Located in Kenya, Amboseli National Park

Wildlife Species at Amboseli National Park

As the only organisation with a focus on covering the entire African sub-Saharan continent with its travel routes and partner destinations, Open Africa is committed to using its website to improve awareness (and thereby promote conservation) by mapping the incidence of conserved African wildlife across the continent. The following flagship species occur at Amboseli National Park.

Wildlife Conservation & Social Upliftment

75% of Kenya’s wildlife is outside National Parks. Amboseli National Park covers only 10% of the entire ecosystem of the Amboseli basin – that means 90% of Amboseli’s ecosystem is outside the protection of the park, on private Maasai Land. It was these figures which led to the brainchild that is Kitirua Private Conservancy. In order to protect vulnerable ecosystems, Maasai landowners need transparent and regular revenue – hence, the fruitful partnership with Cheli & Peacock was born, and in 1993 Tortilis Camp was established.

Tortilis Camp became one of the first “eco-lodges” of its kind in East Africa with numerous initiatives geared for a greener future. Additionally, under the guidance of Cheli & Peacock, the Camp is persevering toward a future of sustainable tourism for the benefit of the local communities.   

Kitirua Conservancy is a community conservancy covering over 30,000 acres, and serves as a vital corridor for the wildlife between Tanzania & Kenya. The Camp has played a vital role in ecological conservation and management of the area, and among other things has helped restore the Acacia Tortilis woodland area – a project close to its heart, as its namesake suggests. This expanding woodland area is one of the few remaining bio-diverse areas in the Amboseli basin.

Community Engagement

Tortilis Camp has always involved employees and the local community in initiatives toward environmental well-being and sustainability. The Camp seeks to impart the benefits of recycling and waste management as well as the value of sustainable tourism. Kirtua Conservancy leases the land from the community, and also assists them by way of employment. These financial benefits coupled with various other social initiatives showcase the value of the Amboseli wilderness, and local children grow up understanding that responsible tourism holds a promising future for them. As such, between 2010 and 2011 Tortilis Camp has helped double local Maasai income and new lease agreements entail major increases in the years to come.

Elephant Conservation

When the poaching of elephants was prevalent in the ‘70s, elephants were afraid to move outside the park. With too many elephants in the area, a substantial amount of trees were destroyed within a short period of time.

The elephant exclosure to rehabilitate what was the Olengaiya Swamp near Tortilis Camp, started as a scientific experiment in 2001. The research results demonstrated the crucial importance of the exclosures to allow regeneration of trees, flora biodiversity and therefore fauna biodiversity. An agreement was made in 2009 with Tortilis Camp and African Conservation Centre (ACC) that Tortilis would rehabilitate and maintain the exclosure. Tortilis Camp also actively participates in discussions and future planning of the project with ACC, primarily to extend the Olengaiya Swamp exclosure, and then to create another exclosure camp to preserve and regenerate the acacia Tortilis forest.

Amboseli/Tsavo Game Scout Association

Tortilis Camp supports the Amboseli/Tsavo Game Scout Association which trains local Maasai men to become game scouts. The duties of game scouts are to conserve wildlife and wild habitats; enhance security for local people as well as tourists; and educate the local communities about the benefits of wildlife and tourism. The latter objective often includes mediating issues regarding the predation of livestock.

Water Saving initiatives

Water in our area is plentiful due to springs from Mt. Kilimanjaro, however pumping and maintaining clean water is always a challenge.

Tortilis has dug a borehole to provide the camp, guests, staff and the community with a reliable source of good-quality water (which is purified at camp) and has constructed bathrooms at the camp for the exclusive use by the community elders. We continue to provide technical expertise, maintenance and repair of the community borehole.

Water-saving methods are in practice at the Camp including ongoing awareness campaigns and the use of grey water for woodland irrigation.

Energy Saving initiatives

Resource use is closely monitored and the managers hold regular meetings with all employees to discuss energy conservation, water usage and waste minimization. Together, they establish resource saving standard operating procedures as well as strict machinery operating schedules.

• All bulbs have been exchanged with energy saving LED lights. 
• Reduction of generator time from 11 to 8 hours per day.
• Tortilis Camp has just replaced all its game drive vehicles with brand new Land Cruisers, which use less fuel, and thus produce less carbon emissions.
• Water is heated by highly efficient solar panels throughout the camp. At the staff quarters, we use a half moon water jacket - 'kuni booster' - a small stove in which we burn waste paper, wood chips, leaves and timber off-cuts. All the heated water is stored in insulated tanks.

Waste Management 

• Instead of burning waste, most of the camp’s rubbish is separated and taken to Nairobi once a week by our own supply lorry (it comes with supplies and leaves with waste to reduce unnecessary transportation) to be properly recycled wherever possible or disposed of by the Nairobi City Council.
• Table wastage is used for our garden compost.
• All glass from the camp is separated and given to the East African Women's League, which uses the funds to support a family planning program.

Local Purchasing

Tortilis Camp was built with local materials, not from stripping local resources but by carefully sourcing the best materials from different areas in Kenya. The furniture was locally made, mainly on site and some by local artisans in Nairobi. For the staff quarters and main buildings, blocks were made of (local) lava chips and sand was bought from the local Maasai community. Timber, which is the bulk of the construction material, was bought from local commercial forests, which are grown sustainably. The stone used to build the mess floors and the pathways is mazera, brought up from the Kenyan coast. By doing so, Tortilis has greatly supported local businesses and individuals, and greatly ‘reduced’ its carbon footprint by sourcing locally.