Spotlight on Sustainable Safaris: Gamewatchers Safaris

Recently, I’ve turned my attention to the captivating land of East Africa — specifically Kenya — where it’s been an interesting and informative process learning about all the details that go into a sustainable safari. The last piece in this series In Search of a Responsible Safari highlighted a few outstanding options for safaris in Kenya. Along the way I also learned about a few companies who are less than sustainable, too (despite their marketing efforts).

However there was one company who stood out above the crowd and that was Gamewatchers Safaris.
Luckily, I got to ask a few questions of their Managing Director, Jake Grieves-Cook who is a wealth of information. When someone shows such dedication and passion to a cause, it’s simply infectious!

This quick Q&A will help you decide which companies to look for when booking a safari to Kenya and what sort of questions a responsible traveler should be asking in advance of booking!

Porini Lion Camp, Image Courtesy of Phil Edwards

In your view, what unique challenges does East Africa face when it comes to responsible tourism?

Image Courtesy of Gamewatchers Safaris

How is your company making a positive impact on the triple bottom line (economic, environmental, and social) in East Africa?

As a safari company located in Kenya, we have developed a new form of safari tourism which is based on our “conservancy concept”: leasing large tracts of land from local communities to set up wildlife conservancies of thousands of acres where the animals have more space to live in their natural habitat, and paying for this from the income from visitors staying in our small safari camps where there is a limit on the numbers of tourists in order to ensure low-density tourism with minimal impact on the environment.

The communities earn an income from the rents that we pay for the land and their family members have jobs staffing the camps and as rangers in the conservancies which makes a positive economic impact on the local people. As a result the wildlife numbers have increased in the conservancies which have become safe havens for all the big cats and for elephants as well as teeming with all the other animals of the African savannah plains. This gives a memorable safari experience for our visitors and has added to Kenya’s tourist attractions.

Image Courtesy of Gamewatchers Safaris

Does your company support (either directly or indirectly) canned hunting?

Image Courtesy of Gamewatchers Safaris

Do you think one tourist can make a difference (either positive or negative) and if so, how?

Image Courtesy of Gamewatchers Safaris

Please feel free to add anything you’d like to share with the audience on what makes your place(s) so unique.

A HUGE thank you to Jake for taking the time to answer these questions and let us know where Gamewatchers Safaris and Porini Camps stands — and it’s definitely on the responsible side of safaris and conservation in Kenya.

For additional information on how Gamewatchers Safaris is supporting the local community please check out their Conservancy Concept which is full of rich information and issues that all responsible travelers to Kenya should be aware of. When booking your next trip to Kenya, think of them for a sustainable safari and a certainly unforgettable experience.

Please note that this is not a sponsored post and I sought out Gamewatchers Safaris on my own to do research in preparation for an upcoming trip to Kenya.