All of Encounter Mara is designed to have the lowest impact possible on the surrounding environment while providing a comfortable, classic safari experience as well as tangible benefits for local conservation and community development efforts. Elements of this eco-friendly design include:
- 100% Solar Power – All tents have plenty of light provided through low-wattage bulbs, run solely off of Solar power. Only the dining tent is equipped with electrical outlets for charging electronics/batteries which is also provided solely through solar power
- Eco-friendly waste water system – All grey water is treated and filtered before disposal
- Eco-friendly cooking and heating methods – All cooking is done on pressurized gas from Nairobi or eco-friendly recycled charcoal briquettes. Boilers for hot water also use eco-friendly charcoal, and camp fires use wood from sustainable plantations in Limuru.
- Minimal plastic waste – All drinking water is decanted from large 20 litre containers of mineral water from Limuru into glass bottles in the rooms and aluminium bottles for activities to avoid excessive wastage of small plastic bottles
- Completely removable infrastructure – All structures in camp are either constructed completely out of canvas, or temporary woodwork. No cement has been used in construction, and no structure is permanent.
- Replanting of trees – In order to offset the impact of the use of wood furniture and carbon emissions, one indigenous tree is planted, and nurtured to maturity, in Limuru for every guest that stays at the camp.
- Sustainably Grown Vegetables – All vegetables come from our own vegetable garden in Limuru, using sustainable agricultural practices, and are supplemented by a small vegetable/herb garden in camp, with no chemical pesticide use.
- Biodegradable soaps – In order to avoid contaminating the local ground-water, all guest soap and shampoo is organic, and biodegradable.
- Traditional canvas bucket showers This aids in water conservation whilst still providing as much water as requested for hot showers
- Laundry Schedule – Planned washing of linen and towels once every three nights or with new guests (unless specifically requested otherwise) helps to conserve water
- Rainwater harvesting – Large collection tanks harvest rainwater from roof gutters for multiple uses within camp.
- Waste separation – All solid, inorganic waste from camp is separated and categorized to be sent back to Nairobi for recycling or disposal. All organic waste is composted in camp.
- Local employment – More than 90% of the staff at Encounter Mara Camp are from the communities immediately surrounding Mara Naboisho Conservancy.
- Support of Koiyaki Guiding School – For every guest that stays at Encounter Mara, one day of school fees is paid for a student at Koiyaki Guiding School.
- Support of local conservation – Encounter Mara Camp is affiliated with African Impact and it’s Masai Mara conservation volunteer program . This program involves work with Koiyaki Guiding School, cheetah monitoring with the Kenya Wildlife Trust, lion conservation and research through the Mara Naboisho Lion Project, and community development.
