CONSERVATION

The Laikipia Ewaso Eco System holds the highest diversity of large mammal species of any site of its size in the world.

Borana is home to elephant, black rhino, lion, Jackson’s hartebeest, reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s zebra and many other endangered species.

Constant bio-diversity studies and annual species surveys are conducted, and comprehensive action plans are in place to protect these threatened species.

Borana was one of the first ranches to develop a tourism product in 1993, recognising wildlife as an asset. Since then, Borana has continuously evolved, focusing on sustainable rangeland management to increase vegetation cover and collaboration with neighbours and conservation partners to protect wildlife and increase habitat.

Borana is proud to report zero poaching incidents over the last six years. This is in huge part due to Borana’s community-focused conservation efforts along with the dedicated team of over 120 male and female rangers who are all employed from local communities. Such a high ranger density is crucial to the effective biological management and monitoring of rhino, and anti-poaching efforts.

This conservation success story could not have been achieved without support from key conservation partners, Save the Rhino International, For Rangers, The Kenya Wildlife service and Lewa wildlife Conservancy.

The most urgent challenge Borana currently faces is to secure further safe habitat — it is currently embarking on a programme to expand available rhino habitat for Borana Conservancy and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy onto Il’Ngwesi, land owned by the Il’Ngwesi Maa community.

Borana remains committed towards achieving and maintaining energy efficiency and minimizing its carbon footprint on the environment and surrounding community.

COMMUNITY

Managing the interaction between humans and wildlife is one of the core objectives of Borana. As a result, Borana not only invests heavily in the direct protection of wildlife with rangers on the ground but also in building local livelihoods.

From its inception, Borana has shared the benefits of tourism with neighbours and contributed to initiating a positive change in the perception of wildlife by increasing its potential value. To do this Borana has supported the development of various community tourism enterprises, as well as a mobile health clinic and the Borana Education Support Programme.

The Borana Education Support Programme works closely with our local communities and the ministry of education, inspiring the lives and futures of children. The focus of the education programme remains on neighbours, with investments in facilities, teaching tools and the schools’ conservation efforts. Since 2009, over 400 scholarships have been awarded and the salaries of over 100 teachers supported.

Borana is also working on the establishment of a rangeland management and leadership school which aims to create a permanent infrastructure, veterinary clinic and stock area to teach holistic rangeland management.

The Borana Mobile Clinic, established in 2005, visits 10 neighbourhoods on a two-week rotation. The majority of Borana’s local neighbourhoods would otherwise not have adequate access to basic health care, and importantly providing women to take charge of their reproductive cycles. The clinic often travels over 1000 miles per month, treating an average of 700 patients.

CULTURE

Borana is set in rich external and internal cultural contexts, surrounded by the flamboyant Maasai culture and built on a long history of land stewardship.

Borana is also home to the pioneering Dyer family for four generations who started managing the land at the beginning of the last century.

In 2019, Borana Lodge guests were the largest financial contributor to visits to the nearby Ngare Ndare Forest and the traditional Arijuju Maasai village, with all funds generated going directly to these communities.

Borana Lodge encourages guests to support local women by selling traditionally beaded items in the shop. Beading is a great generator of equality in remote communities, it allows women to remain in their traditional role as mothers, carers and homemakers whilst generating an independent income and interreacting with other cultures.

Guests are also encouraged to spend time with Borana’s anti-poaching team through various activities. Allowing guests to interact with the rangers and learn about their culture along with the culture of conservation, which is so integral to Borana.

COMMERCE

All retained earnings generated by Borana Lodge and other ranching enterprises are invested into the sustainable conservation of land, wildlife and building local livelihoods.

Borana is built upon a unique sustainable conservation funding model that relies on a combination of visitors paying conservation fees and a shareholder commitment to underwrite budgeted shortfalls for core conservation costs.

The shareholders underwrite the core conservation costs and agree that all profits must be reinvested in the conservancy, embedding Borana’s commercial entities to underwrite the costs of the other 3Cs in the business operations.

They share a commitment and commonality of purpose and the overall objectives are to secure and expand Borana’s natural capital in perpetuity and ensure that Borana acts as a stabilising influence within the wider landscape.