community group from Kajiado came to visit the OOC and were shown around by David Rakwa the community officer and James kaigil of Olare Orok Management. Koiyaki Guiding School students on a tour and talk on conservancy management and have had many unofficial visits from interested members of the community.

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2010-05-10

A short report showing a few additions that have been made to the Olare Orok Conservancy that have made an enormous difference to our communities ability to police their wildlife assets and that have helped maximise the benefits of conservation by harvesting and storing some of the conservancies surplus for both the landowners and the wildlife in leaner times.

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2010-04-29

Whilst the rains are here and tourism camps closed for the green season Olare Orok is taking advantage of the tall themidia Trianda stands. Hay production is underway. this project is bridge funded by Olare Orok Conservancy Trust to build up fodder for the dry season.

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2010-04-13

Since Easter OOC has closed the Porini area to grazing as the camp has been full and we are communicating with the manager as to when we can reopen the area. about 300 acres of Themidia trianda leys will be cut for hay at the end of this month. This hay will be stacked behind the OOC headquarters as emergency grass for the dry season usage for landowners.

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2010-04-07

Apart from the pachyderms loving the copious quantities of long grass in the Conservancy there have been some disturbing unexplained injuries and deaths in or close to the Conservancy. Elephant poaching is on the rise with illegal ivory changing hands at about 3000/: per Kg. OOC has had a number of wounded elephant seeking sanctuary in the conservancy

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2010-03-04

African safaris: Bleak news from the bush.

Brian Jackmans report into the perilous state of Africa's wildlife, hopes that responsible tourism is finally coming of age.

Down in Tanzania's Selous game reserve an age-old scourge has returned to haunt Africa's biggest wildlife stronghold. Poaching is back, big time, with an average of 50 elephants being killed every month to fuel the ivory trade.

This latest surge has made Tanzania the leading source of illegally exported ivory, with Dar es Salaam as its major transit point. Yet even as the slaughter continues, sending black-market prices soaring to more than $1,000 a kilogram, Tanzania is urging CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) to lift the worldwide ivory trade ban.


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2010-03-02

Bettina Gottwald with Billy Winter of OOC Trust

Bettina Gottwald has been one of the main donors to Olare Orok Conservancy and has just pledged another $50,000 for community water at Mpui which is a community bore hole to supply water to Talek Primary School and town. Some of this funding will be jointly used with Base Camp Foundation to turn key this project.

Bettina has donated previously a New Holland 80 hp 4 Wheel Drive Tractor, Ripper and Drainage Ditcher as well as accommodation for the Rangers in OOC.

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2010-03-01

After the heat and the flies this month we have had some heavy rain in the past two weeks. At the managers base alone we've have had a total of 126mm, storms have been very heavy but patchy across the Mara. The intermittent rain is keeping the area looking lush and green.

The rain has brought a lot of the acacia into flower with some trees almost looking laden with snow! The smell of the bloom has been quite heady and greatly sort after by the browsers, bees, moths and the like.

Narasha news
The rain has however not been appreciated by everyone! Narasha and her cubs are back in the Conservancy after a brief visit to the plains behind Seketa and then to Nyumbu. Our scouts kept an eye on her as she ventured out. She is now back to her usual hunting ground close to Kicheche and has been seen flushing hares and fawns from their hiding spots in the whistling thorn.

Enkoyanai news
On Wednesday Porini's guides reported that the pride had killed an Eland just up stream from Porini Camp and that all the pride had fed well. It would appear that this pride is down to five cubs and are having difficulty finding comfortable positions for their bloated selves. The pride has stuck close for the past four days and has been good viewing for all our visitors, with the two males also in attendance.

The Grass
As the grass is growing the Buffalo, Eland and controlled cattle are enjoying this time of plenty. We are cutting fire breaks and the Conservancy game tracks as hard as we can. The repairs and reinforcements done to the gyro-mower late last year appear to be holding up to the strain of heavy mowing.

