El Karama is an intimate, owner-operated, award-winning lodge built by one of Africa's most gifted wildlife sculptors Murray Grant and his wife Sophie. Specialising in adventure and wildlife safaris, they welcome families and small groups who love the natural world. Winners of Kenya's Prestigious Eco Warrior Award for it's commitment to environmental good practice and sustainability, this lodge contributes directly to conservation and a shining example of how to create the perfect tourism balance.
The ideal African safari destination with complete privacy in the wild, El Karama is located in the heart a 14,000 acre family-owned private Wildlife Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya's most diverse wildlife region.
Offering a fabulous range of activities for children young and old it is the ultimate place to re-wild your children and allows you all to reconnect with nature, the wild and the environment in a powerful way.
Find out more about El Karama’s Marketing Journey with Green Travel Marketing
ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE
At the heart of everything that El Karama do is their desire to do things properly from how they have built up their local team over many years to the environmental impact of the lodge. There are countless things which El Karama do which has earned them prestigious accolades such as Eco Tourism Kenya’s Eco Warrior Award. To name but a few they run on solar energy, have an eco smart copper filtrated pool which means wildlife can safely drink from the water, have no plastic on site, built the lodge using local materials, up-cycle wherever they can from glass bottles to fabric, they collect - charcoal filter and serve their own purified water and grow as much of their own produce on site at their own beautiful shamba / vegetable patch.
Indeed the level at which El Karama are such a shining example to the industry has to really be experienced in person to be fully understood and appreciated so guests are often found doing back of house tours in amongst their wildlife experiences as their successful model is so powerful!
COMMUNITY & CONSERVATION
El Karama take great care to ensure what they do has a positive trickle down effect to the surrounding community around them in Laikipia. Together with El Karama Ranch (the land upon which the lodge is based) they operate various pioneering project such as supporting local people with their own micro businesses taking the milk from the diary and selling it on or providing low cost animal fodder at times of drought. They also work closely with local schools and engage students with wonderful training days and job placement opportunities. From a conservation perspective Sophie and her husband often refer to the fact that they don’t feel they ‘own’ the land rather they are ‘guardians’ of the land for generations to come. Together with their team of wildlife rangers and guides they monitor wildlife numbers, taking part for example in an annual Grevvy Zebra census, they also share all ranger intelligence with the wider Laikipia community to help protect the wildlife from the threat of poaching. They also work hard to remove any invasive plant and tree species ensuring the biodiversity of El Karama is properly managed and protected.