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2009-08-24

The drought in the Mara bites ever deeper and the Maasai cattle are being zoned into portions of the Olare Orok Conservancy to graze. A smaller core area is set aside as a safe haven for the cats, as in the middle of the territory there is the 14 strong Monica pride of lions. We still do not expect rain until about the middle of October but by conserving what grazing we have; providing the rains are not late, the OOC should pull through. The Meteorological Department have predicted above average rain to follow the drought. Large portions of the Mara ecosystem have been overgrazed with cattle deep inside the protected area of the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Many parts of Kenya have been given disaster status with pastoralists losing practically all their livestock. Perhaps just another sign of the effects of overpopulation and global warming.

Six extra community scouts have been temporarily added to the ranger force to help monitor cattle grazing and also to keep cattle away from lion diurnal habitats.

We hope to pull Olare Orok Conservancy through this drought with grass cover to counteract the heavy rain and inevitable erosion that will affect overgrazed, less protected areas.

A pleasant surprise yesterday was to encounter a cheetah mother and her three cubs born in the Maasai Mara National Reserve but driven by the cattle that have invaded the reserve into Olare Orok Conservancy. The cubs are about 2.5 months old and made a kill within 24 hrs of entering the protection of the conservancy. We welcome these new additions and will have to monitor their movements so that she does not run into trouble with our high population of resident lions.

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2009-08-10

Read an interview with Richard Branson published in Conde Nast Travel Magazine and written by Graham Boynton.

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2009-08-02

Kicheche Mara Camp currently rated No.1 on Trip Advisor

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2009-08-01

Great Plains Conservation were nominated for Tourism for Tomorrow's 'Community Benefit Award 2009'.

The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards are aimed at recognising best practice in sustainable tourism within the Travel and Tourism industry worldwide.

The Community Benefit Award is for a tourism business or initiative that has effectively demonstrated direct benefits to local people, including capacity building, the transfer of industry skills, and support for community development.

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2009-04-24

An interesting article on International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) findings from their research in the Masai Mara.

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2009-04-20

Koiyaki Guiding School is holding its Graduation Day on Saturday 23rd May. It is also hosting a workshop on Sunday 24th May. The workshop will be a day of discussing key factors in local Masai communities.

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2009-04-15

Gamewatchers Safaris who operate the Porini Lion Camp in the Olare Orok Conservancy, have won the Responsible Tourism Award for "Best for Conservation of Endangered Species outside Protected Areas" at the World Travel Market in London, November 2008.

The Responsible Tourism Awards are sponsored by Virgin Holidays and is a prestigious award for responsibletravel.com, who founded and organise the Awards, and UK media partners - The Daily Telegraph, Geographical Magazine and BBC World News, together with World Travel Market, who host the award ceremony.

The citation for Gamewatchers Safaris and Porini Camps stated: "The winner was recognized for demonstrating that a high revenue, low impact tourism development approach can benefit the local Maasai through developing conservancies and tourism in partnership with safari companies to create employment and community income and to conserve their land for wildlife."

"Competition was tough again this year and the judges debated long and hard the Responsible Tourism achievement of the companies, organisations and individuals who had been nominated. The Responsible Tourism Movement now includes large businesses as well as the smaller specialist businesses in the UK and in destinations on five continents who did so much to establish the approach." Dr. Harold Goodwin, Professor of Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Metropolitan University, Chairman of the Judges.

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2009-04-13

We are delighted to announce the arrival of a new Tourism Partner at Olare Orok Conservancy. Mara Plains Camp will be offering a Luxury Tented Camp experience within the conservancy.

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2009-01-20

At dusk on the 20th of January 2009, a young female lion killed a cow just outside the Olare Orok Conservancy (OOC), as the cattle were returning to the boma. It is thought that the same lion had killed another cow the previous week.

Two young men then proceeded to follow the lion, eventually killing it with spears, although sustaining relatively serious injuries. In this case, the conservancy committee is to address the issue in a meeting, as well as cover the hospital bill incurred by the incident.

In such cases, where a particular problem animal is identified, the Conservancy rangers should be informed, who can then address the situation. This is far better than men from the community risking their lives to address the issue when there are others who are not only paid, but trained and equipped to do so.

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2009-01-08

Newly found Local Celebrity Jackson Looseyia who starred in the BBC's Big Cat Live is an active supporter of Olare Orok Conservancy.

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